The first is our set of Story Cubes that we've had for ages but hardly used. I found a wee bowl for them and set them on the dinner table.
Now sometimes we make up stories which each person continues by rolling a die and adding a sentence or two.
The other thing we're loving is a great set of table topics which you can print out for yourself. These lovely conversation starters are free to download here.
I printed them out at the shop and laminated them before cutting them out. I'm giving our printer away, the ink runs out so quick and always seems to need replacing.
They're very much family based and would be a perfect inexpensive and thoughtful Christmas gift for someone. You could put them in a large jar or container. The files even contain labels to make it look really fancy.
When we first used them the kids got really excited and wanted to go through them all!