Editor's note: Thanks to SCGS board member Lynde Young for contributing to this list.
Genealogy gifts will be more meaningful if you offer the recipient the gift of your time, knowledge, technical expertise, and patience while guiding them through the steps of a DNA kit, online subscription service, or software. You can also help organize family photos and mementos.
Let's start with DNA.
If your gift recipient hasn't spit into the tube, they're long overdue. We gave my husband's aunt an Ancestry DNA test kit about eight years ago. Joan is what I'd describe as risk-averse--she doesn't like to try new things, abhors travel, and has only made the 42-mile trek to our house maybe four times in three decades. So, if you give a DNA kit to someone who might be skeptical, make a date to do the test with them and bring some food and drink to turn it into a fun occasion.
Give a gift, but also offer your time to help guide them through the steps of a DNA testing kit or to set up a site like Ancestry. Easing their fears of the unknown may be one of the best gifts for beginning genealogists.
DNA Test Kits
• Ancestry
• MyHeritage If your gift recipient is already an Ancestry subscriber, consider adding Ancestry Pro Tools to their membership. SCGS board member Lynde Young finds its extra features, including Tree Checker, Tree Mapper, and Enhanced Shared Matches, extremely useful in her online research.
Genealogy Software
If you know your recipient would like a particular software program like Legacy Tree, you can buy them the latest version. But find out first. Read up-to-date reviews from trusted sources. TechRadar Pro expert Anna Sevilla recently made a pitch for genealogy software:
"Genealogy software lets you do a lot of stuff, too. For one, you can build your family tree and record relevant information about your ancestors. This includes dates, locations, relationships, and others. You can also take note of your research sources and even link them to the family tree [you] created. You can keep multiple databases for numerous family trees. You can also print out your ancestral charts and family tree or share them with other people electronically.
"Additionally, you can store your photos, audio, and video records, as well as scanned documents related to your ancestors. The software also has a backup feature, so you can keep your information protected. It assists you by providing tips on how and where to search. It also allows you to bring your information from one genealogy program to another."
Sevilla's top picks are Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic 10, Legacy Family Tree 10, and Family Historian 7.
Subscription to Online Service or Database
'Tis the season for deals, deals, and more deals on limited-time subscriptions for genealogical sites. These are consistently among the best ideas for genealogists of all levels.
FamilySearch (which is free, but they need to create an account, and you can help them navigate it)
Offer to Help
Again, I bought a six-month subscription for my husband's uncle, who said he wanted to learn more about his roots. However, he never signed in—for all his tech-savvy talk, he didn't know where to begin. Instead, offer an in-person or virtual visit to walk them through the site's features. For some, websites can seem overwhelming, and it's much easier to sink into the La-Z-Boy and watch Goodfellas one more time.
Helping your giftee with the basics of setting up an account, starting a tree, and showing them some of the more user-friendly features might be enough to spark their interest.
Scanners
If you or your giftee have albums and boxes of photographs occupying precious real estate in your linen closet, a quality scanner is a practical gift that can save money and space, archiving photos digitally. A scanner's resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). So, the higher the dpi, the better quality and more details a scanner can capture old images. Higher-resolution scanners usually mean higher prices.
Would your gift recipient like to take a scanner on-site to a library or repository, or would they prefer a larger scanner for their home office or space? Find out. The Epson Perfection V600 has been on lists of top archival scanners for years. SCGS board member Lisa Taylor has owned one since 2018 and sings its praises. Board member Lynde Young loves her Czur scanner for copying images and documenting pages at repositories. She considers the Czur one of the top gifts for family researchers.
Scanning, Audio, and Digitization Services
Raise your hand if you have multiple boxes of cassette and VHS tapes and are concerned that they are disintegrating. With some research, you can find colleges and libraries with digital centers that will help you transfer your audio and video stuff. You can also use a service like
Legacybox, whose ads pop up everywhere, especially this time of year. Another is Vivid-Pix, which offers several solutions for individuals, professionals, or organizations. Having never tried either service, we encourage you to research reliable sources like good genealogists and access the best services and packages for your recipient's needs.
