External hard drive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMinimum actions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \n
Export a fresh GEDCOM<\/strong> from your main tree.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
Copy your:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Research notes<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Key scans (parish registers, old letters, certificates)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Important photographs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Store these in at least two different places<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n- \n
Your computer and<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
An external drive \/ memory stick or<\/strong> a cloud service.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nInclude a simple text file:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMain family tree is in [software name].
Backups are stored here: [location].
Last updated: [date].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Print that note and put it somewhere obvious with a label such as \u201cFamily history \u2013 start here\u201d<\/em>. This is the sort of dull but crucial documentation that prevents years of work from disappearing.<\/p>\nAs family visits for Christmas you might want to give one of them a memory stick with your backed up work, explain what it is and ask them to safekeep it and ask them to bring it back next Christmas. If one of the copies should, God forbid, be destroyed in some sort of dramatic event, there is another copy to start from.<\/p>\n
\n4. Write One Christmas Snapshot per Ancestor<\/h3>\n
Instead of \u201cwriting a family book\u201d (which easily becomes too big), try something smaller and more manageable:<\/p>\n
\nWrite one short Christmas snapshot for a few selected ancestors.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nPick a few people or couples you know reasonably well from your research. For each, write a brief paragraph describing one<\/em> likely Christmas in their lives.<\/p>\nBase it on evidence:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Census information (household size, occupations).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Bygdebok descriptions of the farm or local conditions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Known events (emigration, a death that year, a bad harvest).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Local histories describing Christmas customs in their region and period.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Keep it clearly labelled as a reconstruction:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cReconstructed scene based on 1900 census, parish records and local history for [place].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Store these snapshots in one document or folder. Over several years, these can become a useful narrative supplement to your bare facts: short, sourced \u201ccase studies\u201d of how specific families may have experienced Christmas.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n5. Sort the Paper Drift<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/files-1614223_640.jpg?resize=278%2C217&ssl=1\")
Most active genealogists accumulate loose paper: printouts from Digitalarkivet, scribbled notes from bygdeb\u00f8ker, random references from conversations or talks. Remnants of prior genealogy projects<\/p>\n
Year-end is a good time to stop that from turning into chaos and a very suitable small genealogy research projects.
<\/div>\n
Simple three-pile method:<\/strong><\/p>\nPrepare three labelled piles or boxes:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
To file<\/strong> \u2013 material you want to keep and store properly (binders, folders, plastic sleeves).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
To process<\/strong> \u2013 notes and printouts that contain information still not entered into your tree or log.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n- \n
To discard<\/strong> \u2013 duplicates, unreadable printouts, and things you have finished with.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nSpend a set amount of time (30\u201360 minutes is enough):<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Put each piece of paper into one of the three piles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
File the \u201cto file\u201d material in the right binder or folder.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Make a small, realistic to-do list from the \u201cto process\u201d pile for January.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Remove the \u201cto discard\u201d pile from your workspace without overthinking it.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You don\u2019t need to finish everything. Even partial progress reduces friction for future work. These a meant to be small tasks that don’t take long to do.<\/p>\n
\n6. Log What Actually Happened This Year<\/h3>\n
![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/computer-gd4b7402bd_640.jpg?resize=263%2C175&ssl=1\")
Your tree probably focuses on the past. Use the end of the year to ensure the present is recorded too<\/strong>.<\/p>\nMake a simple list for the current year:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Births<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Deaths<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Marriages \/ partnerships \/ separations<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Moves<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Other major events (graduations, major illnesses, retirements, etc.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Add whatever you currently know:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
Names<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Places<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Approximate dates<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Brief notes (\u201cMoved from Molde to Trondheim for work\u201d, \u201cStarted studies in Bergen\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Later, you can fill in exact dates. For now, your small project is preventing recent events from being forgotten or misremembered.<\/p>\n
This can live as:<\/p>\n
\n- \n
A page in your research log for each year, or<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
A chronological \u201cFamily Chronicle\u201d document you update annually.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n7. Scan Christmas Letters and Recipe Cards<\/h3>\n
Christmas often brings out boxes and drawers that are otherwise ignored: old cards, letters and recipe collections.<\/p>\n
These are sources.<\/p>\n
Look for:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- \n
Long Christmas letters<\/strong> with:<\/p>\n\n- \n
Addresses<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Names of new children<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Notices of moves, jobs, illnesses<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Old recipe cards<\/strong> in recognisable handwriting for:<\/p>\n\n- \n
Fattigmann<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Krumkaker<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Lefse<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- \n
Sauces and methods for Christmas dinner<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Actions:<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/photos-7666143_640.webp?resize=297%2C198&ssl=1\")
Most families pull out at least one old photo album at Christmas. Instead of telling yourself you\u2019ll \u201csort the photos one day\u201d, decide that this year you will deal with the one that\u2019s on the table right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/external-hard-drive.webp?resize=227%2C140&ssl=1\")
![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/martinroe.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/approval-15914_640.jpg?resize=157%2C236&ssl=1\")
These small genealogy research projects are not spectacular, and they don\u2019t require silence or long stretches of concentration. They are small, targeted actions<\/strong> that fit around normal Christmas life.<\/p>\n