Family reunions can be tricky to pull off, but with a few handy tips your family will have a great time reminiscing and making new memories together!
1. Setting the Date
Compare calendars to avoid weddings, baby due dates, graduations, and major anniversaries.
2. Spreading the Word
Create an event page on social media to provide details as they come available. Start with the date and let everyone know details will surface soon.
3. Choosing a Location
Event spaces and banquet halls are not only for weddings – they often offer large open spaces where a meal can be served, picture slideshows can be shared, and kids can play. You’ll be shielded from the elements and have plenty of parking. Companies such as Noah’s Event Venues allow you to bring your own vendors, so you can choose catering that matches your family reunion theme.
4. Speaking of Food…
Look for a caterer who will recreate family recipes for you in large quantities. After all, no one really wants to make thirty pounds of Grandma’s pasta salad. Family recipes can bring back wonderful memories.
5. Decorate with Memorabilia
Ask each married couple to send in a favorite wedding photo. Use one on each table with a little card telling the names and wedding date.
6. Create a Quilt
Start a tradition of creating a quilt for the newest family member each year. Supply the family with quilt squares to decorate with fabric markers and either have a crafty relative stitch them together or send them off to a company that will do it for you.
7. Friendly Competition
Play a few games of minute to win it or Bingo. Have an old-fashioned sack race and egg-toss, or hire a DJ and have a dance-off with categories such as Ballroom, Hip Hop, Square and Line dancing.
8. Document the Memories
Set up a photo backdrop and set up a camera on a tripod. Put these photos on a disk and copy for everyone.
9. Lodging
Call a couple of hotels and ask for a great room rate for your reunion. Share the info on your event page!
10. Scrapbook
Make sharing easy by creating a scrapbook ahead of the reunion. Include family vacations, achievements, and stories in the book to pass around, saving you from telling the same thing all day.
Just remember – family reunions are for bringing everyone together, so don’t get too lost in the details. Have Fun!
