FamilyTreeDNA sent me a FamilyFinder test for review. All opinions are my own.
If you need a unique last-minute gift idea, consider FamilyTreeDNA‘s DNA tests! There are a lot of people who would be interested in a kit like this. Just a few of those possibilities include:
People who want to learn more about their family history, such as where their great-great grandparents decended from.
People who were adopted via closed adoption and are ready to try to find their birth parents
People who aren’t certain of their paternity
People who would love to connect with a previously unknown 4th cousin online
People with fragmented family histories, such as those who had part of a family flee a dangerous country and become refugees while others were left behind.
Those who suspect they might have a family mystery, such as unknown siblings from affairs.
Grieving people who want to reconnect with living family.
I was excited to get to try a kit like this because I never have before. I have always been told that my dad’s family immigrated from Germany just a couple generations back. My mom’s family is german on one side and Irish on the other. I’m curious if my results will show additional details about this, though! Especially on my dad’s side, as he really didn’t keep in touch with his family at all. Since my dad passed a couple years back, I’ve found myself more curious about family roots than I used to be. I think this is a common experience for people as they grieve a loved one, to wonder about others who had even really distant connections to the person they loved.
However, for others it can be so much more than just learning more about family members in a curious way. For some, it can be a way tofind answers to major questions like ‘who were/are my biological parents?” which can be truly life changing, of course.
Something really cool about FamilyTreeDNA test kits is you swab your mouth, rather than spitting. Some people have medical conditions that make it hard or even impossible for them to spit. Those people can still get their DNA tested with FamilyTreeDNA! I also just find it less uncomfortable or “gross” to swab my mouth versus spit.
The results take 2-4 weeks to get back to you once sent in. Mine were received November 26th and I haven’t got my results yet so unfortunately I can’t show you my personal results. However, here is a breakdown of what information you get when your results are in:
Ethnic and geographic breakdown of your family origins.
ancientOrigins – this compares your DNA to archaological dig sites in europe showing how much DNA you carry from different groups.
Autosomal DNA matches – Any autosomal DNA matches that are found (up to 5 generations back!) will be listed for you to access.
Family Matching – If (or when) you get a close enough match, you can then sort through your autosomal DNA matches based on your maternal and paternal lines.
The ability to use additional connecting tools like WikiTree which is a free collaborative tree with 42M+ profiles, and MyHeritage which allows you to make your own tree.
Access to group projects which can include surname, haplogroup, and geographic research communities.
The ability to download your raw DNA data which can be uploaded and used with third party tools.
The FamilyFinder kit is currently on sale for just $39! It would make a nice last-minute gift idea. FamilyTreeDNA also offers several other kits. One of their coolest is the Big Y DNA test kit. This is only for those who are genetically male but it offers the most detailed y-chromosome testing on the market! So this is a top of the line kit for men looking to really maximize their knowledge about their origins. While the FamilyFinder kit goes back 5 generations, the Big Y DNA test kit can go back hundreds or even thousands of years because it looks at information from the Y chromosome that passes down unchanged for generations. Meaning, information can be pulled only from this DNA alone, we don’t need to have paperwork evidence to corroborate it. Which is great because it’s very common for families to only have physical documentation for their relatives from the 1800s or earlier. It comes at a much higher cost, but this is the gold standard DNA test for men. The Big Y kit would make an awesome gift for a man who is into genelogy but hasn’t taken that test yet.
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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