How to Plan a Family Reunion

Organize a memorable family reunion to renew lost contacts, introduce new ones and celebrate your heritage.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cameras
• Outdoor games
• Invitations
• Camcorders
• Postage stamps
• Party food
• Prizes
• Address books
• Calculators

1. Make a list of family members, including spouses, partners and children. Get contact information for all the people on your list.

2. Choose a date when most people can attend. Summer months are often ideal, since children are out of school.

3. Decide how long you want the reunion to last and where to have it. Hold it near most family members if you're clustered in one area. Pick a central location, if you're scattered.

4. Develop a budget and decide how much each family will need to contribute. Avoid making costs prohibitively high.

5. Visit reunion sites--such as hotels, inns and country clubs--and reserve one early.

6. Determine the menu--perhaps one that celebrates your family's heritage. Find a caterer or restaurant that can supply food for the event.

7. Appoint a family historian to take photographs or videos during the event.

8. Plan social activities for the reunion--icebreaker games, sports, contests and talent shows. Include activities that will appeal to all ages. Buy prizes for your games or for distinctions such as oldest family member or longest distance traveled to attend.

9. Send an initial mailing to gauge interest and preferences and to ask for help with planning. Send invitations later, with relevant information, directions and a map. Ask for a check from each family for its part of the reunion expenses.

Tips & Warnings

• If your reunion is large, consider organizing a reunion committee, with a secretary for mailings, a treasurer and a social-events planner.
• Have attendees send checks several weeks before the reunion so you can shop for food, prizes or whatever else you'll need.
• Try making family reunions a consistent event--every 1, 2 or 5 years--at the same time of year.

[hmvont]

on 3/19/2009 We had everything catered! We went to Maine to Sebasco Harbor Resort and it was great. They took care of everything - from lobster bake to blueberry pancakes. Here's their site if you are interested: www.sebasco.com

[brettnkass]

on 6/21/2008 Thank you for the tips. Go for a self-contained resort where all the activities are on-site. That is so much easier! We heard Northstar Resort is the BEST, with loads of free activities, shopping and dining in the new village, and awesome lodging discounts for groups. We are looking forward to our 2008 reunion and will post again to let you know how much fun we have!

on 8/8/2006 When planning your family reunion, you would do well to make use of templates, time lines and financial organizing software offered on the more popular reunion planning websites. You'll save time, money and spare stress with good organization and follow-through.

on 11/22/2005 Please, make sure that there are things for kids and teens to do. At my family reunion, there was a large supply of balls and craft activities to keep all of us kids occupied. Consider bringing a PS2 or XBox with extra controllers, as sharing a video game is a great way to make friends. Games like Dance Dance Revolution are great. Be sure to plan times where the kids can break away from the action, too. There is a limit to how much "Oh-my-God-look-how-big-you've-gotten!" we can handle.

on 11/22/2005 You should contact your Conventions and Visitors Bureau for help with plannin your reunion. They offer tons of ideas and resources to help make your reunion a success.Also, if your family will be staying at a hotel or motel you will need to talk to someone in charge of sales to secure enough rooms for your family.
If there are handicapped persons amongst you, make sure that the rooms are handicapped accessible.