What are you giving your dad this Father’s Day? Here are some ideas that won’t take long but can be made meaningful by including a little family history.
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Custom Bottle labels
Use an old photo of Dad or another family photo to customize his favorite soda or drink with bottle labels from Pinhole Press. Here’s a tutorial about how to remove the original bottle labels and replace with the ones you order.
Flip Pal Mobile Scanner
If your father is interested in preserving his photos and documents, the Flip Pal Mobile Scanner might be the perfect gift for him.
Maybe your gift to dad won’t be the scanner, but actually scanning and digitizing his photos and records together.
Fold 3 Subscription and Memorial Page
For my husband’s birthday earlier this year, I gave him a subscription to Fold3.com. I also created a memorial page for his grandfather who served in WWII, including transcribing one of the stories we have about him to the story section of the website. If your father is interested in military records, this might be the perfect gift for him.
Memories of Me by Laura Hedgecock
If your dad wants to start writing his 
“Memories of Me” by Laura Hedgecock has many practical tips for getting started writing about your personal history.
I recently gave this as a gift and read it beforehand. Do you ever do that? I wanted to make sure it would be helpful before I shared it.
Laura writes about why you would want to write a personal history, tips for finding the time to write, how to write about difficult subjects, and how to make your content interesting for the reader.
Anyone who wants to undertake writing about their life can gain inspiration and helpful tips from “Memories of Me.”
Shadow Box or Memorabilia Display Case
From military documents and patches to sports uniforms and medals, the possibilities are endless.
I’ve seen some really unique shadow boxes containing tools, clothing, handkerchiefs, keys, a knife, gloves, etc.
Document Frame
It could be a diploma, professional certificate, naturalization record, military record, handwritten letter, or another unique record you’ve uncovered in your genealogy research.
Colorize or Retouch a Photo
Do you have an old family photo that needs fixing? Try fixing it up in Photoshop and getting it framed. If you’re not sure how to retouch a photo, you can try photo restoration services like those offered at 399 Retouch.
There’s also the web service ColorizePhoto, a web based app that lets you try adding color to your black and white photo.
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