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Italian Genealogy Related Gifts

© Eva Holmes

Italian Genealogy Gifts

Some of the best gifts I’ve ever given have been related to genealogy. What could make a person happier than to reconnect with their family history during a season in which fond memories and family traditions play such a large role?

A favorite of mine has been to purchase goods from the town or province my relatives came from. I’ve found videos, books, music CDs, foods—you name it and it probably exists and can be found on some Italian website. It can be difficult to find these things, especially if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for. Most of my discoveries have been accidental finds in results from search engines like www.google.com or the Italian version of Yahoo: www.yahoo.it

Books, either from Italy or about Italy, are the easiest to locate in the United States. You might try searching at www.bookfinder.com, a used book search directory, using the town or province name in the title field. Membership in any of the regional clubs related to your province might also be nice, since they usually include a welcome kit with literature about the town. Quite a few of those also offer area-specific gift items.

Be careful about ordering foods from Italy. The laws regarding the importation of foodstuffs into the US from Europe were tightened during last year’s outbreak of cattle disease in the UK. I’m not sure if those laws have since been rescinded. Check with your local gourmet or international food shop for foods and ask about the regulations before you decide to adopt an Abruzzi sheep.

If you’re trying to be frugal this season, there is quite a bit you can do with the information you’ve collected (and already paid for!). For example, you could make a framed family tree. These are inexpensive, as well as handsome, if you pay attention to the type of paper and frame you use. If fine penmanship and drawing trees isn't your thing, it’s not too hard to find family tree posters with blanks you can fill in. Your genealogy software might even have a feature that lets you create a pretty printout.

Another project, similar to the family tree idea, is to make a scrapbook, which includes some of the documents you have uncovered, as well as any photos you might have. If you aren’t too handy with glue and markers, consider buying one of those collage-like frames that allow you to display several 3x5 photos.