So you have a family that loves history—congratulations! Here are a few of our favorite gift ideas for your history-loving family.
Kids to Parents:
A Map of your Favorite Places
Make a map of all your favorite places. Include places where important events happened, like the soccer field where you scored your first goal, or places where you feel safe and loved. If you need inspiration for what the map can look like, check out your latest edition of Honest History, the Library of Congress website, your favorite fantasy novel, or an atlas. Don't forget a compass rose and key.
An Honest History Craft
Gift your family member(s) one of the crafts from an Honest History magazine. When you give it to them, share what you learned in that issue. Take your time and be careful with the cutting and gluing so it looks nice.
Either:
Oral History Projects
Stories are the best inheritance. Grab a phone, computer, camera, or tape recorder and ask your family members about their lives. Give them warning, so they have the best stories prepared. When life is busy, having recordings of loved ones can be a nice way to foster nostalgia or keep someone with you who lives far away. Preparing questions can be a fun way to practice your investigation and communication skills too.
Dinner from the Past
If you're a parent, a big enough kid, or a kid with the help of an adult, try your hand at baking something a historical figure may have eaten. Next time you have breakfast for dinner, try taste-testing George Washington's favorite food (hoecakes!), John F Kennedy's favorite waffles, and a pancake recipe written down by Rosa Parks to see which is best. Check out presidential libraries, historical sites, and museum blogs for more free recipes. If you're a kid, remember cleaning up after yourself is an important part of cooking for someone else.
Parents to Kids:
Museum Day
Sometimes the best gift you can give your kids is spending time with them. Take them to a local historical site, museum, or living history event to learn something new. Check out a tour or try playing I Spy or doing a scavenger hunt with the museum displays. Remember to check in with your local library to see if there are day passes you can use.
"Topic" Club
Let your young historian(s) pick one event in history to learn about and grab books about that event for the whole family, based on each family member's reading level. Read these books together, then chat about what you learned. Need help finding a book? Check out the suggested reading or the bibliography section at the end of a historical book your kid(s) like. For more fun, make bookmarks or reading trackers together.
