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The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical reflection on the experience and challenges associated with conducting a family ethnography along with methodological guidance that generates insights for future researchers.

This paper uses a family ethnography as a methodological approach to investigate family consumption in context with a view towards capturing detailed consumption experiences.

A family ethnography is a valuable but challenging methodology to follow in its preparation, practice and publishing. Despite these challenges, they are surmountable with some lateral thinking to conduct methodologically and ethically sound ethnographic research.

The method, challenges and guidance offered here can be used to make the most of ethnography as a methodological approach to family research.

The critical reflection of the experience and challenges of conducting a family ethnography along with the practical advice offered here may guide those considering using ethnographic research.

Contributions include a critical reflection on the experience and challenges of conducting a family ethnography, ethical and methodological guidelines to overcome them and operational guidelines for their use.

This paper aims to understand the relationship between family togetherness and consumption. This is important given the inherent tension permeating discourses of family consumption and a lack of a critical understanding about how togetherness is experienced, expressed and performed. The Nintendo Wii and Wii gaming were explicitly chosen to engage in a more nuanced understanding and to provide a route to access families in their natural consumption habitat.

An interpretive ethnographic methodology was utilised to investigate family consumption in context and used in conjunction with the biographical narrative interpretive method to capture reflective and detailed informants’ consumption experiences. Holistic content analysis was used to interpret and aid thematic development.

Opportunities for idealised family togetherness afforded by the Wii still appeal to family members. Idealised family togetherness is accessed through collective, “proper” Wii gaming but is ultimately unsustainable. Importantly, the authors see that relational togetherness and bonding is also possible, and as such, the lived experience, expression and performance of family togetherness are not prescriptive.

Family togetherness is a useful and important lens through which to understand the dynamic relationship between family, consumption and the marketplace. The authors suggest that current conceptualisations of togetherness are too idealised and prescriptive and should be open to critical rethinking and engagement by both academics and industry practitioners to communicate with and about families and to explore how to be part of relevant and meaningful family conversations.

This study sets out to capture the consumer perspective regarding the purchase request relationship between parent and child.

This interpretive study enhances an understanding of these purchase request experiences as they are lived by respondents. The story of both parents, along with children, is thus considered paramount. Using a series of depth‐interviews and focus groups with parents and children, a key theme emerged through the interpretive process. “The game” permeates their experiences of this request relationship and is virtually unreported until now.

Contrary to extant research, this study positions the contemporary parent‐child purchase relationship as a positive experience where an understanding of “the game” permeates this natural familial interaction. Furthermore, a tacit understanding and awareness of the intricacies associated with “the game”, including each other's roles, tactics, outcomes, feelings and perspectives regarding “the game”, are considered playful and entertaining by all respondents.

First, adopting a consumer‐centric approach as the focus of this research instead of the much reported “vested interest” perspective added a new breadth and dimension to an understanding of the parent‐child purchase request relationship not previously captured. Second, the departure from extant positivistic research, to an interpretive approach proved very beneficial in uncovering “the game”: a novel departure from previous pester power research.