Family Heritage Publication Templates

Easy to use Templates for Microsoft Publisher & Word!

Instructions for Using the Family Heritage 
Reunion Booklet Template for Word

 
(Approx. five sheets 8-1/2" x 11" paper)

To save this file, do a "File", "Save As" then choose html or txt format and save it to your hard drive. Or, use the print me button above. 

TO OPEN THE TEMPLATE: Open Microsoft Word. Choose "Existing file". Open the folder where you placed the downloaded template, "Family Heritage", open it, click on the file name and Word should open the template file for editing.

Or, double click on the downloaded template. Follow the directions below carefully. If you have any problems, e-mail me.

REUNION BOOKLET TEMPLATE:

The Family Heritage Reunion Book template for Word includes:

• Front Cover
• Reunion Activities
• Acknowledgement/Dedication
• Ancestor History 
• Family Trees for both sides of the family
• Map of family origin
• Memorial of deceased relatives 
• Games
• Family Addresses 
• Bio of oldest living family members (with photos)
• Spotlight bio 
• Changes
• Quotes
• Poems 
• Contributions 
• Markers for Photos: 
• Planning Guide  
• Order Page  
• Back Cover (with mailing format) 

TOTAL PAGES: 20 (ten 8-12" x 11" sheets printed on both sides, stapled, bound on the left edge.) 

Making the Reunion Booklet:

• As soon as you open the original template in Word make a copy (or two) to your hard drive immediately! DO NOT SAVE YOUR NEW BOOKLET WITH THE SAME NAME AS THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE! Use the new copy to create your booklet and not the template.
• FIRST, YOU MUST PRINT out a complete copy of the booklet so that you can see how it is organized. You will need ten sheets of (8-12" x 11"). paper. Use draft quality black print for the 1st sample only. Print using portrait view.
• Pay close attention to the way your printer feeds out the completed page. Put a dot on the edge that comes out first (this will be the top of the sheet for you). Put a dot at the top of each successive page as it prints out.
• To assemble the book, begin with the first printed sheet. Lay this sheet printed side down and place over it, the next page printed side up. Blank sides should be together. Make sure the top edges each have a dot. When you pick it up, you should see the outside front and back covers. Flip it over and you'll see the inside front and back covers. Staple at the left and right edges. Repeat for each set of pages as they print out. 
• When the sample printing is complete, you will have ten single sheets stapled together to make twenty booklet pages. 
• The above step is very important! The layout of the booklet will make more sense when you see it printed out. Please do not skip making a sample printout.  
• If you change the order of any printed page in your sample, be sure to make the corresponding change on your template. Pages are arranged in the order they will print. They should be printed back to back. If you get confused, start with the top page and work your way to the back cover.  
• If you must insert pages, remember to do it two pages at a time. If you do not have enough material to fill two pages, leave one page blank and check the alignment of the pages which follow. Otherwise, the pages will print out of order.
• In addition, you will probably need to adjust the color settings of your printer. Better to get that out the way before you do the final printing. After your booklet is complete, print out a color sample.
• If you are using Word 2000, you may receive a message stating the fonts used in our template are not on your computer. Ignore the message. After the document is open, choose "Format" on the tool bar, select "Text Styles" and choose Arial for the default font. We used Arial Rounded Bold for headlines in the booklet.
• Be careful when changing to any other font style. The physical dimensions of a point sizes can vary dramatically. 10 pt in one font can be 14 or 8 pts in another font. We recommend that you do not change the size of the fonts used on the template unless you select a font whose point sizes are the same physical dimensions. 
• If you do change fonts or point size, check each page to make photos and text are in the appropriate place.

