We’re very pleased to announce the lucky winners of our Start Your Family Tree Week competition.

Our winners are:

Claire Stafford, Grant Feltham, Andrea Heath, Rachel Willis, Mary Napper, Katherine Walsh, Maureen Bowler, John Lock, Joanne Collins, Richard Wilson, Jill Marquis, Anne Brown, Christine Hughes, Diane Dare, Ruth Elizabeth Hogan, Diane Gow, Louise Booth, Brenda Wordsworth, Lorna P Cowan, Jane Cree, Steven Shaw, Mary de Burgh, Amanda Prowse, Scott Hamilton, James Stewart, Christine Bone, Christine Hodgetts, John Perfect, Sue Herrington, Janet Taylor, Ann Evans, Carole Davies, Rosemary Rowley, Janet Digby, Kate Taubman, Susan Steel, Jane Roberts, Margaret Lawrence, Leona Thomas, Julie Griffiths, Helen Scott, Laura Clarke, Richard Spencer, Roy Norris and Stuart McGee.

Our winners have been awarded some fantastic prizes - see what they won

Take a look at the correct answers to our questions:

26 December:

Q: How many generations can you record on our free family tree chart (including yourself)?
A: Four

27 December:

Q: Where was Merry Christmas born in 1874?
A: Midhurst, Sussex

28 December:

Q: How old is the one child named Mistletoe in the 1911 census?
A: 10

29 December:

Q: In what year did Joan Christmas marry Peter Tree?
A: 1956

30 December:

Q: How many people called Holly Berry are there in the 1901 census?
A: Two

31 December:

Q: According to ScotlandsPeoples’ occupations guide, what is a Laxfisher?
A: Salmon fisherman

1 January:

Q: What discount code will save you 10% on a findmypast.co.uk subscription until 31 January?
A: NEWYEAR12

Thanks to everyone who entered - we hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks to all of you who entered our Start Your Family Tree Week competition over Christmas! We hope you enjoyed answering the questions - here are the correct answers:

26 December:
Q: According to findmypast’s handy family history interview guide, when is the perfect time to start your family tree?
A: Boxing Day

27 December:
Q: How many people with the surname Partridge were born in Anglesey between 1837 and 2006?
A: One

28 December:
Q: How many people called Mary Christmas are listed in the 1911 census at findmypast.co.uk?
A: 63

29 December:
Q: In what year did Florence Turtle marry Charles Dove?
A: 1936

30 December:
Q: How many people called Ida Snowball are listed in the 1901 census at findmypast.co.uk?
A: Three

31 December:
Q: According to Scotlandspeople.gov.uk’s occupations guide, what is a Pikman?
A: Miner who uses a pickaxe

1 January:
Q: What six letter name is given to the universally accepted file format for family tree software that allows you to save your tree and transfer it from one website to another?
A: GEDCOM

We’ve picked the lucky winners of our competition:

First prize: Karen Leonard
Second prize: Catherine Heath
Third prize: Joy Stocks
Runners up: Margaret Kelly, Ian Thompson, Sarah Doig, Nigel Thomas, Anne Thompson, Andrew Ross, Phil Howe, Joanna Tolhurst, Rosemary Kershaw and Grant Feltham

See our blog for details of the fantastic prizes our winners will receive.

Congratulations to all our winners and thanks to all of you who entered.

Happy New Year everybody!

The final question in our festive family history challenge is:

Q: What six letter name is given to the universally accepted file format for family tree software that allows you to save your tree and transfer it from one website to another?

To help you find the answer, take a look at our Family Tree Explorer page…

Now you just need to send your answers to all seven questions by email to competition@findmypast.co.uk, with ‘festive challenge’ in the subject field by 10 January 2011 to be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes. Remember to include your full name, postal address and a daytime telephone number so that we can contact you if you win a prize. If you’ve missed any of the questions during the week, just refer back to each day’s post here on the blog. See our list of prizes.

We hope you and your families have all enjoyed the first Go ON: Start Your Family Tree Week. The fun doesn’t have to stop here though - visit our Start Your Family Tree Week page to learn about today’s activity.

If you want to carry your family history on into the New Year, you can get 15% off any subscription to findmypast.co.uk until 31 January 2011 by entering the special discount code BAUBLE on the payment page in the promotional code field.

For anyone with a full subscription to findmypast.co.uk, we’ve got a special New Year’s gift for you - millions of records from the Society of Genealogists now online for the first time at findmypast.co.uk: Boyd’s Marriage Index 1538-1840 & Boyd’s 1st Misc Series 1538-1775, Faculty Office Marriage Licence Allegations 1701-1850, St Andrew’s Holborn Marriage Index 1754-1812, Vicar-General Marriage Licence Allegations 1694-1850, Boyd’s London Burials 1538-1872, St Leonard’s Shoreditch burials 1805-1858 and workhouse deaths 1820-1828, and Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills Index 1750-1800.

Search our parish records and probate and wills for these records.

Want to find out more about family history? You could subscribe to a family history magazine - or you might win a subscription to Your Family Tree magazine, BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine or Family Tree Magazine in our competition.

