This is the most comprehensive family holiday gift guide that is perfect for the family who wants to spend more time together and create family memories.
*Updated for 2021
The Most Comprehensive Family Holiday Gift Guide
If you know me, you know I am a big fan of experiences instead of material gifts, but sometimes material gifts lead to experiences and so with that in mind, I have created the Most Comprehensive Family Holiday Gift Guide! This gift guide includes gifts that the whole family can use together, or can be used to experience something together. Get ready for the best family Christmas gift guide ever!
To be clear, this gift guide will not show you individual gifts for each member of your family. I have a lot of those already HERE. Today I am focusing on gifts that the whole family can enjoy.
For our family, we don't actually give a lot of physical, tangible gifts.
We prefer to gift experiences and time.
We have found over the years that material things are often forgotten, shoved in a closet, or not used much past the holidays. There are exceptions to this of course, but how many holiday gifts do you actually remember from your childhood? Probably very few.
But how many experiences that you shared with your family do you remember? Proportionally, probably a higher percentage.
I remember the beach trips and mountain hikes. But I remember just a handful of physical gifts given to me.
And so our family has decided to value memories and time spent together over having a lot of material things.
These ideas are so fun and are great ways to bring the whole family together for fun enjoyable activities. While I am a huge advocate against acquiring more stuff, I am a big proponent of purposefully buying things that will allow your family to create memories and take adventures together.
Giving gifts like these ones listed in this gift guide, not only give your family fun things to open on Christmas Day, or for Hanukah or Kwanza, or whatever holiday you celebrate, but it will help enable years of family memories to come.
This gift guide has been created with the idea of purposefully purchasing items that can be used to create great family memories.
This gift guide is for the family that wants to spend more time together and buy less stuff that will collect dust in the closet.
I am listing the items in this gift guide according to ACTIVITY so hopefully, you can just scroll through the guide until you find the right activity for your family.
Ready to rock and roll?
*If you prefer this in a short-form, no-photo, quick, clickable list, scroll to the bottom and I've condensed it for you!*
Here we go:
The Most Comprehensive Family Holiday Gift Guide
This family holiday gift guide includes gifts that the whole family can use together, or can be used to experience something together. This is the perfect gift list for those wishing to gift experiences with the family all year long!
GIFTS FOR THE BEACH LOVER
If your family loves to go to the beach, these are some must-have items to make going to the beach (or the lake) smooth and super fun!
Beach Cart with Balloon Wheels
First of all, my family loves the beach and the lake. Like so much! It is probably the most requested thing we do.
But what I don't love is toting all the stuff that comes along with a day at the beach across the sand. Most beach carts have small wheels that just get stuck in the sand, but the balloon wheels on this beach cart from MyBeachCart seriously just glide through the sand!
This makes going to the beach so much more enjoyable for the whole family because your kids can bring all their toys, and mom and dad's back doesn't get sore from lugging everything to the shores.
This is one thing we have been eyeing for a while and are so glad to finally have one because this cart will change your beach days forever!
Here is what the company says about their beach cart:
"Everyone loves a family beach vacation, but no one loves the set-up. MyBeachCart was designed to help families of all sizes make beach-going a breeze. This cart is effective - the balloon tires glide over sand and rough terrain with ease. It is high quality - MyBeachCart is rust-free and carries 165 pounds. It is portable - when tires are removed, the cart can fold up and fit into a small car. Make your next beach trip stress-free with MyBeachCart!"
Beach Umbrella
We have had this exact beach umbrella since 2017 and it has never let us down! It is by far the best one we have ever owned and is the perfect way to escape the sun for a bit when spending all day at the beach.
Sand Blanket
Sand blankets are the best way to have a blanket at the beach, that doesn't fill with sand! This was another 2017 purchase that hasn't let us down!
Sand Cloud Turkish Towel
Not bulky and perfect for the beach, lake, or pool, Turkish towels are seriously the best!
GIFTS FOR THE OUTDOOR ADVENTURER
For those families who love to adventure outdoors, here are a few items we absolutely love!
Backyard Ziplines 100 FT Zip Line Kit
Zip Line in your own backyard!? Yes, please!
You don't need to go anywhere to have a great adventure with your family! Simply put up this DIY Zip Line in your backyard and let the whole family enjoy it.
Not only is this fun, but it also helps increase core muscles and strengthens arms and hands. And your whole family will love flying across your yard on this fun new zipline.
Check out a video about it here: https://youtu.be/VOIcOaPlsVQ
Large Rock Climbing Holds
Continue to make your backyard an adventure spot by creating a rock climbing wall fun for adults and kids! Just be sure to include proper safety gear so no one gets hurt.
