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Summer will be here before we know it and with the warm weather comes picnics and family reunions. Does your family have a reunion on a yearly basis? Mine does. We get together the third Sunday in August every year for an extended family reunion.  I get to see relatives that I only see once or twice a year and catch up on their lives.

Over the years, I have been part of the planning committee and in charge of various aspects of the reunion. Below are some tips and other helpful information to help you plan your own successful reunion.

Why Plan A Reunion?

Reunions are lots of fun. They are also a way for your children to connect with the extended family and for members of the extended family to bond together. Reunions usually give you lots of pleasant memories.

Yes it is work, but it is worth it to feel part of a big extended family.

I suggest if you are planning a reunion, get others involved and have a committee in charge. There is a lot to do and it is just too stressful for one person to handle all the details. Not only will spreading the duties ease your stress, but it will also help other family members to bond working on a common project.

Who Will Attend?

Your relatives of course. But which ones? Only you and the planning committee can answer the question. Do you want just 1 level of extended family to attend? Or do you want your great, great uncles kids to attend? Or maybe you live in a small town and anyone with your last name is invited. It is totally up to you. No right or wrong answer.

If this is your first reunion, I would limit to a certain number of people you think you can successfully handle and the facility where you are holding the reunion can accommodate.

Make sure once you have the details nailed down, everyone is invited. You can send postcards, flyers, or make phone calls, but be sure to do it far enough in advance that people can plan accordingly. Especially in the summer when there are vacations and other events to plan around.

When Will You Hold It?

We automatically think of summer as the season for this, but many families hold their reunions in the early fall and some hold them over the holidays. Plan a time when the majority of people invited will be able to attend. If you are planning to hold the event outdoors, schedule during the time of year when it is relatively warm.

Where Will It Be Held?

Decide well in advance where you will hold the reunion. There are lots of possibilities. You can always hold the event at a family member’s home. If the group is fairly large, you will want to have it where you can accommodate more people. You could consider the following:

• Community Park or Pavillion
• Theme Park
• Historical Site
• Family Gathering Place
• Restaurant
• Resort

Take into consideration the costs associated with the various places, will there be room for the kids to play and whether you want to keep people in a central location. If you want all ages in the same proximity, you probably don’t want to go to a theme park where everyone will scatter.

What Will You Eat?

Now this is my favorite area. Nothing like wonderful food to make a family happy! If you come from a family of wonderful cooks, having everyone bring their favorite dish is ideal. Even if you are not great cooks, it would be the easiest and least expensive alternative.

You can also consider having the meal catered or having the main dishes like meat and potatoes catered and everyone else bring a side dish, salad, or dessert. A side dish that is awesome to take to get-togethers and serve with tortilla chips is Hillbilly Caviar. I make this and everyone begs for the recipe. Best part is, it is low fat and good for you.

Remember if children are included in this event, you will want to have items they enjoy or spark their interest to try. The most important things is to have a variety and lots of it for children and adults alike.

Activities To Thrill Everyone

Once you get everyone there and they eat, then what? How do you entertain a large group of people of a variety of ages?   This is where you need to be creative and come up with something for all people to do that will be enjoyable. If you have a committee, each person could handle a different age group. Some will just want to sit, talk, and catch up with each other’s lives. But the younger crowd will want something to do.

Depending on the location, you might have room for a volleyball net, horseshoes, or even softball. These activities often are appealing to multiple age groups. If it is hot, anything with water is a hit.

Games like guessing how many pieces of candy are in a jar, etc. are great for all ages.

At the very least, I would plan some activities for the youngest in the group. At our family reunion we have different people take turns each year planning the children games. There are lots of simple games and we have prizes for the winning teams. They enjoy games like candy scramble, relay games like fill the cup with marshmallows, etc.

A huge hit is the frozen tshirt contest.   You wash the tshirts, but fold them wet and put in individual plastic bags and seal then freeze. The object is to get the tshirt out of the bag, unfold and get it on your body the quickest.   It is hard to do since the shirts are frozen and they are very cold. The kids love it.

Our family also has an auction. Everyone brings in a gift labeled man, woman, boy, girl, etc. and then we have a pretend auctioneer (family member) run the auction and the highest bidder gets the prize. It helps us to raise some funds to pay for the other game and prizes.

One year we had clowns, and another year we had the local fire company come and give the children a ride on the truck.

Recording The Memories

Regardless of where it is held or what activities you plan, you will want to record the memories.  Have someone assigned to take pictures.   Or buy disposable cameras and put them on each table and ask guests to make sure they have taken all the pictures available on the camera before they leave.  Then you take them and get them developed or put on a CD.    Video is also great!  In the future people will look back on the photos and remember the great time they had at the reunion.  I also post our family reunion pictures on our Family Facebook page. This way everyone can view them. You could do the same with a web page.

Every couple years we make a photo collage and display at the reunion so those who are not online can enjoy the pictures also.

Make sure you have everyone sign their name and give you an updated address and email info so you have a record of who attended and can reach them to invite them to the next reunion.

After The Guests Go Home

Your reunion was a huge success!  Now what?  For starters you want to make sure you pay any bills associated with the reunion.  If money is left over you might want to start a bank account so you have start-up funds for future reunions.

If you have pictures or video you might want to post them so everyone can enjoy them.  Those that couldn’t attend can see what they missed.

Make a list of what went well and what didn’t so you can improve or eliminate for next year.

Keep all your reunion information together in an envelope, file folder, etc. so you can find it easily for next year.

Breath a sigh of relief and relax a bit.  You made wonderful family memories possible.

Have you helped plan reunions before? Please leave us some of your favorite tips in the comments below.