Here’s the penultimate question in our family history challenge:

Q: According to scotlandspeople.gov.uk’s occupations guide, what is a Pikman?

Search the occupations guide for the answer. Find out everything you need to know about our competition.

Now visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out about today’s activity.

To celebrate bringing in the New Year, why not go along to Genes Reunited’s New Year’s Eve party? Between 6pm and 9pm today only on www.genesreunited.co.uk you can access all the records on the website for free including 1911 census householder images.

Special offers for you today:

Save 40% when you subscribe to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine – just use this code: WHFMPW10. Offer ends 1 February 2011.

Try Family Tree Magazine for six issues at the special price of £22 (UK only) – saving 20%. Contact Freefone 0800 6128733 for details and quote FMP2010. Offer ends 31 January 2011.

Save up to 40% when you subscribe to Your Family Tree magazine using this link today. Offer ends 31 January 2011.

Meeting up with relatives at New Year? Why not arrange for everyone to dig out and bring their old family photos with them? Then ask your older relatives to tell you everything they know about the people in the pictures. Write down all they tell you - but not on the back of the photograph itself as that could damage it. Take findmypast.co.uk’s handy family history interview guide (PDF) with you!

If a member of the family owns a scanner, ask them to scan each photo and then email the scans to the rest of the family with notes made from talking to the family. You could even take part in today’s family history activity together.

Don’t forget to enter our festive family history challenge for a chance to win a scanner from Pandigital and lots of other incredible prizes!

Today’s question is:

Q: How many people called Ida Snowball are listed in the 1901 census on findmypast.co.uk?

Search the 1901 census to find the answer. Find out everything you need to know about our competition.

Now visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out about today’s activity.

Take a look at Your Family Tree Magazine’s guide to the 1901 census.

Today we also have a special offer for you from Francis Frith: choose from any of the local historic photos, maps, personalised books and gifts at www.francisfrith.com and get an amazing 25% off any of their products by using this promotional code: FMP2010. This code is valid until 8 January 2011 - make sure you don’t miss out! Why not share the code with friends and family?

Today’s activity is all about finding who your ancestors married, when and where.

Visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out more about today’s activity.

The next question in our festive challenge is:

Q: In what year did Florence Turtle marry Charles Dove?

Search our marriage records to find the answer. Find out everything you need to know about our competition.

How’s your family history coming along? Bitten by the family history bug yet? Did you know that there is a family history society near you where you can meet up with other enthusiasts and learn lots more? To find out where your local family history society is, visit the Federation of Family History Societies website. You might like to join a society linked to where your ancestors came from originally - they’ll have lots of resources and ideas to help your research.

It’s 1911 census day at Start Your Family Tree Week! Search the England and Wales 1911 census now to find your ancestors. If your ancestors were in Ireland in 1911, try looking for them on the 1911 census for Ireland.

Today we have a special England and Wales 1911 census offer: until 9 January 2011 you can view a 1911 census transcript for 5 credits (roughly 50p) and an original 1911 census image for 10 credits (roughly £1). If you’ve signed up to the free trial, these records are already included.

Today’s question in the festive family history challenge is:

Q: How many people called Mary Christmas are listed in the 1911 census on findmypast.co.uk?

Search the 1911 census to find the answer. Hint: you don’t have to count them all - look at the top to see how many results your search has returned. Find out everything you need to know about our competition.

Now visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out about today’s activity.

Today’s activity is all about finding your and your ancestors’ births in our birth records.

Get the whole family involved: each look up your own birth record. If any of your relatives have never been online before, now’s the time to get them started. See lots of useful resources to help them use the internet.

If you were born in Scotland, look up your birth on the ScotlandsPeople website. If you have Irish ancestry, take a look at www.startyourfamilytree.ie

Here’s the second question in our festive family history challenge:

Q: How many people with the last name Partridge were born in Anglesey between 1837 and 2006?

Once you’ve found the answer by searching the birth records at findmypast.co.uk, keep a note of it and come back to the blog tomorrow for the next question. Find out everything you need to know about our competition.

Now visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out about today’s activity.

Today we have two special offers for you:

ScotlandsPeople would like to offer all customers who have existing credits in their account the opportunity to re-activate and use the credits at no cost through the use of a voucher code. This will allow customers who have expired credits to take the opportunity to use these without making a purchase.

All customers who have existing credits can now use the free voucher festive which will re-set the credit expiry to 90 days in their account. Customers may use this voucher any time until 1pm on Wednesday 5 January 2011. The voucher may only be used once in each account.

For information on how to use the voucher, click here.

My-History will give you 10% off when you purchase any of the family history products at www.my-history.co.uk. Just enter this code when you purchase any product: GJF384. This offer is only valid until midnight 28 December (UK time) so don’t delay!

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day and that Father Christmas and his reindeer brought you everything you wanted.

Today the family history fun starts with an activity for all the family - young or old, internet whizz-kid or first timer online!

To kick off Go ON: Start Your Family Tree Week, here’s the first question of seven in our festive family history challenge:

Q: According to findmypast.co.uk’s handy family history interview guide (PDF), when is the perfect time to start your family tree?

