18 gifts for families to enjoy, anytime of the year

Know an animal-loving family? This will keep them entertained for hours! One for those with older children, as it’s designed for ages 9+, it can be a project the family keep going back to on those rainy days throughout school holidays and summer.

I don’t know a family who wouldn’t adore this – or kids, at least. If it’s a cool housewarming gift for a family you’re looking for, could there be anything better than their own ice cream machine? And since it’s soft-serve, you can wave the ice cream man goodbye as you create your own 99 flavours and concoctions.

This will give a family plenty of ideas of fun adventures and crazy activities to do throughout the year. A great one for a family with young or older kids, there’s room for you to plan your adventures and add pictures too.

I love this is an alternative gift for a family with teens, especially those who love to game – they can create their own Sonic The Hedgehog world out of LEGO bricks. The set can be played too, with rings to collect, Sonic minifigures and all the charm of the video game.

This is the one that will bring a tear to their eye! This family portrait can be fully personalised, from hair colour to the clothes the subjects are wearing, along with a message. I think this is a fantastic housewarming family gift, which they can proudly display in their new home.

Trust me as a mum of a five-year-old, there isn’t a kid in the land who wouldn’t find this rib-tickling hilarious. One you can play when the entire family come over, it’s a humorous game of Bingo with some animal facts thrown in for good measure.

An outdoor pizza oven will delight the entire family, and give you an excuse to pop round for a pizza party! The kids can get involved making their own pizzas, and it’ll make a change from family BBQs come summer.

I think this gift would suit a family with older children, and perhaps close grandparents as a cute activity for teens and grandparents to bond over. There’s over 800 LEGO bricks included, and when finished, creates your own dried flower centrepiece that can be displayed.

What do you buy the family that has everything? An experience! This voucher is valid at over 170 locations around the UK, from paintballing to sightseeing tours to animal park entry. It’s a great gift for the family to save as a fun day out during school holidays.

A fun, personalised search and find mission for the whole family. You can fully personalise the book with up to three children, who are on an adventure to save their two favourite grown-ups.

For kids who love visiting the aquarium, or are repeat viewers of The Little Mermaid, this LEGO set is for them, as they can build three sea animals. I love this for them to do on a Sunday afternoon with the family.

This one is personal, in every sense! As proud pet owners, one gift that my entire family would rave about is anything to do with our dog, and how fabulous would a personalised jigsaw of our beloved pet pooch be? Not only as a keepsake, but a fun thing for us all to do together – dog included.

HELLO Tried & Tested

"Cricut is one of those electronic items that look a bit intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, you can’t believe that you navigated life without it.

"Since getting to grips with it, I’ve loved making all sorts of fun projects with my kids, including their all-time favourite, a money box with personalised ‘Save’ and ‘Spend’ labels, no doubt which one the use the most!

"Our Cricut is used all year round, especially as my boys get invited to birthdays all year round, it’s perfect to make fun birthday cards, personalised gifts and much more."

Andrea Caamano, Website Editor

I know my family would welcome this sweet treat at our doorstep! M&S’ Colin The Caterpillar suitcase gift set includes delicious sweet treats, chocolate and a brownie making kit too. Just don’t fight over who gets the cuddly toy…

If you know a family who have a child hooked on Minecraft, this LEGO Minecraft set could be the thing to tear them away from the screen and into some family time. The LEGO set includes 400 pieces to build the Frog House (a Minecraft institution!) plus plenty of Minecraft details for them to play with.

One sure-fire way to cut down on screen time is introducing the Toniebox to your child's playtime. Essentially a kid-friendly radio that is totally tumble-proof, it plays stories and songs from Disney classics to Peppa Pig, Paddington, and Peter Rabbit. 

Simply collect the Tonies figurines and settle down for hours of fun.

This easy to handle drone is ideal for drone-newbies, and is said to be one of the most simple to operate, allowing the whole family to get in on the act.

Fun for all the family, My Talking Hank: Islands is perfect if you and your family enjoy mobile gaming. As well as taking care of Hank your virtual pet, there's a whole host of exciting features and mini games.