Need a new camera, completely clueless.

Hey all,

Christmas is on the way and I'm really looking for a new camera to help capture those special family moments now that everyone has gotten a bit older and moved out but my current camera just doesn't seem to be cutting it! I know in an ideal world I'd be looking at a dSLR but in all honesty I don't think it'd be the most practical thing as ideally I'd be able to take my camera out with me for my nights out, and having something that slips into a pocket is ideal!

However I don't really want to compromise on image quality, having used some entry level dSLRs I can really say I was massively impressed with the image quality. I'm really open to suggestions, so please fire away. My budget is probably about £250. Thanks.