Last-minute Christmas Gift Ideas for Genealogists
Do you have a loved one who is avid about family research, but you just don’t know what to get them for Christmas? When buying gifts for genealogists, it can be difficult to really understand what will be of use to them.
Like all hobbyists, genealogists all have unique ways of doing what they love – and consequently use different sites, records, resources, and tools to attain – and retain – the information that they often ever so vigilantly search for.
For this reason, it is important to consider how your relation goes about their research; do they keep physical documentation to store their research? Do they take notes in a journal to log their progress? Do they use a paid subscription on a research site such as Ancestry? Are they interested in DNA tests, and the insightful information they can provide?
Whatever aspect of genealogy they are interested in, there is always something that can be bought to assist them along their family tree tracing adventures. Sit back as we discuss just a few ideas to help you in picking presents for the family historian in your life!
Ancestry Subscription
First things first – many genealogists use Ancestry to build and research their family tree. With a wealth of databases (especially if you pay for an “All Access” membership, which provides access to over 27 billion records), other public family trees that could provide valuable, the ability to collaborate with other family tree researchers, and many other functions, it’s not hard to understand why the platform is so popular.
When buying an Ancestry subscription as a gift, you ultimately have three choices of plans. These include:
- All UK & Ireland Records (£69.99 for 6 months, £119.99 for 12 months) – the basic giftable subscription that provides access to all UK & Ireland records.
- Worldwide (£99.99 for 6 months, £179.99 for 12 months) – includes access to UK, Ireland and all other international records that are on Ancestry.
- All Access (£119.99 for 6 months, £224.99 for 12 months) – provides access to all records on Ancestry, Military records on Fold3, and articles on Newspaper.com Basic.
As you can see, if you choose to go down this route you have a few options, so pick according to where their research takes them!
Should you be interested in gifting an Ancestry subscription this Christmas, click here to find out more. It is important to note, you cannot gift an Ancestry subscription to someone with an active plan. If the recipient of the gift already has an account, we’d recommend that they set up a new secondary account to utilise the gift subscription.
DNA Kits
Growing ever popular, DNA kits are manufactured and supplied by various companies. These various companies all utilise different techniques and databases to determine a rough estimate of a client’s ethnic roots.
Many genealogists like to use DNA kits to verify their family research – or in some cases, to challenge it. Let’s have a look at some of the more popular kits on the market:
- Ancestry (£59 for the AncestryDNA kit, £69 for the AncestryDNA kit + Traits)
- MyHeritage (£47)
- 23andMe (£59 for the Ancestry + Traits Service, £99 for the Health + Ancestry Service)
- Living DNA (£69 for the Your DNA ancestry kit, £89 for the Your DNA ancestry & wellbeing kit)
DNA kits can provide an eye-opening experience for anyone – perhaps the genealogist in your life would appreciate one this year!
Supplies for Keeping Archived Documents
Does the genealogist you know keep old family photos, old documents, old letters, or any other old, potentially fragile memorabilia?
Perhaps it’s worth considering buying supplies that they can use to protect and maintain their collection. Some items of memorabilia, such as old photos, should ideally be handled with special archival gloves. This helps to protect them from fingerprints, dirt, chemical reactions – the list goes on.
Maybe they don’t have a good place to store their collection? You could consider buying them a specialised box to protect their invaluable documents, so that they can be preserved for not only their own research, but also for the sake of future generations.
Let’s have a look at some specific ideas:
- White Cotton Gloves (£7.95 for a pack of 10) – perfect for ensuring that documents and memorabilia are kept safe from damage whilst handling.
- Archival Clamshell Boxes (£3.00 to £6.40, depending on size) – specifically made to keep old documents in, these boxes are perfect for archiving old photos and memorabilia.
- Archival Polyester Clear Sleeves (£16.00 to £84.00, depending on size and quantity) – great for storing documents individually, these sleeves are made of museum standard polyester, and offer long term protection for the pages stored within.
If you think archival supplies would benefit the genealogist you are close to, but don’t know specifically what will be of most use to them, perhaps mix and match different items in smaller quantities – you don’t want to go buying them five boxes if they only have one small album of family photos to store!
Genealogy Books
Genealogy-themed books come in various forms, be it teaching how to find and best utilise a certain type of documentation, teaching a new research technique, or telling the tale of an author’s own genealogical research adventure.
If you feel like a book might be a good idea as a gift this Christmas, here are some good locations to find a wide range:
Some books are also available in e-book format, which might be to the gift-receiver’s preference!
We hope this blog has given you some useful gift ideas for the genealogist you know! If you still can’t decide on what to buy, why not read some of our other blogs to find out more about the general field of genealogy – it might help steer your decision!
