Organizing a Family Reunion to Remember | Family

By AshleyKing
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A family reunion is a terrific way to keep in touch with your distant relatives. It can be a lot of fun to visit with family members that you haven't seen in years, and if you have kids of your own, it's a great opportunity to teach them about their heritage.

Planning a family reunion is a lot of effort, however. Tracking everyone down, finding a day and time that fits everyone's schedule, choosing a location, and planning the food and activities is a huge task. If you have a big family, you'll want to start planning your strategy a year or two beforehand.

One of the most difficult parts is choosing a time when nearly everyone can attend. People's lives are hectic and sometimes they can't easily escape their jobs. But with today's internet technology, it's easy to communicate by group email and work out a convenient time for everybody.

You will need to choose a good location for your family reunion. The size of your family will be a big factor in where you hold your gathering. If someone has a large backyard or country acreage and is willing to host the event, this can be ideal. Another option is to hold it in a park where you can reserve a section for your group.

Good Food for a Good Time

Next on your checklist should be the food. Eating is always an important part of any family get-together, and you need to look at what your choices are to feed everyone.

Begin by contacting a member of each family group to collect their ideas and find out their preferences. Then get majority agreement on the meal plan.

Probably the easiest solution is to cater your family reunion. Of course, that can get very pricey and it might be impractical for some budgets.

A barbecue can be a pleasurable and low-cost way to feed the gang. Ask each family group to bring their own BBQ grill, and everyone can cook and eat together. And people can prepare the food that they enjoy the most. This is the ideal way to please everyone.

If you like, you can ask everyone to share in the cost of purchasing some beverages and snacks. Ask each family to bring a side dish and share them potluck style.

Get Moving

After everyone has caught up with each other's lives and eaten their fill, it's time to get everyone moving. Having some fun activities planned is essential to a successful family reunion.

Your plans should include some sports and games that are fun for all ages, such as softball or volleyball. Another great idea is to hold a family Olympics with prizes and ribbons. Team up different age groups to keep it fair.

You also want some activities geared specifically to the children to keep them from getting bored and unruly. If you have lots of space, consider renting an inflatable play structure for the day. Set up a coloring area, and bring lots of outdoor games for them to play such as croquet, badminton, and horseshoes. Organize a sack race and candy toss.

With good organization, your family reunion should provide your family with an abundance of new memories that will last you until the next big get-together.

About the Author

Ashley King is editor of the Family Section at i-KnowHow | Information for Life, where you'll also find ideas and tips for hobbies, home and garden, personal finance, technology basics and much more.

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