Ancestry DNA the Process

AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna

I keep mentioning that I want to try the Ancestry DNA kit. I’d really like to know what my ancestry consists of because no one in my whole family has ever done the genealogy, family tree thing. My dad is adopted, so his side is full of question marks to a point, and all my mom has mentioned was that her side was Danish. I guess no one has ever really wanted to dig deeper.

On Black Friday Ancestry was taking $50 off of their kits so I bit the bullet and bought myself one for Christmas instead just talking about it forever more. It arrived mid December so and I wanted to try to complete it and send it off right away to get a head start on all the kits that I am sure people got for Christmas after that sale.

I thought it was going to be really simple. Open, spit, package up, mail. Which it kind of was until I hit the mail part.

It comes in a small box with a small activation/instruction booklet, tube, funnel, stabilizing fluid, sealable bag, and a prepaid mailer box.

AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna

These are the basic steps:

  1. Take the activation code that is on the tube and log on to your ancestry account and click on the DNA section. The option to activate a kit is there and that is where you input the number.
  2. Spit in the tube up to the wavy line using the funnel tip. It’s noted that you should not eat, drink, or smoke for 30 minutes before doing so. I had to restart my 30 minutes three times because I kept forgetting. It’s not a lot of spit that is required but after I hit that wavy line I felt very dried out 😉AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna
  3. Remove the funnel end and attached the stabilizing fluid lid. Twist until the blue liquid begins to mix down with the spit and then shake for 5 seconds.AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna
  4. Place the spit vial in the plastic sealable bag and place in prepaid mailer box.AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna
  5. Drop in mail box. This was the step I had issues with. I figured I would go in to the post office and drop it off when I was in the area but the woman behind the counter wouldn’t take it. She said she didn’t know what it was, or how to process it so she gave it back. This scared me. I figured they would just scan the barcode that was on the back and place it in the mail. When I got home I contacted Ancestry to ask them what to do, and they suggested just dropping it in a mailbox. I was scared to just in case the person who picked it up thought the same things as the post office worker and it wound up in undeliverable mail. I ended up dropping it in the box and crossing my fingers. I won’t find out if they received it probably for several weeks. Once they do, it will be listed on my DNA activation account as received so I am kind of sitting here holding my breath until then because it would really suck to wait for weeks only to find out the never got it and having to start all over.AncestryDNA Canada Ancestry.ca #ancestrydna

I hope it arrives quickly and I am excited to share my results even though it won’t be for around 2 months.

Have you ever done Ancestry DNA? 

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Sara

Sara is the founder and creative behind livelovesara. A George Brown College Fashion Styling Graduate, she provides advice on finding your personal style regardless of age and budget. She is always on the hunt for the perfect wardrobe piece and is a vintage and thrifting enthusiast who can't wait to share her newest finds. She is also trying to learn French.

2 Comments

  1. Hi 👋 I know this is an old article however I was wondering how it turned out for you?
    My parents bought me a ancestry dna kit for my birthday. I followed all the steps and then put it in a mailbox, I am waiting for it to say that they kit has been delivered to the lab it’s been about 5 days. When should I be expecting it to arrive?

    • Hi! I can’t really remember the travel time period for how long it took to arrive but I believe the whole process from mailing it to the site updating with my results was about a month. It depends on the time of year, so it should be quicker for you then for those that buy their kits during a high sale time. I feel like they might even be quicker now that they have improved their process from when I did it. Good luck! It was a fascinating experience.

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