Holiday Gift Guide: Family Gifts

If you're a horrible procrastinator like I am, you still have not finished all your Christmas shopping (assuming you celebrate Christmas like I do). So maybe you won't mind this last minute gift guide for the whole family. Gifts like these are great, because you probably spend the same amount as buying each individual a gift, you possibly spend less, and everyone in the family can still enjoy the gift.

Be sure to check out my gift guides for Expectant Moms as well as Running Moms. 

Attractions/Museums:
Last year, my in-laws gifted us with a family pass to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). I'm honestly hoping they renew our pass for another year this Christmas! It has been so much fun and such a great answer to "What should we do today?" We can spend hours there, and both kids love it. Now that G is getting older, he's really been enjoying the science labs, and N loves all of the water related exhibits, as well as the engineering exhibits. She's two. I think that says a lot about the thought that goes behind everything that OMSI has to offer, don't you? With the OMSI pass, you also get free or discounted admission to other museums in the area as well. Including the Gilbert House in Salem, which both my kids also love.

Other area attractions would include the Oregon Zoo, which you know we've been enjoying quite a bit this year. Whichever zoo is local to you, I'm sure they also offer an annual membership, and with it tends to come a few perks - like discounts, and early admission to new events or attractions.

Monthly Subscriptions:
This option could include anything from something like BabbaBox or Citrus Lane (edit: click here for a recent CL post on the Cloth Diaper Revival), to something absolutely deliciously for the entire family like a Fruit of the Month club from Harry & David's. Yum! I wouldn't turn that down!  You could also invest in a subscription to a family magazine, or a year's subscription to a service like GameFly or Netflix.

Games:
This could be either a board game or a video game. If the family you're shopping for happens to own a Wii U, I would highly recommend Super Mario 3D World. We rented it over the Thanksgiving weekend, and EVERYONE was loving it. You can even have up to 5 players on that game (if you have enough controllers).

Of course board games (aka tabletop games) are always a great option. Our family enjoys all the classics from when I was young like Sorry, Life, Battleship, and Chutes & Ladders. If your kids are older, they might like Monopoly or Risk (HUGE favorite with my nephews). And seriously, does Hasbro make all the good board games? I honestly had no idea they were all by the same company until I started looking up links for this post!

Hopefully, you found this useful. What are some great family gifts you've given or received? And how do you manage to stay in your holiday shopping budget? I thought I was doing well, then somehow went completely overboard in the end...