Fantastic Gift for the Entire Family

December 8, 2016 3:12 PM

Mefites, I need your imaginative ideas for a Christmas gift for the whole family! They make their home in the San Francisco penninsula (Redwood City)

The family consists of Mom and Dad in their mid-30's, 10 and 4 year old sons and 1 year old daughter.

In the past I gifted them with a Red Box gift card, Netflix, CA Academy of Sciences tickets, Pizza and Ice Cream certificates and a San Francisco Zoo annual membership.

I'm a bit stumped for this year now they have the one year old so I'm hoping you all have some wonderful ideas to make a lasting family memory for them!

posted by IpsoFacto to Shopping (11 answers total)

Would you consider a gift in their name? Anything from Heifer International to, well, once I "gave" my own family the gift of a garbage disposal at a local homeless meal kitchen....
posted by easily confused at 3:28 PM on December 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Exploratorium membership!
posted by egeanin at 3:46 PM on December 8, 2016 [4 favorites]

Board game! Sushi-Go or even Cranium would be great with kids.

Local CSA or something like Blue Apron (personally I don't like BA cuz it's way too much packaging).

Another year of Netflix.

Some wine for the parents.
posted by monologish at 3:50 PM on December 8, 2016

Best answer: Looking forward to next year, one of the things I'm considering for my brother's family is an advent calendar. There are several posts around askme about experience based advent calendars, so I started doing one for me and my husband - mine is a collection of you-tube links (christmas specials and shorts, music playlists like surf-rock christmas or nutcracker, ambient videos of yule log or fireplace or snowfall, christmas songs/memes, etc) along with a day's treat for all (candy or cocoa or tea) or something to do (a breakfast recipe on the weekend, a simple craft like paper chains or popcorn balls or paper snowflakes) or someplace to go (a trip to zoo-lights, a pair of movie tickets, a treat at the craft fair). Anyway, we've done one the last 3 years, and now I'm really excited to make up a 25-gift package for my brother's family for next year, I'm already planning it. It'll be tougher to choose things that everybody will like (like classic videos or crafts), for some days I might rotate out who gets a special treat (the mom, the 6yo, the 12yo, etc) while providing general candy for the others.
posted by aimedwander at 4:11 PM on December 8, 2016

A year of HBO GO.
posted by metasarah at 4:19 PM on December 8, 2016

Best answer: Exploratorium, seriously, it's a perfect blend of science, art & creativity and works well for kids and adults.
posted by childofTethys at 5:04 PM on December 8, 2016

I like Coyote Point Museum, but it's now operating under a name so cute that I can't stand it.
posted by puddledork at 5:22 PM on December 8, 2016

Best answer: I would consider a membership to the Monterey Bay Aquarium - it's a drive but well worth a trip several times a year. Membership gives you early hours and a special entrance to skip the line.

I like Curiodyssey (aka Coyote Point Museum) but I think it's a stretch for the 10yo (great for the younger two, though).
posted by handful of rain at 7:21 PM on December 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ice cream kit? Delicious and science-y for the whole family.
Lawn game?
Red rubber ball?
posted by meemzi at 11:44 PM on December 8, 2016

Ice cream maker and the Ben & Jerry's ice cream cookbook.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:13 AM on December 9, 2016

As a family that fits that demographic, a museum membership is wonderful. We love ours and use it throughout the year. It's great because you can go in any combo of people. And if one of the kids throws a fit and you only stay for 30 minutes, you're not out any money. Exploratorium sounds great!
posted by LKWorking at 9:14 AM on December 9, 2016