Gift Ideas for Families

Video games, scooters, new gadgets and the hottest new toys -- the holiday shopping list can go on and on and cost quite a bit of money, and choosing gifts can be very stressful and time consuming. Why not simplify your shopping by selecting a single gift that the entire family can enjoy?

Buying one gift eliminates the anxiety of trying to find exactly the right toy or the correct size and color as the perfect gift. When choosing for a group, it works well to focus on a single theme or activity that the family enjoys doing together such as camping, cycling, hiking, or the arts.

Here are some ideas to help you start thinking about what to get for the families on your holiday list this year:

* DVD rental membership. A membership to Netflix, the online DVD rental service, helps bring the joy back to movie watching and provides a gift the whole family will enjoy. Gift memberships are available in different monthly increments providing a family with free, unlimited access to a wide variety of movies for one month, two months, etc.

Netflix subscribers can choose from more than 15,000 DVD titles from over 300 genres including children and family, action and adventure, classics, comedy, documentary, drama, foreign, horror, independent, music and concert, romance and sports. There’s no waiting in line since movies are delivered to the family’s mailbox, no bickering and arguing over which movie to watch, and no late fees.

It’s easy to use: families choose the DVDs they want at www.netflix.com. Their first three selections are mailed to them first-class and usually arrive within three days. Since there are no due dates or late fees with Netflix, families can hold on to their three movies as long as they want. When they are ready to return them, new movies are automatically sent to them once the movies have been received. By having three DVDs out at one time, mom, dad and the kids will be happy.

* Traditional game sets. Bring back the nostalgia of family board game tournaments. Old favorites like Monopoly, checkers, Pictionary, Parcheesi and Trivial Pursuit board games are an entertaining way for the whole family to interact together. Or give a twist on a tried and true standard -- many board games are offered in new versions, like Monopoly’s Disney edition, or the Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary edition.

* Comfort food basket. Make your own gift baskets that include special foods for a family feast. You may want to do a breakfast theme with bottles of pure maple syrup, pancake mix and fruit; or a movie night theme with assorted popcorn flavors, malted milk balls, jujubes and M&M’s. Even wow them with your own homemade treats. A simple selection of holiday treats will be a surefire hit with the whole family.

* Hire a genealogist or historian to research the family’s genealogy or write the family’s history. Present it to them in a special book you design yourself.

* Collect as many favorite recipes as possible from family members. Format, copy and bind to create a one-of-a-kind family cookbook

* Need to shop for an active family that enjoys the outdoors or the arts? Give tickets to a sporting event, concert or theatrical performance that would interest the whole family. Shows like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and the Lion King often make seasonal appearances in larger cities around the holidays.

A family gift will not only cut down on your shopping list, it will also be a great excuse for everyone to spend time together. And isn’t that what the holidays are all about?