To enter findmypast.co.uk’s festive family history challenge just answer the question we set every day between 26 December and 1 January, then send all seven answers together in one email with the subject line ‘festive challenge’ by 10 January 2011 to competition@findmypast.co.uk, including your name, postal address and daytime telephone number. The first entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win our first prize, and we have loads of runner-up prizes too! Look at what you could win and see Terms & Conditions.

Now visit findmypast.co.uk’s Start Your Family Tree page to find out about today’s activity and how to start researching your family tree.

If you’ve got children with you today, they’ll love the kids’ guide to family history (PDF) from the Society of Genealogists.

Take a look at Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine’s Start Your Family Tree Week page

Listen to findmypast.co.uk’s Debra Chatfield and Genes Renited’s Rhoda Breakell talk about Start Your Family Tree Week

Read on for all you need to know about our Start Your Family Tree Week competition and how to enter…

How to enter

To enter findmypast.co.uk’s festive family history challenge prize draw, answer a question posted on the findmypast.co.uk blog every day between 26 December and 1 January, and then send all seven answers together in one email with the subject line ‘Festive challenge’ before midnight on 10 January 2011 (UK time) to competition@findmypast.co.uk, including your name, postal address and daytime telephone number.

First prize

• A day tracing your family tree with famous genealogist, Else Churchill at the Society of Genealogists in London - using the resources of the SoG and looking at aspects of their research. The prize includes return travel by train to London from within the UK and two nights’ accommodation in London for the winner and a guest
• 1 free membership of the Society of Genealogists in their centenary year
• A From You to Me personalised journal from www.fromyoutome.com
• Nick Barratt’s Guide To Your Ancestors Lives from Pen & Sword books
• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Second prize

• 1 free membership of the Society of Genealogists in their centenary year
• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• A From You to Me personalised journal from www.fromyoutome.com
• Nick Barratt’s Guide To Your Ancestors Lives from Pen & Sword books
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Third prize

• 1 pair of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are LIVE show at Olympia, February 2011
• 12 month subscription to Family Tree Magazine
• 12 month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 12 month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 1 copy of Glorious Britain - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 1 copy of I Remember When - from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• A framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia) from www.francisfrith.co.uk - photo is the winner’s choice from the products online
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 3 month subscription voucher to findmypast.co.uk

Other runner-up prizes
Ten other runner-ups will each be allocated a bundle of prizes from the following list by findmypast.co.uk:

• 1 ticket to a day course at the Society of Genealogists, London: ‘Family History for Beginners and Refreshers’ with Geoff Swinfield on Saturday 5 March 2011.
• Society of Genealogists‘ publications
  • 1 x My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer by Ian Waller
  • 1 x My Ancestors were Londoners by Cliff Webb
  • 1 x My Ancestor was an Apprentice by Stuart Raymond
  • 1 x My Ancestor was in Service by Pamela Horn
  • 1 x My Ancestor was in the British Army by Chris and Michael Watts
• A free start your family history beginners session at the Society of Genealogists with community officer Ashley Young who can help anyone start using computers and get the most from free online resources at the SoG, such as findmypast.co.uk and other online family history sites usually available on pay per view or subscription
• 4 x 12-month subscriptions to Family Tree Magazine
• 11 x Celebrating 25 Years of Family Tree Magazine bookazine
• 4 x 12-month subscription to Your Family Tree magazine
• 4 x 12-month subscription to BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 7-generation family tree chart from BBC Who Do You Think You Are Magazine
• 1 photo album and set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk to help with conserving documents and old photos
• 20 x set of sample pockets from www.my-history.co.uk
• A photo scanner from Pandigital
• Family history books from Pen & Sword
  • 2 x Tracing Your Army Ancestors
  • 2 x Tracing Jewish Ancestors
  • 2 x Tracing Pauper Ancestors
• 6 x copies of Glorious Britain from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 6 x copies of I Remember When from www.francisfrith.co.uk
• 2 x framed print (medium in either B&W or Sepia). Photo is the winner’s choice - the winner will be provided with a promotional code to get 100% off their chosen product online at www.francisfrith.co.uk
• How to Trace Your Ancestors Using a Computer for the Older Generation by Jim Gatenby

Competition terms & conditions

All entrants must be over the age of 18.

The first entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win first prize, the second entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win second prize, the third entry opened with correct answers to all seven questions will win third prize. The other runner-up prizes will be allocated in no particular order to the next 10 correct entries opened.

Prizes are not transferable and no alternatives will be offered. No purchase is necessary.

First prize includes return travel by train from within the UK for the winner and one guest and two nights’ accommodation in London based on two people sharing a double or twin room. Only the winner’s family history will be researched.

Winners of a framed print from Francis Frith will be provided with a promotional code to get 100% off their chosen print (medium in either black and white or sepia) online at www.francisfrith.co.uk

Winners of the From You to Me journals will be provided with a code to get 100% off of the cost of the personalised journal. The winners must pay for postage but From You to Me will fully refund this.

All winners will be notified by email. Names of all the winners will be published on this blog on 21 January 2011.