  Photographs:

• Markers for photos are included on each page. The photos are, of necessity small. However, when printed out, they should look just fine if you scanned in a photo no larger than 4" x 6".
• Remember, the quality of the printed booklet will be determined by the quality of the photos you are using, the paper you use and the resolution of your printer.
• Single headshots work best. However, you can select one person out of a group shot when you scan and edit your photos. Mark group photos with the name of the person you want to use so you can find it easily.
• Remember, it is difficult to reprint and copy fuzzy or grainy photos. Booklet photos will be as clear as the photos and printer you are using.
• Reduce your edited photos and save them in jpeg format before using them in the template.

How should I prepare my original photos?

• Choose your best quality black and white or color photos. 
• Write the full name of each relative along with their birth date (or an event and the date) using a pen with a soft tip, a removable label or piece of removable tape attached to the back of each photo.
• Because of the small size of the photo place holders, you may not achieve good results from reducing large size photos. The optimal size to scan for clear results is 4" x 6" or smaller.
• Place the photos in a marked envelope to keep them all together. 
• Be sure to return them to the person who loaned them to you. :-)

Printing:

PAGE LAY OUT/FORMAT: If you want your booklet to print in the correct order, do not change the original format of the template pages. Remove any notes or special markers before the final printing. Delete the red square on each upside down or sideways page before the final printing!  

After you add the photos to this template, the file will be over 50 MB. Unless your printer can handle it, you should print the booklet as two separate documents. You will end up with four documents: the template, your completed original, and two copies of the completed booklet.

Due to variations in printers, you may need to adjust the left hand margin to compensate for the binding you plan to use. A cover stapled on, might work okay. But, plastic or metal comb bindings will need additional space in the left margin. After printing your sample, add the binding to see what will work for you.

There are two ways to handle printing your final document. Method One works best if your printer can not print photos and text in the same document with clear photo results. Method Two works best if your printer will do photos and text with clear photos. Print a sample copy of your completed booklet on the glossy/photo quality paper just to be sure.

PRINTING METHOD ONE: (1) When your book is complete, use the "Save As" command to save it twice - with a different name each time. Save one copy as Family reunion A and save the same document again as Family reunion B. Open Family reunion A and delete all of the text leaving photos intact. Open Family reunion B and delete all of the photos leaving the text intact. Print Photos first, change your printer settings if necessary, then re-insert pages and print the text. Pay close attention to the layout of each page and the order they must be inserted. Mark the page tops as shown above.

PRINTING METHOD TWO: Or, (2) when your calendar is complete, use the "Save As" command to save it twice - with a different name each time (?Family reunion A?, ?Family reunion B?.) Keep the original ?Family Reunion Book? intact. Delete the first half of ?Family reunion A? (pages 1-8). Delete the second half of ? Family reunion B? (pgs 9-16.)  Again, pay close attention to the layout of each page and the order they must be inserted. Remember, they are set up to print one side at a time.

GENERAL PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS: Print page one (which will be the outside cover pages), flip it over, reinsert in your printer. If your printer has automatic two-sided printing, and you use that option, do not select "reduce contents to fit page". Otherwise, follow the instructions for your printer regarding page insertion - taking care to insert the paper so that it will print in the correct order. Use the dot you placed on the edges of the sample calendar as a guide. Then print page two. Continue printing thus until the whole booklet is complete. You will have ten physical pages printed on both sides showing twenty booklet pages. 

To avoid overloading your printer, I recommend printing each page five-ten copies at a time until you print all you need, then, assemble the pages in the correct order. Staple the pages together three times along the fold, about one inch from the top, in the center and one inch from the bottom. You will need a stapler that can handle ten sheets of paper or more. You local copy center (Office Depot, Office Max, Kinko's) should have one you can use on premises. For an extra nice touch, get staples to match the color of your cover.

What type of paper/printer should I use?

