The 25 Best Family Tree Gifts for Travelers who Love Genealogy

Are you looking for family tree gift ideas for someone who loves to travel and is fascinated with their genealogy? It may seem like an unlikely duo, at first. But once you think about the things they have in common, it’s actually quite logical.

Go beyond the obvious connection of countries around the globe. Instead, think about the common characteristics of curiosity and an eagerness for discovery. Realize travel does truly open your mind (if you allow it) and digging deep into family history sparks the need to imagine the shoes your ancestors wore. And finally, the process of both travel and family history research lend themselves to a deeper understanding of and a stronger connection to yourself and to the people around you.

So, if you’re searching for family tree gifts for the travel lover in your life, whether they’re genealogy-obsessed or just starting out, this gift guide is certain to have something for everyone.

The 25 Best Family Tree Gifts
for Travelers who Love Genealogy

Genealogy Gifts for the Start of the Journey

Discover long-lost ancestors with an ancestry DNA Gift. Two companies sell direct testing to consumers, AncestryDNA and 23andMe. They offer simple saliva tests that go deeper into genetics so a traveler can discover from where their ancestors came before booking that ancestry tourism flight. The 23andMe kit is great if family members want to better understand their genetic makeup from a health and wellness point of view. The AncestryDNA kit targets family historians tracing back their roots for generations and helps connect them with distant relatives in their family tree.

The ancestry DNA gift will tell the story of a person’s blood. Now, complete the picture with a do-it-yourself autobiography so the recipient can tell the stories in their mind and heart. The Book of Myself contains prompts to be filled in by the recipient about the different phases of her/his life and is among the best selling genealogy books on Amazon.

Travel and Genealogy are both about research. Gift an Ancestry.com research membership. With 11 billion+ records in their database, Ancestry.com is the world’s largest online family history resource. I started piecing together my own family tree in just minutes! As information is added, Ancestry will crawl through its records and create fuller pictures around family tree ancestors, as well as help to add people the recipient might not have known were there. For frequent travelers, online records and mobile apps make Ancestry research easy even away from home.

With billions of records, Ancestry’s database can be overwhelming without some guidance. This Unofficial Guide will help anyone navigate these resources and get the most from their Ancestry.com research membership.

Uncovering all the people in a family tree takes solid research skills. In some cases, records may be easy to find, but it’s also about knowing what information might be there and how it can be figured out. A Family Tree Magazine subscription will give tips, advice, and inspiration for newbie genealogists and enthusiasts alike.

Genealogy Supplies

In the beginning, family tree software may not seem necessary, especially with a membership to popular databases with a family tree creator. However, software is necessary to manage the ever-growing size of a family tree and to save the information in a more permanent way. Family Historian 6 is an easy-to-use program which links to online databases like Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org. It’ll show hints for further research and makes entering information about specific relatives super quick. Its strength is keeping family trees organized and accessible in a paperless format.

There are a ton of scanner options available but the Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner gets high marks for several reasons. First, the Flip-Pal doesn’t need to be hooked up to a computer. Photos and documents scan and save directly onto the 4GB SD card and then can be stored later on a computer with other family history research. Second, the lid can also be taken off so the scanner can capture photos and other keepsakes in photo albums. This is a huge timesaver because old photos don’t have to be removed and put back in their books.

However, the most unique feature is StoryScan, which allows a story to be recorded about a photo and attached to that photo file. The recipient can forever listen to grandpa telling the story behind a photo in his own voice. The scanner travels well whether it’s a short road trip to grandma’s or across the Atlantic to a local community’s archives. The separate carrying bag is compact and keeps the scanner safe.

Genealogy and travel overlap in so many ways. In particular, once that “bug” has bitten it’s near impossible to recover! They’re also both so easy to get started with, but when relatives can’t be found, it’s so frustrating! (Have you ever gone searching for a family member on a cruise ship?!) Luckily, in genealogy at least, The Family Tree Problem Solver offers tips and tactics for going deeper and getting your hands head around that tricky troublemaker. 😉

Ancestry Tourism Gifts

Genealogy travel can be such a rewarding and unforgettable experience. It often involves visiting small towns where you can really get a feel for the culture of the area.

Booking(.com) may be most famous for hotels but they also have thousands of house and apartment rentals, as well as B&Bs in smaller towns. By giving the gift of accommodations you can help the traveling family historians on your list can find lodging in the heart of the villages where their ancestors once lived and worked. 

