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| Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash |
{This post contains samples given to me for review and also affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchase, any affiliate links will be marked with #ad}
It won't be long now friends! We have to get on board and admit that Christmas is fast approaching, I won't tell you that I am completely organised as yet but I am well on the way and the piles of presents hidden around my house are adding up!
As my children get older I find it is harder and harder to buy physical presents for them, often they want experiences, money, clothes or tech and that's OK, they are growing up so I have to respect their wishes. However, I miss the days when they were little and we would be able to enjoy their presents together, building LEGO, playing a board game or doing some craft.
Then a couple of weeks ago it occurred to me, why do things have to change? Last year I bought Risk and we all enjoyed paying it together, so this year doesn't need to be any different, I am going to invest in some gifts we can all enjoy together and then I get my favourite Christmas gift - all my family together.
Here are a few ideas for gifts all the family can enjoy together (if you have older kids like me) -
For the Home
ASDA personalised photo cushion - £26My first idea was to make a generic one to go on the sofa, but then I knew that my Miss E would really love one with all her favourite cuddlies on it, so here it is with her Alfie teddy, my parents dog Archie and our cat Puss Puss. This will stay in the lounge and we can all enjoy it as it is big enough for two to share. I went for the XL cushion, which is 25" x 14.5" and retails at £26.00 with £4 postage (there is also a smaller size available too).
The cushion is really good quality, it is soft suede, plain beige on the back and printed on the front. There are loads of templates you can choose from for printing, to make it totally unique to your home and I found the process simple, and the delivery quick. I'll happily use ASDA photo again for personalised gifts and I see there is 10% of all personalised cushions until the end of this year too, which is a great deal!
Personalised Family Tea Light Holder from Norma & Dorothy - £16
I love this tea light holder, it is very minimalistic and would suit any modern home. Each leaf on the branch can be personalised with a name to make it truly unique to your family. The tea light holder comes with 4 soy wax, vegan-friendly tea lights and arrives beautifully presented in a brown kraft box with tissue paper. I must mention the super quick dispatch too, my products arrived really quickly.
Check out the range of lovely gifts on Norma & Dorothy over here.
Engraved Collage Photo Frame - £22.99
I really love this 11.5" x 9.5" landscape frame that can be personalised with two lines of text (top and bottom). I just chose to have the top line say 'The Pannell Family 2019' and I am going to put in photos from our adventures this year and give it to my husband to be displayed in our lounge.
It is a gorgeous mirror frame and as such, I just couldn't get a decent photo as I just caught myself reflected in it each time, so I'll show you the picture from the website. The frame takes two 6 x 4" photos and two 4 x 3" photos and due to the engraving would need to be displayed landscape.
Check out loads of different gifts on the the Gift Experience website.
Happy Jackson Family Calendar - £9.99
With five of us in the family and only one car it takes a lot of organisation to make sure we end up where we are supposed to be! Therefore a nice, easy to use wall calendar is a must, it makes it so easy to see what it going on at a glance when this is hanging in the kitchen and we can all record what is going on for us on any given day.
Danilo have a great range of calendars (#ad) to choose from, family ones, slim kitchen ones and loads with fabulous images of our favourites stars and programmes.
To Play Together
Tetris Speed Card Game - £9.99How I loved Tetris when I was a kid/ teen and now I can play an updated version with all my family. I am really looking forward to playing this together. It can be played by 2-8 players and is recommended for age 6 years upwards. It is a super-fast game so be quick and don't take your eyes off the cards!
Check it out more on the (#ad) John Adams Amazon shop
Sequence Board Game - £20.45
For the times when we want to sit down and have a longer game Sequence will be our go to board game this year. You need to have your wits about you as it is a strategy game but I love that it is easy to learn too. You can also play with upwards of 2 players, right up to around 12, so great for a night when you have friends to stay.
You can (#ad) buy Sequence over on Amazon.