• For covers use heavy weight (80 lb basis) glossy white or a good quality lightweight card stock. 
• Inside pages should be a lighter weight glossy white, good quality plain white or photo quality paper for the photos to look their best. You can use regular 20 lb paper. However, your photos probably may not be very clear. You will need to find a paper supply/printer supply store (Arveys etc.) to get letter size size glossy stock or photo quality printing paper (8-12" x 11").
• Local copy centers (like Kinko's) can usually handle producing your booklet on 60-80 lb glossy stock if you bring your own paper. Call in advance, just to be sure. You may have to take the finished booklet and paper to a printer otherwise. 
• For about $2.00 each, you can get your covers laminated at Office Depot, Staples or Office Max. Kinko's usually costs more.
• Any printer with a dpi of 1200x1200 or higher should work just fine for printing photos. Be sure to set it on the highest available resolution when printing your photos.

General Reunion Booklet Notes

(1) Preparation time: It can take up to four weeks for gathering the info, preparation and printing. Please plan ahead.

(2) All photographs should be returned to the original contributors.

(3) The pages of the booklet contain notes, comments and helps to guide you in red. Make sure you delete or replace them with your own text before printing your book.  :-)

The Details:

• Decide which family members you would like to spotlight: oldest living on both sides, youngest living on both sides, most distinguished, famous, etc. Get birth (birth place, year, month, date) info for each living elder member of the family for whom you are planning a bio. Also include historical details of their lives, milestones, interesting anecdotes, spouse, progeny, accomplishments, etc. 

• In addition to the info above, get the birthplace, year, month, date, burial place and death year of each deceased relative you will put in the reunion book. 

• Your family tree can be extended back ten generations for the Reunion Booklet. Count ten generations back from the last person born and start there. A generation is generally twenty years.

• You may or may not include photos with the bios of elder family members you are spotlighting. 

• Gather the address details of each family member. Put family members who are living together under one address.

• You can add pages if you wish. The template requires they be added four at a time in order to preserve the layout and printing  order.

Use these suggestions to have fun discovering your family history. 

• Make gathering family info, selecting photos or assembling the book a rainy or snowy day project for your children.

• Have a potluck supper and ask everyone to bring a dish, their photos, memories and stories.

• Take an elder family member out to lunch or dinner to talk about the family history. Usually, they feel honored that you asked them out and will share what they know. 

• When you interview elder family members try to tape record what they tell you or at least, write it down. If you borrow their photos for the booklet, be sure to return them!

• There is room to add a page with just photos if you wish.

• Bio individual distinguished or elderly family members or whole families in your clan.

• Have a focus for your booklet: Elder living members, children, accomplishments, business owners in the family, etc. Use your imagination! The purpose is not to show off or brag. Very often, families have a predisposition to certain interests or occupations. As you prepare your booklet, it will become clear to everyone.

• Try to include all members of the family, especially the kids: use attractive photos, gather poems, favorite sayings, events they remember, their achievements, awards won etc. 

Organizing your family info is easy! Just gather these items: 

?         Photos of all persons you wish to include: parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Think about including adopted or foster children.

?         Ask your brothers and sisters which sayings of your parents, grandparents they remember. Write them down and include them in the book.

?    A family genealogy: the map of your family tree can be extended back ten generations. Start with the last person born and count back ten generations. A generation is generally considered to span twenty years. Clearly indicate all relationships. For family members with the same first and last name, be sure to include Jr., Sr., and III etc.

?        Names of the cities and towns in which family members live for the acrostic.

?        Photo and brief biography of each family or family member you plan to highlight in the booklet. 

?        Photo and biography of each ancestor you plan to highlight in the booklet.

?        Baby/youth photo and brief distinguishing accomplishment of each ancestor you plan to use in the match game.

?        Names and special accomplishments of the kids in your family that you plan to highlight in the booklet.

?        List of reunion weekend activities. Names of reunion committee members with addresses and contact info.

?       Tape recorded or written family history. 

?         Contact information of each family by name, with complete street and E-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers.

I hope you have fun creating your Reunion Booklet from my Family Heritage Template. If you have any questions or need help, just e-mail me or call Business Phone and leave a message. I endeavour to answer questions by return calls or e-mail within 24 hours.

May God bless you, your family and your event.