Invite the Ancestors to Your Holiday Dinner

Family History
24 November 2015
by Ancestry®

[Photo credit: Shutterstock]
Looking for ways to to make this holiday season one the whole family will remember? Here are four ideas for making your holiday gathering even more special this year.

You’ll need to do a little planning ahead, but the payoff will be worth it!

1. Sketch out a family tree that goes back a few generations — it doesn’t have to be fancy — and then assign each dinner guest an ancestor. When you invite them to your holiday meal, ask them to bring a physical memento relating to that certain grandparent or great-aunt or uncle. Try to cover everybody on the tree.

At your holiday get-together, display your family tree poster in a prominent location, gather everyone around, and take turns showing what you brought. Go in order: start with one person, then their spouse, and then their children, from the firstborn down to the baby. Perhaps one person’s memento will be a photo of their ancestor, and they can share what they know about that person — his or her full name, when they lived, what they were like, if they worked, a personal anecdote, and how they died. Other mementos might be an old letter, a teacup that belonged to a great-grandmother or favorite aunt, or an old watch left to them by a grandfather.

Ask someone to videotape your family’s walk down memory lane because this activity is sure to get people reminiscing and stories flowing. It’ll be a wonderful session to keep track of and watch again later. You might also consider transcribing the stories for a future time when the videotape or digital copy of the session might not be accessible.

2. Are there children in the family named for deceased relatives? Give them the floor and have them tell the story behind their name. Who are they named after, and how are they related to that person? Why did their parents choose to name them after that family member? Who was that ancestor named for and why? When and how did that person live his or her life? Are there interesting or funny stories about them? How is the child like, or not like, their namesake?

3. Tell some of the funny stories that have come down about ancestors (both those who are gone and those who might still be in the room!) and have small prizes on hand for the first person to correctly identify the person being discussed. This is a great way to pass along family stories. Do this every year, and the children will come to remember the stories and the family members’ names, too.

4. If you are up for a bigger project and want to write the story of your family’s history, announce it at the holiday meal. Have a family tree sketched out ahead of time so you know what names, dates, and places you are missing. Get the conversation rolling as you talk about what you still need to find out and who you’ll be calling later to learn more.

Then the next day, over leftovers and coffee, you can sit down at the computer and look further into what you learned. Are there immigration, census, or military records that can tell you more? School or church records, telephone directories, or probate records that will help round out your family’s stories? You can log on to Ancestry to start looking for answers and filling in the blanks.

It’s a great way to enjoy your holiday dinner with your family, present and past. For more ideas and tools to build your family tree, try a 14-day free trial of Ancestry today.