Where Should We Hold Our Family Reunion?

There are many factors to consider when choosing a location for your family reunion.

*How many people will be attending? Twenty people could manage nicely in a back yard or a small community park. Two hundred will necessitate the rental of a hall or a park pavilion large enough to handle the crowd and parking.

*Are they mostly local or out of town? Travel time is an important consideration. People coming from out of town will need travel time to and from the event and a place to stay. Will they stay with local families or in a hotel? Can they take the time off work to travel a long distance? You may need to give lots of lead-time for a reunion with many out-of-towners so they can take advantage of airline and hotel specials.

*How much money can you budget per person for the cost of food/rental/etc? Who is paying? Each attendee? A generous benefactor?

* What type of experience do you want? The three most popular choices are a simple BBQ in the back yard to renting a pavilion at a park or a catered meal at a rented hall with dancing. Each has their pros and cons and you’ll need to decide which works for your family.

*When do you want to have it? If you’re having it at night at a hall, then the weather plays a smaller factor verses having it during the day in the summer.

*Handicapped accessibility – there are different levels of mobility among generations and you’ll want to make sure everyone has a fantastic reunion experience.

No matter where you choose to hold the reunion, plan on enjoying the fun of being together, wherever that is.

How to Designate Planning Tasks Between Family Members

Planning a family reunion doesn’t have to be a big hassle. One person cannot do it all while too many people can create havoc. Good communication and a division of labor are the keys to success.

Identify several people who will serve as the central planning committee. They will be the ones who investigate (or delegate) the search for locations, food prices, decorations, supplies, etc. They’ll help set the menu or figure out how to feed everyone. They create the lists and organize the rest of the family.

Helping the planning committee are the “Family Ambassadors,” one person from each branch or part of the family who will serve as liaison between those family members and the central planning committee. They’ll make sure the invitation list is complete for their section of the family, collect the RSVP’s, collect money, and help communicate with and identify helpers for the big day.

The planning committee should create smaller committees to help on the day of the event. Who is talented and can design and put up the decorations? Who wants to be the greeters and make sure that everyone has a nametag and signs the guest book? Who is in charge of organizing the food? Who can come early to set up and who else can stay late to break down? Who can shop for supplies? Who can prepare food ahead of time? Who can man the grills?

Whether your event is large or small, the planning process is the most crucial for the success of your reunion. Take your time, think things through, create lists and more lists, and get other people to help will practically guarantee you a successful event. Most importantly, plan to have a great time!

Planning Your Family Reunion Menu

Planning the menu for your family reunion doesn’t have to be overwhelming. The main rules of thumb: keep it simple and use family favorites.

Ask for input from family members. What are their favorite family recipes? Grandma’s ambrosia? Aunt Nelly’s pecan pie? Uncle Fred’s BBQ? You’re looking to add history to the event with foods that will remind people of their childhood or of family members that have passed on. This isn’t the time to try new recipes. It’s a time for comfort food and the tried and true dishes that have sustained your family over the generations.

If you are hiring a caterer, have them use your family recipes to prepare your special dishes.

If you’re doing it yourself, plan on recipes that are easy to do for a crowd (there are websites to help you multiply recipes, if needed). One option, if everyone or most everyone is local, is to have people bring side dishes, salads, and desserts and for the organizers to provide the meats, condiments, paper plates, etc. Or, if lots of people are traveling in from out of town, designate one house as the cooking location to make the shopping, prep work and clean up easier.

You’ll need to figure out how to keep hot dishes hot and cold dishes cold. Insulated bowls that can be frozen can be found at party supply stores as well as disposable catering pans and sternos. If there is an electrical hookup at your location, consider using crock-pots to keep things warm.

What Activities Can We Plan for the Adults to Do?

There are many activities to keep the adults mingling when they aren’t eating and talking at your next family reunion.

Host a grown up scavenger hunt. Prepare lists of questions of little known facts about the attendees. People will need to mix and mingle and ask questions to figure out all the answers.

Guess the number of jellybeans, gumballs, pretzels, or cookies. Choose something that you can eat after the game is over so you don’t have to haul it back home. The winner gets a prize.

Sell raffle tickets to help cover the cost of the event. Do a 50/50 (where the winner and the organizers split the proceeds equally) or have door prizes donated by the attendees.

Play the “Who am I” game by taping the name of an attendee on the players’ backs. The winner figures out who they are by asking people for clues. The losers, well, they have to spend lots of time talking and mingling. Eventually everyone is a winner.

Play “Guess the Baby Picture” by creating a numbered picture display of attendees’ baby photos. Players need to fill out a form with their guesses. If there is more than one correct answer, then do a drawing for first, second, and third prizes.

Sports are always an option. Bring along Frisbees, soccer balls, volleyballs, fishing poles, or a football for the annual game. Instead of lawn darts or bocce balls, why not toss beanbags into hula-hoops. Set them far enough away to be a challenge. Stake a stick in the middle for a variation of horseshoes and whoever is closest to the stick without knocking it over wins the point.

The trick is to find games and activities that will encourage everyone to mingle and interact outside of their immediate family units without taking up too much space or hassle when setting up and breaking down.

Games and Activities The Kids Will Love

It’s family reunion time! But wait, how to entertain the kids?

Don’t panic, here are a few tried and true fun ideas for kids of all ages.

Sidewalk chalk, lots of it. The kids can draw almost everywhere and it will all wash away with the next rain. Games to play: hopscotch, tic-tac-toe, and drawing contests.

Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles. Get a few big bottles and the large wands and the kids will be busy making and chasing their creations.

Hula hoops are a versatile toy to take along. Light and easy to transport, they can be used for quite a few games. In addition to contests to see who can hula hoop the longest, you can throw them on the ground and use them as targets for water balloons or bean bags (make your own with old socks and sandbox sand – tie the end and you’re ready to go).

Bring along a kid’s sized picnic table or a designate a blanket for paper and crayons. Find a place under the shade so the kids can rest and have quiet time as well.

Water balloon toss. Stand in two lines and toss a water balloon back and forth. After every toss, take a step back. The losers will be the winners on a hot summer’s day. Or if you’re more daring, use raw eggs if you’re up for the mess.

Bring along some grocery bags and send the kids on a scavenger hunt. They can search for items around the area or items from the other attendees. Just watch out for poison ivy or other critters.

What’s the favorite activity of all for kids at a family reunion? Connecting with family they haven’t seen in a while (or at all). Games are games, but who they do them with makes it memorable.