Gift Idea #41 – Gift Basket

Posted on December 19, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

idea numbers41 We all know all about gift baskets but this one has a little twist. The theme is an ancestor or a family story. To start pick your focus. Then think of things to go in the basket that will help tell about your focus. Photos would be great. Maybe some object about the person or the story. Write up something about your focus. If you happen to have a book about the subject this would be a fun way to give it to your family. If you are lucky enough to have a video that would be great to include. Something to eat would be a must. If there is food involved in the story, that would be perfect. Or if the person has any favorite foods include those. You could add a few things just to make the basket look pretty too. The idea is to fill the basket with things that can create an environment that will help the story or person feel real.

Gift Idea #40 – Memory Wreaths

Posted on December 18, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

There are lots of other ways to put together a wreath than the one featured in Gift Idea #39. These are not so much geared to Christmas decoration but to share stories and memories about your family year round. There are lots of options for this project ranging from elegant to modern to shabby chic. Below are example using everything from clothes pins to canvas to lots of tiny picture frames.

The focus of your wreath could be vintage photos to photos you took last week. It could include just one person or grandparents or an entire family. Think of a story you would like to tell using photos and/or objects and gather what you have to work with and see where your creativity takes you. The examples below are just a jumping off point for your personal project.

Heirloom Wreath

Burlap and Canvas Family Heirloom Wreath

Canvas Collage Wreath

Family Tree Wreath

Picture Frame Memory Wreath

Clothespins Memory Wreath

Family Tree

This idea could be adapted to a wreath but I like it just the way it is too.

Gift Idea #39 – Christmas Wreath with Memorablia

Posted on December 17, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

Simple put this idea is to decorate a wreath with old family photos and other objects from your families past. This gives you the opportunity to share with others the stories about your ancestor.

I learned about this idea at a genealogy conference a couple of years ago. I went to a class by Lisa Louise Cooke. She opened my eyes to the possibilities of ways to share family stories. Lisa has put together four videos with detailed step by step instructions on how to make a family history Christmas wreath. You will find the links below. Have fun with this. Use these videos as a starting point and adapt the idea to your own taste situation.

Family History Christmas Wreath – part 1

Family History Christmas Wreath – part 2

Family History Christmas Wreath – part 3

Family History Christmas Wreath – part 4

Gift Idea #38 – Family Home Dollhouse

Posted on December 13, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

If you are good at building things I think it would be so cool to build a dollhouse for the youngster in the family based on a historical home in your family. If you are really ambitious you could make it to scale and as accurate as possible. This is not a project for the faint of heart but it would be sure to become a family heirloom. But you could also simplify things and still make it representative of the old family home. It would be fun to furnish it with period furniture and accessories.

A simpler version of this gift idea would be to find a dollhouse to buy that has been inspired by a period of history that has some connection to your family stories.

Gift Idea #37 – Family Name History

Posted on December 13, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

Do you know where your last name came from? I think it would be interesting to do some research on your family name and gather the information together on a sheet of paper, a booklet or even a book.

You might find a family crest. You might find the origins of the name. You might find out what your last name means. You could trace back your genealogy just following this family name. You might find some of the famous people with the same last name and see if you have a common ancestor.

There is some free info on surnames on the internet and some information that is available for a fee. I’ve never used any of these services, so I don’t know if they are worth the fees. Here are some of the more interesting resources I found.

House of Names

Surnames – History & Origins

Learn about the family history of your surname

Gift Idea #36 – Family T-shirts

Posted on December 12, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

It would be fun to design a t-shirt for your family. You don’t have to have a family reunion to have matching shirts made. Just come up with something that represents your family, its values and what makes it unique. The t-shirts could include the family name or the relationship of the family members, like uncle, sister, grandfather etc. They could feature an image of a common ancestor or place of origin. A family in our neighborhood loves Disneyland. Disneyland is really a big part of their family traditions, so a t-shirt for their family would have to include something about Disneyland. It will probably take some brainstorming to come up with a good design. You could get lots of family members involved in a project like these. You might want to have a contest to decide the design. Or narrow the designs down and then have a vote to select the final t-shirt.

Gift Idea #35 – Charm Necklace (Bracelet or Key Chain)

Posted on December 12, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

Charm necklaces and bracelet are very popular these days. I’ve made a charm necklace for the puppies that I raise for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Then when they leave us to return for training I wear it everyday until their graduation. When I miss them, I can reach up and feel the charms and think that they are close to my heart.

The same principle will work for family members too. Pick a few charms that represent the person in someway. The family member could be someone who is far away for some reason or one who has recently passed away or even someone from the distant past that your family is focusing on. You could make a card to give along with the charms to explain the symbolism behind your choices. I think key chains would be a good choice for male family members or someone who doesn’t like jewelry.

Gift Idea #34 – Maps

Posted on December 11, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

I love maps and I think they would make a great gift for young and old alike. By hanging a map of the country or area where an ancestor lived it gives you the opportunity to talk about that person and to learn a little more about what life was like for them. The map could be very graphical and simple like these:

My Roots Collection

Or something with lots and lots of details. The map could be a world map with pins or stickers to make important locations to your family or it could be the map of just a city and show the different addresses where your family has lived. The map could be modern or it could be a copy of an old antique map. By googling maps I found this store with all kinds of cool maps.

Maps.com

They even do custom maps. Wow, this makes me want to continue to explore all the options of map. There are so many options, one (or more) is sure to work for your situation.

Gift Idea #33 – Family Calendar

Posted on December 11, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

I’m working on my calendar to give this Christmas. It is still in process but I’m getting close. I’ll post about it when I get it finished. I’ve done a calendar many times before and there are lots of ways to do them. Most local copy centers are set up to do a calendar. You supply the photos and they do the rest. There are tons of online sources for calendars too. Here are just a few.

I’ve always made my calendars myself, using Adobe InDesign, so I can’t recommend any of these options but I’m sure that they all make some great calendars. It is fun to add family birthdays and special events to your calendar. I’ve seen calendars where you put the photo of the person on the date too. You can use current family photos or historical photos. This can be a quick project by using one of the services available or a longer project if you do it yourself from scratch. The possibilities are endless but a family calendar is sure to be a big hit.

Gift Idea #32 – Family Trivia Game

Posted on December 10, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

I love this idea that I stumbled across on Martha Stewart to create a family trivia game to be played at a family gather such as after dinner. Just put together a set of questions ahead of time about your family members and see how much fun everyone will have guessing the answers and learning new facts and stories about their family.

There is even a little Trivia Booklet you can download to put your quiz questions in. I bet that this game will become of treasured family tradition for many years to come. Have fun with this idea!