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Have any of you married into a large family? Perhaps one that has branches overseas or across the country, so you didn’t have an opportunity to meet anyone before the big day? When my Aunt got married, she went through photo albums with my Uncle, over and over again, because he was going to meet about fifty of us in the space of a week or two!
This a really, really affordable and easy engagement gift idea. I have to admit that I found it in an online forum, somewhere, sometime. This is a fantastic way to make someone feel welcomed and a part of the family. Simply take the following free printable of Family Tree Flashcards, print off a few copies (double sided) and fill them out. I recommend printing them on a thicker paper, so that they hold the photos easily, don’t have the ink bleed through and stand up to being used as flash cards! You can print pictures from your computer, or use real photographs, whichever suits your fancy. On the back, there’s a few lines to let you write in some details about the person.
In order to download the flashcards, click here and save them!
If you can get your family together to fill them out and write a nice welcome letter as part of your engagement gift. It might be a good idea to highlight that “we realize that you are at a distinct disadvantage, as we only have to learn one new face and name yet you will be swarmed by many of us.” This is just in case the soon-to-be relative feels like it is a test!
[Photo – Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike – m-louis]
This is a really creative idea, and I've been thinking about setting up a family tree in general (not as a gift as I don't see anyone in my family getting engaged anytime in the near future!). It's something you can save and look back at down the road.
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That's a good idea. You can get a lot of really nice templates online, or buy one from etsy. I remember being a kid and loving the big family tree diagram, that went back four or five generations!
This is a great idea for a gift. Such beautiful thought behind it. I like that you added you know he is at a disadvantage since he has to remember more faces than one like everyone else. Good post!
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Thanks Jodie! Thanks for the comment, too.
I really want to do this for my family, but no one really knows how we're all related.
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Oh really?? It's that complicated? Wow! You should try and see how far you can make it with the tree!