****Thanks to MyHeritage DNA for sponsoring this post so I could tell you about my family’s experience using their DNA test kits.****
If you had asked me a week ago what my heritage was, I would have lamely mumbled something about being German and Polish. I believed my mother was German because I have such a very-German middle name (her maiden name), Reighard, and I thought I once heard my grandma say that my dad’s side of the family was Polish (but it’s very likely I made this up, as my dad seems to believe I did). In short, I was going on a middle name and a fuzzy childhood memory, and in reality, I had absolutely no clue what my heritage actually was.
With all the recent buzz about DNA test kits and their increasing popularity, I began to crush pretty hard on trying one out so I could learn from where I came. I thought it would be so interesting to know what ethnicity my sister and I really were. As I was sharing these thoughts with my husband, he noted that though my sister and I were siblings, we don’t share the same DNA; if we both took the test, we might get rather different results. Intriguing! As the wheels in my mind started churning more, I wondered what was my husband’s ancestry profile? What genes were we passing on to our children? With that question in mind, what was my own father’s DNA and what genes had he passed on to my sister and me? I wanted to know all the answers!
My sudden, burning interest in my entire family’s DNA lead me to immediately began to research my options for sorting it. Through this search I connected with the super user-friendly MyHeritage DNA, who kindly offered to send kits my way so my dad, my sister, my husband and I could all get to the bottom of our ethnicity. Having no idea what to expect, I was tickled to give the DNA test kits a go!
How do MyHeritage DNA test kits work?
Easy! No, really, if I could figure it out, you can too! But there is also a video available to walk you through if needed.
- You go to the website and purchase kit.
- They mail it to you.
- It arrives and you follow the very clear directions about how to collect a cheek swab sample (again, super-easy, I promise).
- You mail the DNA test kit back and then wait 2-3 weeks.
- They send you an email letting you know your results are ready! You can view them online, or print them out if you prefer.
What will MyHeritage DNA test kits results tell you?
The results are broken down first with a percentage assigned per world region (i.e. South Europe). A more specific percentage is them assigned to specific areas and ethnicities of the region (i.e. Italian and Sardinian). The numerical results are accompanied by a world map that visually shows you your results by highlighting regions on the map where your discovered ethnicity is geographically locating. For even further visual aid, MyHeritage DNA offers an animated version of your results as well–a short fun video to play as you first discover your heritage!
Here is is a screen shot of my results:
Was I surprised by my results? YES! My whole family was, in fact. You can see all of our reactions in the video below; we had a bit of DNA Test Kits Results Reveal Party! As you’ll see, I was most tickled to learn that I was 11% Italian and 6% Jewish–I had no idea! It was so fun and surprising to discover my ethnic heritage was more diverse than I imagined–and not a bit Polish 😉
But how much do MyHeritage DNA test kits cost?
At $99 and frequently on sale for $79 (as it is right now!), they were by far the most affordable DNA test kits I found. Now that I have my own results, I am busily planning who else I can gift DNA test kits too as a special present; the price makes the kits perfect for a special Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthday, holiday or graduation surprise.
And even better than $79 is FREE–one of you, readers, is going to score one here! As long as you are 18 or older and live in the continental United States, you are eligible to enter through the Rafflecopter below to win a free DNA test kit sent to your home! Giveaway will close on 4/11/17 at 5:30am ET.
Any other MyHeritage DNA features I should know about?
I think it’s neat how the site regularly sends you emails notifying you of potential family member matches from their pool of other users who have taken and completed the DNA test kits. You obviously have no obligation at all to look into these matches, but if you enjoy genealogy, this is a fantastic tool!
The site also includes a free family tree app (or tool to be completed via their site if you prefer) to help you map and track your family relations–far more advanced than the picture family tree I drew in elementary school!
Friends, I can’t say enough what a very cool experience completing this was for my family and me. I now completely understand all the current rage surrounding DNA test kits. It was not only fun to learn more about ourselves, but it feels important too: important to know where we came from so when passing our heritage down to our children we can do it with informed knowledge (vs. vague made-up assumptions about being Polish 😉 ).
Go on and grab a kit for yourself from MyHeritage DNA and maybe a few of your family members as well and then throw your own Results Reveal Party!
ENTER HERE TO WIN YOUR OWN DNA TEST KIT:
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Janine Huldie says
This looks like so much fun to find out more about your family’s heritage and where you came from. I am pretty sure I am Italian, Irish and German. But would love to see if there is some part of my heritage that might not be accounted for. So totally entered!! 🙂
Robyn says
We got these tests for my in-laws one year for Christmas, and it was fascinating! I’d love to see the results of my own test and see if what I’ve been told about my heritage is even remotely correct. 🙂
Christine organ says
I was just talking to my husband and sister about how I want to do this. This is great to know.
