Festive Family Gift Ideas
Some items gifted for review
I’m not sure if you’ve read the tabloids recently, but some people are reporting that there’s this little local holiday coming up called CHRISTMAS 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Apparently, if these news stories are correct, some families like to celebrate this ‘Christmas’ event through the exchange of gifts. A bit far-fetched, I know, but just in case this does apply to anyone out there I’ve put together a little guide to some of the potential items you may wish to buy for your loved one. If this so-called Christmas thing catches on, maybe next year a few more people might be looking for gift ideas too. Time will tell…
Games For The Family
Nothing says Christmas Evening with the family quite like whipping out a board game or two, trying to figure out the instructions for a few hours, playing for a few minutes and then returning to the leftover turkey, whilst ripping open another artisanal cheese from the fridge.
We love board games in our house, especially at Christmas and these are some of our newest additions:
Topix – sometimes the simplest games are the best, especially when you have the family round at Christmas time. This one revolves around being given a topic and a starting letter and trying to name as many items relating to that topic that start with the letter in question. Once you’ve had your turn it passes to the next person to see if they can find any further suitable answers. It’s really simple, quick and good fun for any age, (but aimed at 12+) and available at all major retailers, including Zavvi, at around £21.
Scotland Yard – a bit more complex but still really good fun, and one that takes a good bit of planning ahead to be successful. One player becomes the criminal trying to evade detection and the others become detectives attempting to find the location of the criminal on the run. Players can use various forms of public transport to get across the city and the detectives must work out where the criminal is hiding based on what transport they have been using. It’s a really good game and great fun for Christmas Evening, once you get the hang of the instructions! Available at all retailers around £20 and there is also a Junior version available which is a bit easier to pick up quickly.
Family Quiz Night – A really good quiz game designed to create a level playing field across the whole family. There are 8 categories and each question card has a multiple choice option for children or a ‘normal’, more challenging question for adults. Ideal for anyone aged 8+ and priced around £18 at all major retailers, including Amazon.
Video Games For The Family
If board games aren’t your thing, maybe these will give you a few hours of festive fun with this selection of two player games.
It Takes Two – Such a lovely game, whereby you play a husband and wife duo who have been going through a rocky time, with the aim of rebuilding your relationship. Play through various levels as a duo, solving puzzles, overcoming obstacles and defeating enemies to help rebuild trust, fun and teamwork. My son and I played this game and loved it. The best two player teamwork game we’ve played together.
Unravel 2 – Another great two player game, this time where you both play a cute little character made out of a ball of yarn! Again, you must work together to climb and swing across various levels, dodging baddies and solving puzzles. This game is very much 2D so you can only go left or right, rather than into or out of the screen so in some ways it’s a bit simpler than It Takes Two, but still I lot of fun. Teamwork and communication is a must, so again it’s great for families.
Overcooked 2 – Another classic which is quite fun in one player, but brilliant fun in multiplayer. You work together to produce different types of meals, by chopping, frying, boiling or cooking various items in your kitchen. As orders come in more quickly and the recipes and instructions become more complex the game really gets quite chaotic and quite comical! It’s always a massive race against the clock and a brilliant challenge, especially when in multiplayer.
Gadgets & Fun Items
Finally, a quick look at some items that inject that little bit of fun in any Christmas event or party.
Guitar Teaspoons – No great reason for these, apart from the fact that I think they look pretty awesome! Lovely range of colours, great design, and just a really cool looking thing to have poking out of your tea or coffee! Well priced and available from Amazon.
Koi Morph Shot Glasses – Good quality shot glasses that have a special twist to them – when you add cold liquid to them the little Koi on the outside changes colour to reveal your feelings! They’re by Kikkerland and are available for around £20.
Qualimax Bartender Kit – Everything you need to make the perfect cocktail for your Christmas party this year. Looks great, and has a lot of quality too. Available from Amazon and great value for what you get.
So that’s that for now. Just a few little ideas to help inspire you to look around for something a little bit different this year for your Christmas gifts and parties. Whatever you do, have an awesome Christmas and make some great memories with your family!