Books
I'm going to recommend one particular book that is a best-seller and Amazon Editor's Choice for 2024: Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks: Stories and Recipes From Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson.
"This fascinating cookbook/memoir took me 6 months to read, and every moment was well spent. I would read a chapter and cook a recipe, then read another chapter and cook another.
recipe. The stories and pictures were evocative. The recipes were delicious. While I read, I was taken back to my family, the strong women, the hours in the kitchen, the recipes that were never written down but came out perfectly. I read some chapters multiple times and was grateful I could do so. It brought back women who have passed on in body but not spirit. This book is a praise song and is an honored member of my library."
—Amazon Reviewer Wild Cooking Woman, who gave the book five (out of five) stars.
Not knowing which of the many genealogy and family history research titles available your gift recipient might have read, a gift card to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or an independent bookseller is recommended, with a card reading something like: "Please enjoy a new book that will help you with your genealogical journey."
Archival Photo Storage Boxes
Fine-quality archival boxes are a good start for those needing help with organization, like sorting through falling-apart cardboard boxes of old family photos and transferring them to a safer place before digitizing them. Projects aren't as overwhelming if you take baby steps. My favorite boxes have increased in price, but I still recommend Pioneer Jumbo Scrapbook Storage Boxes, which measure 14.75 inches L x 13 inches W x 3.75 inches H and will
accommodate various photo sizes. This is also another one of those opportunities to spend time with your gift recipient, helping them organize photos.
About a year before my mother died, my daughter and I helped her go through family photos. We discussed people in the pictures and wrote notes on the backs. My mom's long-term recall was pretty clear, and she shared memories and stories related to the images I'd never heard before. In retrospect, I'm so glad we took the time to do this.
Educational Opportunites or Conferences
Talk with the gift recipient or someone who knows this person well. Let them know you want to encourage their passion for genealogy and find out which institutes or courses they may wish to attend. These vary from online courses offered through the National Genealogical Society (NGS) to the time-intensive courses provided by Boston University or the GRIP Genealogy Institute in Pittsburgh, held annually in person and online. Cyndi's List offers, appropriately, a list of courses for all levels of genealogical researchers.
Membership to a Genealogical Society
We're biased, but a one-year membership to the Southern California Genealogical Society is one of the best deals for your family research-loving friend, neighbor, or gift recipient. Here's the information on our various types of memberships and the benefits of joining.
A Heritage Tour or Cruise
Oh, right, the sky's the limit. Still, a guided tour of your loved one's ancestral homeland would be the gift and journey of a lifetime. Here's a compilation of tour
Companies in no particular order:
U.S.-Based Research Opportunities
A library, museum, or repository trip is less expensive and potentially more research-oriented than an ancestral tour. Chapman University in Orange houses the Center for American War Letters, the second-largest collection of its kind to the Library of Congress. In addition to troops' letters from all wars, the collection includes photos, citations of service, awards, diaries, journals, and Armed Service Editions of books.
The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charlotte, South Carolina,
opened in June of 2023 and was named one of Time Magazine's "World's Greatest Places" for 2024. Its Center for Family History (CFH) helps visitors with their family history journeys by providing resources and staff that teach beginning to advanced research techniques specific to African American genealogy.
Help plan the visit and accompany your recipient to the repository.
A Mug, Really?
Of course, there's always a coffee mug or t-shirt to add to their collection. You can get one personalized with the recipient's name or a clever saying. Sites like Redbubble, Zazzle, or Printify do personalized shirts, mugs, and other products. I've been tempted to do one after my nephew asked me, "So, what's your end game with this genealogy thing?"
No free products were accepted for this list.
Photo of IAAM courtesy of IAAM
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