The Perfect Family History Gifts For the Genealogy Lover
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Family history gifts genealogy researchers really want! Thrill family with these unique heritage gift ideas. Your one-stop gift guide.
Gift shopping can be difficult. Do you ever feel like you have run out of gift giving ideas just when the holidays or a birthday roll around?
It’s okay, I do, too!
If you have a family historian or genealogy enthusiast on your gift shopping list, I’ve got the perfect family history gift suggestions to jump start you shopping. Actually, I think you’ll like the list so much, you will find yourself shopping for yourself! Don’t worry, I won’t tell!
The family history gift ideas below are great for any time of the year or any gift giving occasion. Let’s start making those shopping lists.
Traditional AND Favorite Family History Gifts
Subscriptions to genealogy databases like Ancestry.com, FindMyPast and MyHeritage are always a popular choice for the genealogy researcher. (I use all three!) Whether a brand new subscription or a renewal subscription, it’s not only a perfect choice, but can be purchased last minute.
Consider a subscription to a more specialized database such as Newspapers.com or Fold3. I’ve become quite the fan of Newspapers.com myself.
Every bit as valuable to family history research, researchers seem to be less likely to purchase these databases for themselves. They make a good addition to the subscriptions like Ancestry.com and the others.
Genealogy Education! Is your gift recipient – or you! – searching to learn more about a variety of topics? Legacy Family Tree Webinars is a “must”. With over 1200 webinars on a full array of genealogy topics, it’s a opportunity to further one’s genealogy education from home.
Genealogy Books – All genealogy researchers love books, but which one(s)? Here is a selection of popular genealogy books. (They are all sitting on my bookshelf.)
- The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy Second Edition by Blaine Bettinger
- The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy by Kenytta Berry
- How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records by Sunny Jane Morton and Harold A. Henderson
- Tracing Your Irish Ancestors. 5th Edition by John Grenham – This is the year I finally tackle those Irish ancestors!
Heritage Travel Gifts – Seeing the Land of Your Ancestors
We seek our ancestors and family history for a variety of reasons. One of the ultimate goals for many people is to walk where their ancestors worked. Heritage travel or tourism is a fast growing segment of the travel industry (pre March 2020). Even with many not traveling during 2020, local heritage travel is possible. A heritage travel destination might be an old family cemetery or a drive by an old family homeplace.
For the Heritage Traveler (now and in the future), my favorite item I take is my Travel Scarf! The Travel Scarf has a hidden zippered pocket that holds my phone, my ID, and a bit of cash allowing me to go about my travel without worrying about a purse! No researcher wants to have to keep up with a purse when exploring the family cemetery. Oh, and it’s fashionable, too! š
My next “must take” travel item is TravelWifi! I recently discovered this great little item. TravelWifi is literally wifi in your pocket allowing you to access wifi when traveling. Perfect for your travels back to the family’s homeland or even for exploring the family cemetery. Being able to do lookups or research based on clues found on travels ensures one does not miss out on important family history.
Bonus: TravelWifi fits into the Travel Scarf!
While not a “genealogy item”, the HYDRO CELL Stainless Steel Water Bottle is a great gift for the family historian. (I love this water bottle!) Let’s stay hydrated while traveling and tracking down those ancestors!
Genealogy Tech Gifts For The Genealogy Researcher
Much of genealogy research can be performed online and that means techie things. Genealogy researchers will benefit by having some basic tech needs met.
For those getting started in their genealogy research, a family tree software is a crucial. My personal favorite is Family Tree Maker.
Don’t forget to the back up needs! No family historian or genealogist wants to lose all of their hard work. A yearly subscription to a service like iDrive is a perfect if unconventional gift.
Now this idea is a bit of a luxury gift – the Apple ipad pro . I resisted for several years getting one for myself, but last year finally, gifted one to myself. Best gift ever! I use my ipad every single day for genealogy research and personal use, too.
Personalized Family History Gifts
Genealogy researchers spend a lot of time researching and finding ancestors. It’s natural they want to share and display what they find!
A custom world map showing your roots is a fun and interesting way to display the family origins.
Another customizable option for displaying the family’s roots is the family name sign and map.
I am a fan of bracelets, and was thrilled to find these handwriting bracelets and other jewlry from IMESILVER on Etsy. [Guess what I’m getting myself this year!]
DNA Gifts For Your Family
Genealogy and DNA testing go hand in hand, so it makes sense that DNA testing kits are great gifts for anyone interesetd in their family history. Find DNA test kits at AncestryDNA, MyHertiageDNA, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and LivingDNA. So many options and they are frequently on sale around the holidays.
Curious where I have tested? I’ve tested with AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, and FamilyTreeDNA . I also tested with LivingDNA becuase of my predominantly U. K. and Irish background. My DNA results show I am ~95% British/Irish. LivingDNA breaks down my UK and Irish roots into 21 subregions which helps me narrow down where in the U.K. and Ireland my ancestors came from.
How To Be A Frugal Gift Giver
We love to give gifts, and we love to get gifts. Even more, we love to save money while buying gifts. Here are a few tips to help you save money while shopping for gifts.
Make a Plan! Whether you are shopping at the holidays or for a birthday gift, make a plan ahead of time. Know what you want to purchase and watch for the sales. You’ll be ready to snatch those deals and avoid last minute shopping panic.
DNA test kits go on sale around holidays. Don’t think just Christmas or Black Friday. DNA test kits often go on sale around holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
Shopping on Amazon often? Consider getting Amazon Prime to save on shipping.
Sign up for the Frugal Genealogy Weekly Email to stay in the loop on genealogy and family history related sales. [These emails run from mid-October – December.]
Happy Gift Giving!!!!
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