Family Christmas gifts split into two jobs: one present the whole family shares, or something separate for every relative on the list. This guide covers both, with suggested budgets, so you can tick off mums, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins without buying eight things you are not sure about.
Every idea here is an experience gift card, which is why one gift type stretches across a whole family: you set the value, they choose when and where to use it.
Jump to:
- One gift the whole family can share
- Christmas presents for a big or extended family
- 8 family Christmas gift ideas, one per relative
- How much to spend
- Long distance family gifts
- Frequently asked questions
One Gift The Whole Family Can Share
If you would rather give one present than eight, give the family something they do together.
A trip is the version of that which nobody outgrows, and it solves the problem of buying for people whose taste you do not really know.
Three shapes work well:
- A stay everyone travels to. A Hotelgift card covers the accommodation for a family weekend, so the only thing left to agree on is the date. Useful when the family is spread across the country and needs a middle point to meet in.
- Flights towards a family holiday. A Flightgift card goes towards the part of a family trip people put off booking. They pick the airline and the destination themselves from hundreds of airlines.
- A day out over the Christmas period. If the family is together anyway, a shared outing beats another parcel. A trip to the Edinburgh Christmas market or one of the London Christmas markets turns the gift into a day in the diary.
The practical advantage of one shared card is that several people can put money into it. Rather than four relatives each buying a £50 present, they can go in together on one gift worth £200, which buys something the family will actually plan around. You can read how experience gift cards work if you have not given one before.
Christmas Presents For A Big Or Extended Family
Big families are a logistics problem more than a taste problem. Buying eleven separate presents that feel roughly equal in value, for people you may see once a year, is where the stress comes from. A few rules make it manageable.
- Budget per household, not per person. One gift to your brother's family of four is easier to buy, easier to afford and more useful to them than four small ones.
- Keep the gift type the same and change the value. If everyone gets an experience gift card, nobody is comparing a hamper against a jumper. You can give your parents a £300 card and your cousins a £50 card without it reading as a ranking.
- Agree a cap before anyone shops. Set the number together in the family group chat in November.
- Send digitally to anyone you will not see. Extended family you are not spending the day with can have the gift by email instead of by post, which removes the delivery deadline from the equation entirely.
- Let them choose the date. Experience gifts suit relatives whose calendars you do not know, because nobody has to commit to a weekend in December.
8 Special Ideas For Christmas Family Gifts
If you would rather give each relative their own present, here is one idea per person, with a suggested value and a way they might use it.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Mums
Suggested gift card value: £200
Redemption suggestions: A UK spa weekend or a European city break
Kicking off our list of the best Christmas gifts for mums is a Hotelgift card. With one gift card for hotels, she can book stays in the UK, across Europe and further afield.
Hotelgift also covers a wide range of accommodation types, from sustainable hotels and ski hotels to B&Bs, luxury resorts and adult-only properties. As with every gift card from Experiencegift, you can add your own photo and message, and choose the value yourself.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Dads
Suggested gift card value: £300
Redemption suggestions: A luxury golf weekend or a city break
Next on our list of the best family Christmas gifts is one for the dads. For dads who would rather have a weekend away than another gadget, a hotel gift card is the easier buy. Whether he is into:
- Golf
- Road trips
- Ski trips
- Sporting city breaks
He can choose from a wide range of hotels: a golfing weekend at a top resort in Scotland, a luxury ski resort, or a cosy hotel in a historic European city. Personalising the card with a message makes it feel like a chosen present rather than a voucher.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Brothers
Suggested gift card value: £200
Redemption suggestions: A hostel in Berlin or a weekend with friends
Our next family Christmas gift idea is a hotel gift card for your brother. Whether he is planning a trip with friends to Amsterdam or a solo weekend in Berlin, the card covers the accommodation. He can choose boutique stays, modern hostels or eco-friendly hotels, and put the money he saves towards the rest of the trip.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Sisters
Suggested gift card value: £200
Redemption suggestions: A European getaway with friends
A Flightgift is a strong Christmas present for a sister who travels. If she is always talking about a weekend in Paris or a holiday in Ibiza, this card lets her book flights with the major airlines flying to countless international destinations. She can plan something spontaneous or save it for a trip she has been putting off, and you can personalise the card with a photo and message.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Grandparents
Suggested gift card value: £300
Redemption suggestions: A peaceful countryside stay or a seaside break in the UK
For grandparents, a Hotelgift is a great Christmas present that lets them explore Britain or visit relatives who live further away. They can choose from a selection of UK destinations, whether that is a:
- Peaceful stay in the Cotswolds
- Serene B&B in the Lake District
- Cosy seaside retreat in Cornwall
The redemption process is simple, which matters for relatives who would rather not wrestle with a booking site, and there is customer service available if they get stuck.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Aunties
Suggested gift card value: £150
Redemption suggestions: A luxury UK weekend
For aunties who like a little luxury without going far from home, a Hotelgift works well. She could take an upmarket weekend in Durham, or a break on the Jurassic Coast. Whether she has a week free or a single night, she redeems it against whatever fits her schedule.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Uncles
Suggested gift card value: £100
Redemption suggestions: A historical weekend getaway in Europe or the UK
Treat your uncle to a Flightgift. Whether he is keen to explore cities like Rome or Berlin, or prefers a shorter domestic flight within the UK, this family Christmas gift card gives him the choice of a wide range of airlines, including names British travellers book with regularly.
