I love the idea of giving an Ancestry.com Gift Membership this holiday season. I started doing genealogy about a year ago. And though I don’t have much time to devote to the activity, I feel compelled to nurture my family tree whenever I can.

Who would enjoy this gift?

Give an Ancestry.com Gift Membership to:

• An Individual. Great idea for someone interested in family, in need of a new hobby, or who likes to use the computer.
• A Teenager. Kids are better at computers than adults, and genealogy can be interesting and addictive. It’s better than video games! An activity like this could bring the whole family together.
• A Family. This would make a great family gift from you or from your entire family. (“From our extended family to yours”)
• Blended Family. All of our families are blended in one way or another. Start researching the family tree and see how alike we all are.
• Newlyweds. What a fun way for the new couple to merge tree branches and start a family tree of their own.
• New Parents. Researching our family tree took on new meaning when I put my children at the beginning. This would make a great baby shower gift.
• Someone in Mourning. Researching family lines might help him deal with the future by connecting to the past.

This gift would also be a wonderful sentiment on Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Grandparents Day.

Make the Gift Membership Fun

My ideas for making a genealogy gift membership more personal:

• Christmas Tree. Attach the gift membership to a mini-Christmas tree. Tie it on with a bow or make it into an ornament.
• Tree for the yard. Attach the gift membership to a tree that is ready to plant. They can grow both trees at the same time.
• Garden tools. They can use both tools for cultivating.
• Seed packet. Smaller than a tree, easier to mail. Deliver a gift membership for growing a family tree plus seeds to grow a real tree or plant.
• Family picture. Doing genealogy is about connecting families and finding out who you are. Deliver a gift membership with a picture of your family or their family. Or find a picture frame that says, “Family.” (I’ve seen several).
• Miracle Grow. Using Ancestry.com is like putting Miracle Grow in your garden. With the tools on this site, growing your family has never been faster, easier, or produced better results.
• Book on Genealogy. Deliver the membership with a book or a list of websites to help the recipient get started.
• Time. Volunteer to help with the effort. Doing genealogy together is like solving a mystery or putting together a puzzle. You’ll have fun as a team.

Through a series of events this past year, family has become increasingly important to me. And not just my own family. I’m compelled to bridge the gap with my in-laws, step relations, and distant relatives. We may not see each other daily. but we are all part of the same family tree. Ancestry.com is helping me see that–both literally and figuratively.

Michaels posted this video on their Facebook page and I wanted to share it with you. Several little gifts are tied together with a ribbon, all stuffed neatly into a shipping tube. As the recipient pulls the ribbon, the presents are revealed, leading up to a big gift at the end. Jo’s finale is a crafty Valentine t-shirt, but I suggest topping things off with a gift card instead.

My Version

I love what Jo has done, but for my taste (and time constraints), I’d probably get a smaller tube and tie just two or three items en route to the gift card. You’d get the same effect without the added expense and effort.

Fun Themes

You could adapt this idea to any occasion–a baby shower, bridal gift, teacher appreciation, or birthday. I see a theme tube as well–maybe a group gift of several gift cards tied to the ribbon. Or a movie gift card tube including snacks and movie tickets with theater wrapping paper on the tube itself. A baseball themed tube with sports page wrapping and baseball cards, sunflower seeds, cracker jacks, and an MLB gift card inside. Oh, a tennis ball canister would work great here as well. Uh-oh, I’m starting to trip over myself with gift card ideas! Seriously, who doesn’t want to open a string of goodies to get to a gift card??! So many possibilities.

Speaking of Michaels

Speaking of Michaels, don’t forget to answer the Valentine’s Day poll to be entered in the $25 Michaels Gift Card drawing. You just might win and then you can march yourself down to Michaels to make your own Valentine’s Day tube! Good stuff!

Would you expect to receive a car maintenance gift card at your baby shower? Probably not. But DolphinV27 is the winner of the Jiffy Lube gift card contest because I loved her idea for turning the unexpected Jiffy Lube gift card into the perfect gift for an expectant mother.

I’m partial to baby thoughts right now because my little sister, designer of this site, just delivered her first child. Seeing her drive around with the empty car seat in anticipation of the baby’s arrival, reminded me that getting the car ready to safely transport a newborn is just as important as preparing the nursery. (Perhaps even more important!) A Jiffy Lube gift card can help parents do just that.

Another reason I picked this idea is because it’s scalable—you can make the gift elaborate or something quite simple. Dolphin suggests nestling a Jiffy Lube gift card into a new car seat along with a baby blanket and a variety of toddler travel items. Then add a note that reads, “Because you never know where life will take you,” which applies both to cars and to the adventures of parenting.

So that’s a big gift. But a Jiffy Lube gift card accompanied by a single baby travel item (e.g. car shade, sippy cup, travel wipes, etc.) would be less expensive and just as thoughtful.

Thanks DolphinV27 for helping us turn a Jiffy Lube gift card into a thoughtful gift. I’m adding your idea to the New Baby section and will be sending the Jiffy Lube Graduation gift card packet shortly!

Don’t miss the Mother’s Day give away to be announced shortly! Subscribe to this blog or follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss the announcement.

As you know, my little sister Brooke is expecting a baby. Her co-workers surprised her with a gift certificate to her favorite spa on one of her last days before maternity leave. They cleverly Photoshopped a Pampers diaper logo onto a poster that read, “Pamper Yourself!”

I couldn’t help but copy that SO cute idea in a less graphic-skills-required kind of way. Get your expectant friend a package of Pampers and attach a gift card to a spa or salon so mom and baby both get a little “Pampering!” You’ll be the hit of the baby shower!

This got me thinking about other ways to pair mom gift cards with newborn baby necessities. You could get a pack of baby wipes and a restaurant gift card, then write, “For when you’re too wiped out to cook!” My brain is a swirl with ideas.

Check out the New Baby section for other ideas as well.

My girlfriend Melissa is having her second baby. What I think she’ll need most after delivering this little guy is a BREAK. I got her a gift card to a nearby sandwich shop so she’ll remember to feed herself lunch after the baby comes home (and Daddy goes back to work). I attached the card to a basket of activities for her toddler to play with when Melissa is nursing the new kid in town. (Download the “Take Care of Mommy” gift card holder in the New Baby section.)

On the subject of baby showers, My sister-in-law just turned the group gift card idea into a fabulous baby shower present. Pooling money from friends, Megan bought gift cards to Target for last-minute baby needs, Panera Bread for comfort food, Jamba Juice to refuel, and Bellissima salon for pampering. She tied each card to a plant that will go in new mom’s kitchen—a lovely reminder of the shower and generousity of good friends.

Find other baby shower ideas in the New Baby section.

I’m going to a baby shower tomorrow for a first-time mom. April is having a girl so the gift table is sure to be overflowing with oh-so-sweet pink blankets, dresses, nighties, and sockies. Cute as she’ll look in all that, baby girl is going to need practical items as well. I’m getting April a gift card to Target plus some Bag Balm—my secret weapon against diaper rash. There’s nothing glamorous about udder ointment, but darn if April won’t thank me later when the only thing not pink in the house is her newborn baby’s bottom.

Experienced moms like me are often full of advice. But I think the best thing you can give a new mom is a little reassurance. Because no matter what worked for you and yours, her experience is likely to be different. The “Secret Weapon” gift card holder that says, “The secret to a happy baby is…trust your instincts. You’ll do great!”

Download this gift card holder and get other baby shower ideas in the New Baby section.