Whether traveling for a vacation or setting off to visit an ancestral country, a good camera is a must! The Sony a6000 is a versatile, easy-to-use mirrorless camera. The family tree researcher will absolutely love the crisp, clear photos of everything from people and landscapes to village streets and family heirlooms.

Ancestry travelers tracing their roots may find themselves in off-the-beaten-path locations where English or their native language might not be widely understood or spoken. Not to mention, what a richer genealogy travel experience it would be to speak with locals in the same language as long-gone ancestors.

Give a Rosetta Stone gift subscription and let the recipient choose from 30 different languages. PC Magazine has ranked Rosetta Stone the Best Language Learning Software for 5 years in a row. What’s even better are the updates Rosetta Stone has made to their immersion courses. Gone are the days of clunky CDs and needing the same computer to access the program on. Members can access their course and pick-up where they left off by logging in from any device anywhere or through the Rosetta Stone app.
Prynt Pocket lets you take photos from your iPhone and print them onto peelable sticker paper. But, what makes this different than a Polaroid? Well, aside from printing directly from your phone, you can add a video to your printed photo! So, when you view the Prynt through the iPhone app, it comes to life. Not only can a traveler share a photo with any relatives or locals along the way, add the photos to a scrapbook or photo album later and turn static pages into animated video pages! A super cool way to go beyond snapshots and capture family moments and ancestry travel experiences.

The Kindle has long been a go-to for all travelers who love to read but don’t want to lug around a bag full of heavy books. For the travel-loving genealogist, it’s an added bonus because the research books and magazines suggested above all have a Kindle version. And, when there’s time to lounge by the pool, read by the campfire, or during that long plane ride across the globe, fiction favorites like Outlander and Orphan Train will keep the genealogy juices flowing.

Perhaps your family tree researcher already has some genealogy travel booked and you’d like to give an experiential gift to enhance the trip. Think about gifts to reconnect with familial roots or booking time with a local historian to fill gaps in ancestry research.

Genealogy Gifts to Celebrate A Family Tree

Travelers love to display maps with pins showing the places they’ve visited. Mix in a love for all things genealogy and you get this gorgeous custom genealogy map poster by NearAndDearDesigns. With this family tree art, you choose a color and from a variety of other options to make a personalized family tree gift that appeals to both the recipient’s ancestral heritage and wanderlust curiosity!

What’s in a last name? It turns out quite a lot, which accounts for the pride in displaying family name signs. The personalized family signs by WanderingFables are the perfect gift for the family who’s spread out over continents and countries. It’ll go with a traveler’s map theme home-decor while celebrating long-distance family ties.

The last name signs by KeepsakeMaps lets the gift-giver celebrate all the places a family has roots by combining a world map with personalized family name signs. Choose places, family name, add optional text, and even select the sign size for a total win-of-a-gift for that traveler who loves genealogy.

If you’re not sure how to customize family tree gifts for your recipient, then a blank family tree print is perfect. These come printed on natural parchment paper for an old-world, vintage feel. Once filled in with the names of ancestors, this family tree frame becomes a handwritten keepsake. For travelers and family researchers, this blank family tree print can be used as part of a wall display with ancestry travel photos and old family photos alike.

Family research takes so much time! It’s only natural to document it in some way. For scrapbookers, this Honoring the Past page kit includes archival quality paper and stickers to create an ancestry-themed family history book. Combine this kit with a family scrapbook and family tree chart scrapbook paper for a complete gift set.

These original maps by OldMapsandPrints feature continent, country, and localized historical looks at places from around the world. To be clear, these are antique maps and not reproductions. They’re both family history research tools and collector’s items, as they can be used to spot new genealogical details and are easily framed to display in good to excellent condition with other family history memorabilia.

Many travelers carry small keepsakes with them whether it’s a good luck charm, a handwritten note stuffed into a suitcase pouch, or a comfortable accessory like a special someone’s scarf. It serves as a small connection to family and friends back home. Genealogists develop this same connection when they come upon handwritten family artifacts from the past, whether it’s an old birthday card or the letters written between grandparents separated during WWII. So, why not give a customized handwritten accessory to keep the traveling genealogist in touch with where they’re from and the people who fill their hearts. In addition to pendants, keychains, money clips, bookmarks, and charm bracelets can all be personalized.

Want more family tree gift ideas? Visit Etsy for their top genealogy gift picks.

Looking for more travel gift ideas? Check out the best selling travel gear on Amazon!

Which family tree gifts will you give? Which family tree presents would you add to this list?

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