MOVIE NIGHT
You have several options here. For going out, you can give gift cards to movie theaters (or to a play, if the family's children can sit through one) that will cover tickets and snacks or to a drive-in plus some popcorn. You can give a subscription to an online streaming service or a gift card to a rental company like Redbox with movie snacks. If you know what sort of movies the family likes and doesn't yet have, give the treats with the movie itself. Depending on your budget, you could even give some blankets or pillows to sit under or on while watching a movie at home.
For a fun presentation, you can pick up a popcorn tub at a dollar store to wrap the gift in.
If the family lives near a zoo, science center, aquarium, museum, or other such place, you can give a family membership. They're usually good for one year. If that's too much, you can often also find day passes. A place like the YMCA is also great for a membership; it has classes for everyone whether taken individually or together and childcare for when the parents need a break during their own workouts.
There might be a class the family would enjoy taking together, maybe an art or cooking class. A family who enjoys going to the library or farmer's market together could use a tote bag that you buy, sew, knit, crochet, or embroider. Think or ask about what the family likes to do together to get started brainstorming.
There are also play areas specifically geared toward kids. If you know the family likes being able to take their kids places like this, a pass card or membership will be very appreciated. Many indoor play areas require socks--if you knit, handmade socks can be a nice conveyance gift to go along with it.
For families who like outdoor activities, you can give items for a picnic (maybe include a handmade picnic blanket and napkins or homemade trail mix) or a hike. There are lots of little accessories for many outdoor activities that get used quickly--sunscreen, bug spray, camp stove fuel, bicycle inner tubes, flashlight batteries. You'll need to be sure you get the right sizes and specifications. For example, inner tubes must be not only the right diameter and width, but the right valve shape too. If you're unsure of the specifics and don't want to ask, a gift card to a store that sells the right items, like REI, works well.
Indoor activities can be good ideas, too. Pair a jar of dry ingredients for cookies with some fun cookie cutter shapes, for example. Get plain ceramic cups or plates and food- and oven-safe paint so everyone can decorate them. Give a set of stepping stone kits for everyone to make one. A board game for family game night is fun, too.
Even a gift card to the family's favorite restaurant works well. My kids are always thrilled to know they can get dinner at Spaghetti Factory, and we parents are happy that it's paid for and that the portions are generous enough that it will be dinner the next night, too.
MEMORIES
A family photo album or collage is a nice way to preserve memories. Depending on what you have access to and what the family likes, you can put one together yourself or provide the supplies to do so. For example, a friend of mine likes going camping with her family and to put up pictures of the family, so I've given her a few collage frames that she's since filled with camping pictures.
You can do a lot with family pictures: portraits, mugs, calendars, stationery (one of my aunts prints custom postage stamps from her pictures), home decor, even puzzles. There are many services online and in brick and mortar stores that will help you print gifts.
Another idea is collecting stories or recipes or other such memories from the extended family. I gave my older brother's family an album filled with family recipes, from my side and from my sister-in-law's side (her mom helped). I also sewed matching placemats for the family and got some fun kitchen accessories that I knew my niece and nephews would have fun playing with.
If the family is facing a situation where someone is terminally ill, offer to do some housework or set up a meal train of dinners so they have more time to make memories. When a family member has passed away, do something with the memories you have: write a letter, make a relevant donation, paint or print a picture. If appropriate, offer to use items from the deceased in a way that shares memories, like a quilt or stuffed toy made from the person's clothes or decorative pieces and ornaments made from jewelry.
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
If you think a single item won't work for the whole family, you can still make several smaller gifts fit the same thing. You can get each person a specific Christmas ornament or book tailored to individual tastes, or make pillowcases or other items in each person's favorite color or motif. Just don't let your desire for it to be a family gift end up leaving a person out--it wouldn't be fun to feel like the black sheep when the gift gets opened. A well-thought-out family gift, however, will give the family something to enjoy together.
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