GIFTS FOR WATER LOVERS
For families who love to adventure ON water, these ideas are for you!
Stand Up Paddle Board
While there are many kinds of paddleboards, inflatable ones don't take up as much storage room and are generally the easiest type of paddleboards to use, making this great for beginners and kids.
2-Person Inflatable Kayak
Everything you need to get started kayaking comes in this kit! An inflatable two-person kayak, oars, and a pump. Grab a couple of these and wrap them up for the holidays. This is a great way to enjoy being on the water with your whole family.
GIFTS FOR TRAVELERS
For families who love to travel, you can't go wrong with these essentials.
20" Carryon Luggage
Get your family new luggage in expectation of your next travel adventure together.
Travel Packing Cubes
Make packing and traveling so much easier with packing cubes! Everyone can easily organize their own luggage on your next family trip.
Portable Charger
Keep everyone's devices charged on the go so you will be able to continually photograph and video your adventures together.
Sony Alpha a6000 Digital Camera
This is my favorite travel camera! It is lightweight but is also an amazing camera so you can capture your family's travel adventures!
GIFTS FOR WINTER LOVERS
If you love to be outdoors in the winter, these ideas are perfect for the whole family!
Snowshoes
We are super excited to learn how to snowshoe this year! Don't tell my kids, but we are getting them snowshoes for Christmas! Woot woot!
This brand gets great reviews, is cost-effective, and, after getting to see a pair of them in person (we haven't tried them yet), they look comparable quality to some that are much more expensive!
Smokeless Bonfire Fire Pit
One of our favorite things to do is to light a fire and roast smores. But we never like that smokey smell. This smokeless fire pit is seriously SO cool. It truly is a great fire pit without all the smoke. It is perfect to use at home or take with you on a (winter) camping adventure.
Snowman Decorating Kit
I have the best memories of building snowmen as a kid, and I have always loved helping my kids build snowmen too! Take your snowman building skills up a notch with this really cool snowman decorating kit!
Snow Tube Sleds
Snow tubing is probably one of the most fun adventures we have together as a family! Even our youngest loves this! So it is truly the perfect adventure for the whole family to enjoy in winter-time.
GIFTS FOR GAME LOVERS
I'm not talking about electronic or video games, but actual, real, games. Here are some of our favorites.
Cover Your Assets Card Game
One of our favorite family games. Super easy to play and fun for the whole family.
Skull King
A little more complicated than Cover Your Assets, but this game is still super fun to play. My older kids and us really enjoed it.
Suspend Family Game
This game is fun for literally the entire family! Even toddlers can get in on the fun of trying to build a tower without letting it crash down!
GIFTS FOR COOKS
These gifts are perfect for families who love to cook together!
Blackstone Griddle
This is seriously our new favorite cooking spot! We have made everything from breakfast to hibachi on this outdoor griddle and it always tastes so delicious. And it is big enough for multiple cooks to get involved at the same time.
Brava Smart Oven
Seriously one of the coolest smart ovens ever! We love trying new recipes with this or adapting old family favorites. My whole family loves to use this to cook.
Shaved Ice Machine
If you really love snow cones, this commercial grade snow cone maker is a great choice!
Bradley Smoker
For the family who loves to cook, smokers are a great way to perfect your BBQ and other delicious items.
Berkey Water Filter
If you care about the food you eat, you might also care about the water your drink. The Berkey Water Filter is the ultimate at home water filter.
GIFTS FOR MOVIE LOVERS
For families who love to enjoy a great movie night, here are a couple of fun ideas your whole family can enjoy.
Projector Screen
This foldable projection screen is the perfect place to project your movies onto while also being portable and storable.
OTHER GIFT IDEAS
Karaoke Machine
This karaoke machine is fun for the whole family! My kids have spent hours enjoying this and can't wait to have friends over for a karaoke party too! Use code "JOLLY20" for 20% OFF and Free Shipping from December 6-17, 2021.
The best family Christmas gift guide
...in shorter list form 🙂
Gifts For The Beach Lover
Gifts for the Outdoor Adventurer
Gifts for Water Lovers
Gifts for Travelers
Gifts for Winter Lovers
Gifts for Game Lovers
Gifts for Cooks
- Blackstone Griddle
- Pizza Maker
- Brava Oven
- Cotton Candy Machine
- Snowcone Machine
- Smoker
- Berkley Water Filter
Gifts for Movie Lovers
Other Family Gift Ideas
- Karaoke Machine (Use code "JOLLY20" for 20% OFF and Free Shipping from December 6-17, 2021)
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