JD @ Honest Mom says
This is so cool! I think I know my heritage but I’d love to find out if I’m right!
Michelle M says
I’m fascinated by these things. I want to do the DNA test so badly. There’s a lot of unknowns with my family so it would be fun to see my results.
Stephanie says
Is it ok to use the test on kids? I don’t see why not, right? One of our children is adopted and I have really been strongly considering getting one of these tests and saving the results for him for the day he might be interested in learning more about his heritage.
Brenna says
I have so many friends who’ve done this, I’d love to try!
Snarkfest says
A good friend of mine just found her birth family and she’s thrilled. This really got me thinking about my own DNA and I’d love to win this!
Krissy Harris says
Oh this fascinates me! I just started tracing my family tree and really want to do the DNA testing along with it. Not only is it interesting, I think the information could be useful for your health too since certain ethnicities are prone to health concerns.
Diane says
I would like to see if there are any surprise results.
Suzann says
I want to do this for my dad (and myself). We’re like you – we think we know some stuff but not really. Entering!
Michelle Matthews says
I would love to know what my real heritage is, I’ve been told that half of my family is actually Welsh so I would love to know if that is true.
Sarah Parson says
I’d love to see how much Irish/English/Scottish ancestry there is in my DNA. Particularly since I’m married to an Irishman.
Kristina Hammer says
This is so awesome, I would love to do this with my whole family!
Tiffany says
Mine would be all over the map. I’d love to seeit. I know my mom’s side but not my dad’s.
Sara Perrera says
I have recently become obsessed with geneology. I found out that my husband had ancestor who fought in the civil war which I thought was neat. I was always told my great grandmother was part French but I haven’t had any luck finding any records on her so I would love to do this DNA test.
Beth Lehman says
I’ve been wanting to test my son’s DNA since his adoption, but the only tests I found required 1tsp of saliva. He’s got plenty, but aiming it into a funnel would have been a challenge at 19 months. This is great because I just have to swab his cheek!
Ami Knecht says
I would love to do test my ancestry for multiple reasons but the most important one would be for health reasons. I’m now 38 years old but lost my father when I was 27 years old and my mother when I was 28 years old. They both passed away due to health reasons and unfortunately even though my mother passed away due to some health reason they couldn’t pinpoint what she died from or why…she just passed away at the age of 59 without having any diagnosed health condition. Even the autopsy couldn’t give a reason.
With that being said I would like to know more about my ethnicity so I could study up on some of the “strengths” and “weaknesses” of those backgrounds.🌿🌿🌿
Mindy says
So, cool! I have been wanting to try one of these for a while!
Elizabeth says
So cool! My mom’s side of the family has kept a pretty detailed genealogy so it would be interesting to see if it’s truly accurate. My dad’s side however has always been kind of sketchy – my aunt recently used a similar kit to look into her ancestry and we discovered that my paternal grandmother is actually Italian and not French like we had thought all this time. She also connected to someone in Finland with a similar genetic profile and we learned that our surname was not a shortened version of what we had arrived with at Ellis Island, it was something *completely* different! Crazy!
Vicki L says
Ive been working on my family tree on/off for almost 20 years ….one side i got very far back, my other side i am still stuck in 1918…..i wonder if my dna could help figure out where this chain really originated?
Meredith says
OOOOO! I’ve been wanting to do this. Maybe now is the time!
Kasey Bean says
Would love to know more bout my heritage
Amber Bourland says
I’ve always had questions about my ancestry, as some of the family stories didn’t quite match up. With the test kit, I would finally have the answers…
Gina R says
I’ve always wanted to try this! I only know what my heritage is on one side of my family. I would love to know as a whole!
Danielle M says
just curious about my family’s background.
Kim Reid says
I would love to know my ancestry to help verify the research that I’ve been able to do.
Autumn Greene says
This is so awesome. I’ve been wanting to do one of these for a while. I don’t really know my dad so I don’t have any info on where he’s from and his side of the family. I would be so interested to find out what makes up me. Lol
Bea Alexandra says
I have always been so interested in my heritage and roots. I would love to see what my DNAs and how it correlates with stories and other information I have found!
Jennifer Packwood says
My Mom was adopted, would love to know my roots!!
Kim Cowgar says
I’ve been looking into this for a while now but just haven’t done it. As I’ve gotten older the idea of tracing my roots and researching family history has become more importart to me. I know some of my ethnic heritage but I’d love to see what else comes up
Emily Smith says
I’d love to win because my mom knows her families history, but my dad doesn’t know anything about his. I’d love to know!
Celeste Herrin says
It would be so wonderful to know my heritage! That’s why I would like to win. Thank you so much for the opportunity 🙂