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Gift Ideas for Families
 Once some friends came for dinner and brought us a board game of charades geared toward younger players (we have little kids). It was a huge hit. I thought wow, what a fantastic idea! (They also brought bottle a of chardonnay which was an excellent idea too.)It got me wondering what other gift ideas for families I could imagine... you know, things kids like that aren't torture for the adults. For example, my kids love Candyland and I do play it but it is not my idea of a good time. What are some fun gift ideas that please the whole family, regardless of age? Here's what I came up with. These are also great last minute gift ideas for when you don't have a week to prepare. They're all available at Target or the grocery store.  - Backyard games.
You just don't see enough croquet or badminton these days. Croquet can't compete with a Wii I guess, but once you force the kids out there I'll bet they love it. Other outdoor gift ideas for families: Horseshoes, hockey, frisbee, and those neat Nerf sticky-paddle games. 
- Board games.
As I said, charades was a ton of fun. Obviously you don't need a board game to play this but the picture cards really helped my 4-year-old. His silent impression of a baa-ing sheep made me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. Kids also like moving pieces around a board rather than keeping score mentally. Other good board games for the whole family are Twister, Yahtzee, and one you may not have heard of called Blokus. It's totally addicting. I always see all those games at pretty much any drugstore so they're good last minute gift ideas.  - Karaoke.
Hand someone a microphone and you never know what will happen. You can find karaoke machines at Target or Costco at all price points. Be sure and have a videocamera nearby to capture any good YouTube.com material. 
- Cosmic Catch.
This is an electronic ball and 6 wristbands of different colors for people to wear. The ball calls out the color you have to throw to. It's funner than it may sound and gets going pretty fast if you do it right. It reminds me of a game that was popular a few years back called Bop It. If you somehow missed that craze, pick one up. It's a riot. - S'Mores Kit.
I have seen actual S'More kits for sale but it's easy enough to make your own:  Go to the grocery store and buy 1 box of graham crackers, 1 package of big marshmallows, and a few Hershey bars. Find a clean, unused bucket or basket or some sort of receptacle for them. Tie a ribbon around your kit and you've got one happy family.
And in case you're wondering if you have to supply a campfire too, here are the microwave directions: Put a couple squares of the chocolate and 1 marshmallow on half a graham cracker. Microwave until the marshmallow doubles in size (fun to watch). Immediately remove and squish the other graham cracker on top and EAT. Okay I have to go make one now. - Movie Night.
 This could be done a couple ways: 1 Movie ticket per person along with a gift card to cover popcorn and drinks, which would be probably around $100 for a family of 5. So that's one of the pricier gift ideas for families.
For a lower budget version, go to the grocery store and collect Cracker Jacks, candy, chips, sodas, and maybe even a frozen pizza. Then get a Blockbuster gift card from the nearby kiosk or an actual video you know they haven't seen.
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