Guide · 17 October 2026
A family tree chart as a gift for parents or grandparents.
If you are the one in the family who did the research, the best gift you can give the people it is about is the version they can see without a screen: five generations, drawn from your own names and dates, printed and framed. Here is what to collect, what to do about the gaps, how big to print it and how long to allow.
Draw mine, $59 See the Hartley sample
Start from the person it is for
A chart is drawn upward from one person. For a 70th or 80th birthday, that person is the one with the birthday: they sit at the left, their parents next, then grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. Five generations is 31 people when every line is known, and for someone born in the 1950s it reaches back to the 1850s — the generation that emigrated, moved to the city, or worked the mill or the farm the family still talks about. For a gift to both parents, draw two charts, one from each; a chart that starts from a child of theirs has to split its space between two families and both halves come out thin.
The 31 people, and what to collect for each
- How they relate to the root person (father, mother's mother, father's father's mother…)
- Full name as the family writes it, maiden name for married women
- Year of birth, and the town if known
- Year of death, if they have died
- One line: a place they lived, or what they did
- Your Ancestry, MyHeritage or FamilySearch tree: export it as a .ged file (where the button is)
- A desktop program: File → Export → GEDCOM
- Paper: a typed list of 31 lines is enough, like the one the sample was drawn from
- Memory: the one line about each person is the part no website has. Ask.
Years are enough. Full dates clutter a wall chart; if you want them, put them in the notes line and we fit what reads cleanly.
What to do about the gaps
Every five-generation chart has them: a great-great-grandmother whose maiden name nobody wrote down, a birth year that is “about 1868”. Leave the name blank and write the year as the family knows it. A chart with honest gaps is a family document; a chart with guessed names is a decoration, and the guessed name is the one the oldest aunt will spot in the first minute. We draw only what you send. Nothing is looked up, nothing is filled in, and a blank card is drawn as a blank card.
How big to print it
- 36 × 24 in or A2 for the wall: five generations in readable type, in a standard 24 × 36 poster frame. This is the PDF we send first.
- A3 or 11 × 17 in for a desk, a hallway or the family who has no wall: fits a home printer. We send this PDF too, from the same chart.
- Print at a photo lab, a copy shop or an online poster printer on matte paper; leave about an inch of border for the mount. A black or oak frame suits the cream chart; glass is fine, anti-glare is better in a bright room.
How long to allow
Two days for the chart, one round of changes if a spelling needs fixing (it usually does), then printing: same day to three days at a local lab, a week or so from an online printer with shipping, and a day or two for a frame. Allow a week from order to a framed chart, two to be safe before a birthday or a reunion.
What it looks like
Questions
How many generations should a family tree gift show?
Five, counted from the person it is for: them, their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents — 31 people when every line is known. Five fits a 36 × 24 in chart with readable type and reaches back to the 1850s for a parent born in the 1950s. Six is possible but the type shrinks and the back row is mostly gaps.
What information do I need for each person?
How they relate to the root person, their full name as the family writes it, year of birth and the town if known, year of death if they have died, and one line about them: a place they lived or what they did. Years are enough; full dates are not needed on the chart.
What if I do not know some ancestors?
Leave them blank. A chart with honest gaps is a family document; a chart with guessed names is a decoration. We draw only what you send and never look anyone up or fill a line in. Many families find the blank cards become the conversation at the table.
What size should I print it?
36 × 24 in (or A2) for a wall; it frames in a standard 24 × 36 poster frame. The A3 PDF we send fits a home printer and an A3 frame for a desk or hallway. Print at any photo lab or copy shop on matte paper and leave about an inch of border for the mount.
How long does it take?
The chart is drawn within 2 days of your order, with one free round of changes. Printing at a local lab is usually same day to three days; online poster printers add shipping. Allow a week from order to a framed chart to be safe.
Can I use my Ancestry or MyHeritage tree?
Yes. Export it as a GEDCOM (.ged) file — the steps for each site are in our guide to printing a family tree from Ancestry — and tell us which person the chart is for. Or type the 31 names into the order form.
Send a .ged file or a typed list; the chart comes back as a 36 × 24 in PDF, an A3 PDF and a web image within 2 days. One free round of changes. $59 · £49 incl. VAT · A$89 · C$79.