Falcon Christmas 1000 piece Puzzle - £11.85
My Dad really loves doing puzzles and whenever he comes over we have one on the table that we all have a little go at as we go by. Or sometimes he will sit with one of the kids and they'll spend a happy hour puzzling and chatting, it is great to see the generations together.
This year (#ad) Falcon Christmas puzzle is a great one as it actually comes with another included in the price, so for £11.85 on Amazon, you get the two puzzles - a bargain, right?
To Eat Together
Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme - from around £8
These won't last long in our house but they are always regarded as a big treat and as such it is a nice thing to enjoy together on Christmas Eve. You can even get your Krispy Kreme's delivered by Uber Eats!
Haribo Sweet Medley - £4
You can pick up Haribo sweets from most good supermarkets, I've seen this sweet medley gift box in both Salisbury's and Wilko's for £4. (#ad) Haribo are always a hit in our house and 540g of all different types will be a winner as it means each member of the family can have something different, or we can choose to open the bags and share. Fabulous with a Christmas movie.
For Out and About
Churckit! Dog Toys - from around £7Your pets are fully part of the family so they should enjoy Christmas with you too. Chuckit! make long-life, heavy-duty toys for you to play with your dog. My parent's dog Archie loves nothing better than getting out for a walk and a play on the field. Balls are a firm favourite but he does bite through tennis balls in no time, so this (#ad) Chuckit! large ultra ball will be perfect for him, currently selling at £9.90 on Amazon.
I love that Chuckit! have so many of their toys available in small, medium and large to suit your dogs size. We were also sent a (#ad) Chuckit! Fetchflight, which is like a Frisbee for dogs, but instead of the hard plastic ones that they bite through in minutes, this is purpose made and will last for ages and retails for around £12.
You can check out all the various Chuckit! toys for sale over here.
Ordnance Survey Picnic Rug - £39.99
When the weather gets better I love to take all the family exploring and of course we have a fabulous picnic together. So this OS rug will make a great addition to our day out, it comes in its own carry bag and you can choose from a variety of designs from across the UK. There is also an extra-large size for a bigger family with a map of the UK or a game to entertain the smaller ones. Check out picnic blankets on Amazon (#ad).
For the Tree
Personalised Family Christmas Tree Decoration, from Norma & Dorothy - £14I chose my decoration to be copper rose, but it is also available in gold or silver too, all mounted on the wooden background. This feels like a lovely premium product and I'll be very happy to have it on my tree, as I know it will last for years and once the kids leave home, it will remind me of times gone by.
I was impressed how quickly it was made and sent to me considering it is personalised and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it as a gift, you can also opt for a classy gift box if it is a present.
Personalised Our Family Oval Hanging Ornament - £12.99
Another great value decoration for your tree. This one was my daughters favourite and she now wants one for her bedroom tree too. I like that you can put the date on it that your family was established as well as your surname, it feels like a cute touch. This one is also great value to give as a gift, as it comes with a little red velvet pouch to present it in.
There are loads of great gifts on the Gift Experience website, so it is worth a good look around to see if there is anything you fancy.
Remembrance Bauble from My Unique Family - £9.50
I was sent this gorgeous and lightweight acrylic bauble from the small business My Unique Family. I do love getting presents from small businesses as you can get so many more different designs, a much more unique product and also normally, wonderful personal service.
My bauble has a little scroll in it that says Samuel Noah, which is the name of the baby I lost in 2010, but you could have the name of any person who wished to remember, like a grandparent or friend. Sitting in with the scroll is a fluffy white feather and outside with the ribbon is tiny angel wings. I also received a small verse in a cute little envelope to go alongside the bauble.
This is such a nice, special gift to give to a family to help them remember. You can check out all My Unique Family's products over here.
I hope I've given you some ideas of gifts you can buy for all the family to enjoy together. Do please leave any other suggestions in the comments.
Happy Christmas preparations! Mich x
Becky at Family Budgeting has a great round-up of 2019 Christmas gift guides, so head over for a look.
