Christmas is just around the corner, and if there is a genealogist in your life you might be wondering what to get them this year. With the popularity of genealogy these days, Christmas shopping for genealogists is probably easier and more exciting than shopping for just about anything. There is an array of genealogy gifts you can get for the resident family historian, or if you are that researcher, drop a hint to friends and family about! Because the pursuit of genealogy is so internet based these days, let’s first take a look at some electronic oriented gifts you can get for genealogist family or friends.

CD-ROMs and Software

Family Tree Maker 2012 and Legacy Deluxe 7.5 are by far the most popular and comprehensive Genealogy software options on the market today. Both are affordably priced (under $40), and both are rated highly by those who own them. They are equally effective and contain all the features a genealogist needs to organize a family history. Family Tree Maker 2012 stands out from the crowd in one essential way – it is easy to use and understand. The genius of the product is that it is designed to be easily understood by beginners and absolutely effective for more seasoned genealogists. Legacy has its own outstanding features; 3D satellite views, relationship calculator, set-up wizard, and over a thousand interview reports. Both are capable of interacting with online sources such as FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com, and both will be appreciated by any genealogist who doesn’t yet have such software, or who is looking to upgrade.

You can also find record collections on CD ROM. The National Archives Library Information Center has almost 100 CD ROMs containing records from census to immigration and military records, as well as Griffith’s Valuation Index and much, much more. Another organization offering an excellent choice of CD ROMs for genealogists is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). At the LDS Online Store, you will find excellent genealogy tutorials and tools on CD Rom as well as supplies and journals. As the LDS offer so much free information and access to genealogy records to genealogists, shopping with them is a way of giving back.

Books

Research is equally as important to organizing a family tree, and there are many books that also make great genealogy gifts. There are countless publications that family historian’s can benefit from, but three of my favorites are; How to Do Everything Genealogy by George G. Morgan, Genealogy Online for Dummies by Matthew L. Helm and April Leigh Helm, and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy by Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking.

A genealogist not need have any other guidebooks if having these three in their collection. How to Do Everything Genealogy covers all the basics of genealogical research with instruction included for specific geographical locations, Genealogy Online for Dummies provides a comprehensive guide for online research, and The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy, as its name implies is an in depth guide to searching ancestors in the United States. All are well written, easy to understand and make great genealogy gifts.

Genealogical Supplies and Miscellaneous

Amazon.com also offers a vast array of genealogical supplies and heraldic related material that also make great genealogy gifts. Family history scrapbooks, journals, coats of arms, binders and refill pages, voice recorders for interviewing family members, and much more are available on their website, making it a one stop shop for buying genealogy gifts. Remember, Christmas is right around the corner, so you might want to start sniffing out what the genealogist in your life would like to receive from Santa!