Here is a list of family history-related gifts I’ve given family over the last ten years or so.
- Family history narrative books (more here on this idea).
- A square canvas with a screenshot of a historical map of the neighborhood where my dad grew up. I got the image from PhilaGeoHistory’s Map Viewer by finding the map from the appropriate time period. (Rumsey’s collection might be a good place to start for other areas.)
- A new wedding album for my Mom of her parents. We came across some great color slides of their wedding from 1940 and my grandparents never had a proper photo album made, only some individual photos. So, I took the color slides, their professionally-taken photos, and some documents and news clippings about their wedding and put them in a Mixbook. It came out beautifully.
- Postcards from the motel that my grandparents built and ran in the 1960s (found on eBay).
- A matchbook from a restaurant that my great-uncle and aunt ran (found on eBay).
- Cufflinks from the specific Masonic lodge my great-grandfather belonged to (found on eBay).
- A trivet from the specific Masonic lodge my great-grandfather belonged to (found on eBay). (Actually, this was one I kept for myself. But it would be a good gift!)
- A paper program from the specific Masonic lodge my great-grandfather belonged to (found on eBay). (Kept this one, too.)
- A model truck that was the exact model my Grandfather drove for his contractor business in the 1960s. My wife even painted his business info to match exactly what his looked like.
- A framed pair of pictures of my great-grandmother with her signature (taken from her naturalization papers) below.
- A fan chart of our tree at this moment. This is both the most obvious gift and the one I was least satisfied with, despite ordering from a company well known for this sort of thing. But, it serves its purpose of giving a good visual overview of the family even if I don’t necessarily view it as display-ready. Reference more than keepsake.
Additional ideas
- A calendar with historical family photos, events, and ancestor’s birth/marriage/death dates marked.