Tag Archives: gift ideas

Gift Idea #28 – Duplicate Old Family Photos

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idea numbers28A really nice gift to share with family is their own copy of the best family photos. My mom did this for us one year. She had enlargements made of a family group shot from her childhood and from my dad’s. If you want to make it really nice you could a frame so that it is ready to go on display.

Having up pictures of ancestors or family members when they were much younger helps to connect the generations and create opportunities to share who they are. Name plaques would be a nice addition to the project.

Gift Idea #27 – Re-purpose Men’s Items

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idea numbers27So after I finished Idea #26, I thought well what about the little trinkets that men collect? Wouldn’t it be neat to take your grandfather’s tie clip or cufflinks and make them into something fun and useful? Men don’t usually have as much jewelry as women but they do have some. Cufflinks would make great earrings. A tie clip or tack could easily be used as a pin. Many of the ideas for re-purposing costume jewelry would work here too.

What about the other little trinkets that men often hang onto? An old pocket watch would make an awesome necklace. Maybe some parts from his toolbox or workshop could be put together in steampunk fashion. It is much harder to find ideas for men’s things on the internet but if you have a specific item, a google search is sure to bring up some ideas if you play with the search terms a bit.

Gift Idea #26 – Re-purpose Costume Jewelry

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idea numbers26Do you have a bunch of old costume jewelry from your grandmother? My grandma had a pretty good collection that was given to any great-grandchild who was interested. But if you re-purposed that jewelry it would have a wider appeal and a new function along with bringing back memories of a beloved family member.  You might even be able to make a key chain for male members of the family to enjoy. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Book Marks

Fridge Magnets

Costume Jewelry Repurposed

Upcycle Reuse Costume Jewelry

Gift Idea #25 – Family Collage

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idea numbers25There are lots of options in using family photos to make a collage. Most of them fall into two categories. The first one is a wall collage. This is when you take your photos (usually framed but they can be unframed) and arrange them on a wall in your house. Here are some examples to get your creative juices going. I really like the ones that include some vinyl lettering.

Family Collage Ideas

Family Wall Collage Ideas

The second style of photo collage is to put together the photos so they fit into frame. This can be done digitally or the traditional way with glue and scissors. If you have some experience with a photo editor like Photoshop the digital way can be lots of fun. Or there is software designed just to help you put together your own collage.

Collage Maker

But there are services available to have your collage put together for you. I found a couple of them.

Custom Photo Collages

Family History Collage

Sometimes though it feel good to work with physical photos and paper instead of the digital ones. For the truly hands on approach here are some directions on how to make a collage in the original way.

How to Collage

Gift Idea #24 – Walk in Their Shoes

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idea numbers24I had the opportunity this past summer to “walk in the shoes” of my great-great-grandmother, Mary Taylor. She was member of one of the handcart companies that got caught unprepared for early winter storms in 1856. At Martin’s Cove they have everything all set up to experience a little of what it was like for Mary Taylor and learn more about her experiences.

A great gift for a family would be to plan a trip to one of the many historic places that are set up to help us experience and understand a bit about the history of the past. Several year ago we had the chance to visit Plimoth Plantation, which has a pilgrim village set up along with an Indian village. It was very interesting but if I had gone with a specific ancestor in mind it would have been more meaningful.

So do a little research and find a place that can teach you about what life was like for one or more of your ancestors. Then plan a family trip. Before you go take the opportunity to learn more about that person. A trip like this can be a wonderful opportunity. Here are a few links to get you started. I think you will find more information with a more focused search.

List of Historical Reenactment Groups

Living History

Living History Sites

 

 

Gift Idea #23 – Ancestor Ornaments

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idea numbers23Wouldn’t a little tree with photos of ancestors be beautiful? Or you could put the ornaments on a full-sized tree in among the other ornaments. This is another conversation starter with the chance to share information about your family member.

Most photo printing places have custom ornament options. Below I have links for RiteAid and Walmart but there are lots more on the web.

