My brother and sister-in-law have eight kids (yes, eight, and yes, they are Catholic lol). I would love an idea for a gift(s) that the entire family could enjoy and cut the cost of buying for each child seperately. Here are the ages:
girl (almost 2) boy(age 5) boy(7) girl (10) boy(13) girl (16) boy(17) and the oldest doesn't live at home.
If you have any ideas (other than a Wii, they are already getting that) I would appreciated it. Even ideas for gifts for those age groups would be good if I can't find a gift for the whole family. I could go up to or around $100 for a single gift. Thanks in advance! :)
p.s They are Christians, as mentioned, so faith based gifts would be acceptable.
I thought it was someone in this forum but I think I might be wrong but it was a great idea...
Someone suggested a hot air popcorn popper, a bag of popcorn kernels, and then buy each child a DVD movie. Maybe to cut costs you could pick a few family movies. I also liked the game idea and thought it could work in place of the movies.
If they are getting a Wii what about buying a couple games for it?
Or you could buy some games the whole family can play - Cranium games, Scene It games, etc.
Or what about a movie basket filled with snacks and a few movies. Favorites in my extended family (oldest nephew being 12) include "Cheaper by the Dozen", "High School Musical", "Shrek", "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", "Yours, Mine and Ours", "The Muppet Movie", "Annie", "The Music Man" - movies about families and musicals seem to have the widest appeal among the nieces and nephews.
I do like the idea of a family pass to a local venue.
How do you feel about a consumable gift? My family all loves the delicious arrangements of fruit from www.FruitFlowers.com. They will deliver beautiful designs with a variety of themes and the fruit is always just wonderful. Every piece of fruit is fresh, juicy and sweet. It's great for a big group because while they are incredibly tasty, they are difficult to save for too long. My kids (1.5, 3 & 5) love them and so do the older kids in my extended family. The kids love to grab a "cantelope moon" or "strawberry heart" on a stick. They are fun to eat and so healthy. Is the older child home during the holiday festivities? You could have it delivered while he's there so he can take part too.
I think all the gifts mentioned are great, but let me throw in one more suggestion.. what about making a donation of a gift in their names to somewhere like Heifer Project (maybe donate a sheep and give the little kids stuffed sheep?) http://www.heifer.org/or Meds and Food for Kids http://www.medsandfoodforkids.org/ (with tons of peanut butter cookies, candies, etc). I think that would be a great way to make sure they keep the spirit of Christmas and make sure some other folks have a great christmas too!
What about a family membership to the Pittsburgh Science Center ($130 gets 2 adults, 4 kids and a caregiver PER trip all year) or Pittsburgh Zoo($70 for all kids, parents for the year!)? Also, I think you can do a "mini" package with the Pirates so the could head over to some games at PNC Park in the spring!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me feel like a wuss complaining about feeding 3 kids! How about personalized T-shirts for each kid, maybe something with their name and maybe even a little "title", like "Amy, the Princess"? If you don't like this, maybe for the younger ones a children's Bible if they don't already have one. For the older one, there are those Chicken Soup for the Soul books, some geared towards teens or pre-teens. Good luck!!
Season passes to Sand Castle run around $60.00 a person. With a pass the parking is free. Think about how many times that gift would keep giving! And it is great for every age! This was the first year we bought the passes and I am giving them as a few gifts myself. Also, if you sign up to receive e-mails, they send you "buddy days". That means that each pass can bring a friend free that day. And I think that 2 and under are free.
Just an idea....
Good luck.
I was going to suggest a family membership to the zoo as well.