The Best Christmas Gifts For Cousins
Suggested gift card value: £50
Redemption suggestions: A UK city break or a quirky stay
For cousins who travel, or who just want a change of scene, a Traingift is a good-value family Christmas gift idea. Whether they fancy a journey through the Scottish Highlands or a Eurostar hop to Paris, it pushes them to book something. Add a photo and a message to make it personal. If you are buying for a cousin who has just finished studying, our graduation gift ideas cover the same ground.
How Much To Spend On Family Christmas Gifts
There is no correct number, but there is a useful principle: keep the gift type constant and let the value do the work. These are the suggested values used above, gathered in one place.
| Who it is for | Suggested value | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mum | £450 | A spa weekend or a European city break |
| Dad | £300 | A golf weekend or a city break |
| Grandparents | £400 | A UK countryside or seaside stay |
| Brother or sister | £200 | Accommodation or flights for a short trip |
| Auntie | £150 | A luxury UK weekend |
| Uncle | £100 | A short-haul flight |
| Cousin | £50 | A night away or a hostel stay |
| A whole household | £200 and up | A shared family stay, often split between several givers |
For immediate family, most people land somewhere between £50 and £500 depending on what the gift is for. For extended family, smaller amounts between £10 and £50 still buy a night away or a contribution towards one, which is more than the same money buys as an object.
Give Long Distance Family Gifts With Experiencegift
Gift cards from Experiencegift work as stocking fillers, and they also solve the relative who lives three time zones away. Instead of posting a parcel and hoping, you can:
- Forward a PDF experience voucher
- Send an animated eGift straight to their inbox
As with the physical cards, you can personalise your family Christmas gift with a photo and a message. If the person you are buying for is further away than you would like, our guide to long distance gifts has more ideas in the same vein.
If you are travelling to them instead, a longer trip can be the gift you give jointly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I give a family for Christmas?
Something they use together tends to beat something they each own separately. A shared stay, a trip or a day out gives the family a date in the calendar rather than another object in the house. An experience gift card does this without you having to pick the destination for them.
What is the best Christmas gift for a whole family?
A gift card towards a family trip, because the value scales with the size of the family and everyone gets something out of it. Several relatives can also contribute to one card, which turns four modest presents into one that pays for a weekend away.
How do you do Christmas presents with a big family?
Budget per household rather than per person, keep the gift type the same across everyone and change only the value, and agree a spending cap before anyone starts shopping. Sending digitally to relatives you will not see in person removes the postal deadline as well.
What should you get extended family for Christmas?
Aunties, uncles and cousins are the hardest group to buy for because you know them well enough to want to get it right and not well enough to know their taste. A gift card they redeem themselves sidesteps that, and a smaller value still buys a night away rather than an ornament.
How much should I spend on a family Christmas gift?
It depends on your budget and how close the relative is. As a guide, between £50 and £500 for immediate family and between £10 and £50 for extended family works, and experience gift cards let you set any value in between so the same gift suits both groups.
Can one gift card cover a family of five?
Yes. You set the value on an Experiencegift card yourself, so a single card can cover accommodation for a whole household rather than one person. Check the current minimum and maximum values on the buying page before you order.
What can I send family who live abroad?
A digital experience gift card, sent by email as a PDF or an animated eGift. There is nothing to post and nothing to clear customs, and the recipient books their own travel when it suits them.
Buy Experience Gifts For Your Family This Christmas
With Experiencegift, you can give the whole family one gift or give each relative their own, using a Hotelgift or a Flightgift card. Send a physical card in the post, or send a digital one to relatives you will not see on the day.
See what is available, choose your value, and let the family decide where they are going.