If you would like a more hands on approach then the last two links below are a couple of craft ideas for making your own ornaments using photos. Your local craft store probably has more ideas or use your imagination and materials you have on hand to come up with your own creation.

Ornaments from RiteAid

Ornaments from Walgreens

Personalized Ornaments

How to Make Custom Photo Ornament

Bargain Photo Frame Ornament

 

Gift Idea #15 – Family Puzzle

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idea numbers15I got the idea for this gift from a magazine article on family unity.

“My wife and I prepared an object lesson for our children on the importance of family unity by creating a puzzle. I found a current family picture that I then copied and cut into puzzle pieces. I made sure each piece included the face of one family member. Before the lesson I prepared a few thoughts on each person—the things that made him or her unique and special to our family.”

This idea inspired me to think how much fun it would be to do the same thing with an old family photo and have stories about the people on the puzzle piece so that everyone in the family can get to know their extended family members or ancestors better.

You can make your own puzzle or there are many online sources for making custom puzzles from your photos. Of those I looked at PortraitPuzzles.com seems the most compatible to this idea because they have puzzles options with only a few pieces. One way to adapt the idea would be to write numbers on the back of the puzzle pieces and write the stories on a piece of paper with the corresponding number.

Portrait Puzzles

Photo Puzzles

Custom Puzzles

 

 

Gift Idea #14 – Memory Quilt or Pillow

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idea numbers14I have contemplated making a memory quilt for my mom’s ninetieth birthday coming up in a few months. There are a few different basic approaches to a memory quilt. I think the most common is to use fabric from the person’s clothing to make the quilt blocks. Another way is to have photos transferred to fabric and use those in the quilt blocks. A third way in my mind is to choose block patterns that are symbolic of the person the quilt honors.

I think it would be neat to join all three of these into one quilt. Depending on the circumstances you might not have clothing or photos from an ancestor. But you could still create a memory quilt. I can imagine a quilt with blocks that help to tell the story of the ancestors life. It would be neat to cuddled up with a child or grandchild in the memory quilt and share stories about their family.

A quilt could also serve to remember several family members. Or to make the project smaller a pillow could be put together instead of an entire quilt. Adapt this idea to your needs and circumstances. You don’t even have to know how to sew. There are quilters who are willing an able to put your project together for you. Below are a few links with ideas on what others have done for memory quilts.

Memory Quilt

Custom Memory Quilts

Pictures of Memory Quilts

Gift Idea #13 – A Family Tree

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A beautiful family tree or pedigree chart would make a wonderful gift for any member of your family. There are so many, many ways to do a family tree. I did a post about pedigree charts last summer that shows a few options. Some are very simple with and others are very elaborate works of art. You can make your own from scratch or there are lots of options for customized charts. Minted.com has more than a dozen Custom Family Tree Art options. A search of “custom family tree” on Etsy.com comes up with more than 4,000 items. I never dreamed there were so many family tree styles out there. One summer not too long ago I drew a couple of family trees for my mother and my mother-in-law. I’ll have to find those on my computer and write a post about them sometime. You have two options. Create something yourself or pick one of the customizable options out there. If you enjoy drawing or crafting I’d suggest doing something on your own. Look at the options out there and let them be your inspiration.

 

 

Gift Idea #12 – Ancestral Greeting Card

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How about using an old family photo with your family by using it in a Christmas card. I’ve never been too good about sending out traditional holiday cards every year but I think that I’ll add an e-card to this years family directory and send it out for Christmas. I could also use it on the calendar I’m making to give to my family this year. It only seems fitting to use the image I have of Mary Taylor this year with all the things I’ve done to learn more about her. I think I’ll include a very short bio on the back of the card. I’ll post it here when I get it done over the next few days.

There are lots of resources both local and on the internet to help you put together a custom card featuring one of your ancestors. I find another blog post on Making an Ancestral Greeting Card here.