Planning a Family Reunion
Need a little help setting up your reunion? Here's some helpful advice from our staff!

We know organizing a memorable family function can be tough. There's a lot to think about and things can get difficult when it comes to tracking & phoning relatives. Hopefully, our list of steps here can make things just a little easier for you! Here are just a few basic procedures commonly used to plan easy & successful family reunions.

  1.) Organize a List of Relatives & Family Members
The most challenging part of the process! This can be difficult, especially when trying to consider who to invite. The first step to any reunion though is always determining who family is. The best way to start things off is by thinking about how big you'd like things. Which side of the family do you plan on inviting? Are you including only close relatives or all ancestors & descendants? Will you be inviting only direct-line family (parents, grandparents, grandkids) or do you plan to include cousins, second cousins, or third cousins? Just keep in mind, every step back on the tree adds new attendees & costs. Be aware of your limits. Once you've determined who you'd like to invite, assemble a list of family members, including spouses, and children. Start by contacting at least one person from each branch of the family. This can help you track down contact information for each person on your list if it's needed. Also, it's a good idea to collect e-mail addresses if you can. This makes updates a lot quicker & easier.

  2.) Survey Attendees
Once you've picked everything out & have a list of guests compiled, consider sending out a survey, especially if the reunion you’re planning is exceptionally large. This will let people know a reunion is in the works & it can also be useful in gauging your relative's interest or preferences. Include possible dates you've considered, proposed reunion type, and a general location. If at all possible, try to save discussing costs for later, since this can sometimes discourage positive responses. Add & keep track of interested family members and keep them up to date through phone, e-mail or post.

  3.) Choose a Date
Try to consider when everyone will have the most time at their disposal & choose a date when most people can attend. This is easier said then done, we know, especially for family members who work exceptionally laboring jobs. Often holidays or holiday weekends are ideal as well as summer months, since children are out of school. If possible, it helps to poll family members to avoid date & time conflicts. Remember that you won't be able to accommodate everyone. Choose your final date(s) based on what's best for the majority of attendees.

  4.) Set-Up Where, When & How Long
Decide how long you'd like the reunion to last. Will it be a large affair lasting 3 or more days, an afternoon BBQ or will it take place over a weekend? A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when determining this is; the farther people have to travel to reach the reunion location, the longer the reunion should last. Next, determine where you'd like to have it. If possible, it's always a good idea to try holding it near most family members. If most of your family is clustered in one area, think about holding it locally. If your family is scattered, consider picking a central location or a vacation spot if you’re planning on it being a lengthy celebration. Good locations can be anything from a historic site connected to your family's past to beaches, lakes, fairgrounds or parks. Whatever you end up choosing, aim for something that’s accessible and affordable to the majority of family members.

  5.) Develop a Budget
Once you've set up a plan for yourself & family members, start considering a budget. This will help determine the cost of food, decorations, accommodations & activities for your family reunion. Unless you’re planning on funding things solo, try to determine how comfortable members are with ideas & how flexible they'd be with contributing. There are a lot of different ways to handle things depending on the circumstances. You can choose to have families pay for their own overnight accommodations, you could choose to have catering or you could opt for members to bring a covered dish. Whatever the situation, you'll need to plan the cost & set a per-family registration fee to help with decoration, activity, food, and location costs if necessary. If your reunion is large, think about organizing a reunion committee, with a secretary for mailings, a treasurer and a social-events planner.

  6.) Reserve a Reunion Site
Once you've chosen a location and a set date, get started reserving a site for your reunion. Depending on the size of the reunion, you may be able to find a relative who may not mind hosting it at their home. For larger reunions, parks, hotels, country clubs, restaurants and community halls are a good places to look into. If you're planning a multi-day reunion, then consider a resort location where people can combine reunion activities with a family vacation. No matter what, always remember to make reservations early.

  7.) Plan Social Activities
Determine what kind of social activities you'd like to plan for the reunion. Is this a large event? Do you plan on heading out anywhere such as a Theme Park, Beach or Lake? If so, try to include activities that compliment the area. And if not, there are always a lot of other things you can do! Activities can include anything from icebreaker games, sports, contests and talent shows. Be creative & remember to include activities that will appeal to all ages. Consider buying prizes for your games or for distinctions such as oldest family member or longest distance traveled. Creating a theme for a family reunion can also be a lot of fun. It allows you to be more imaginative with food, games, activities, invitations, decorations, and just about everything! Family history themes are quite popular, as well as reunions that celebrate birthdays anniversaries, or the family's cultural heritage (i.e. Hawaiian luau).

  8.) Set The Stage!
Now that you know who's attending & what to expect, it's time to start setting up! Start making necessary arrangements that will properly accommodate family members. If it's an outdoor event look into purchasing a tent either for providing shade or in the event of rain. Also consider chairs, parking decorations, programs, signs, t-shirts, goodie bags and other reunion related requirements. If considering t-shirts or a variety of promotional items (coolies etc.), we'd like to suggest giving us a try. We’ve designed & handled many reunion orders over the years here & would be happy to help you out with at least one of your many tasks.

  9.) Consider Appointing a Photographer
While family members will no doubt bring their own cameras, it also helps to consider making plans to record the overall event. Whether you designate a specific relative as the official family photographer, or hire a professional one, you should prepare a list of the relatives & events that you'd like recorded. Another popular idea is handing out disposable cameras to volunteer guests for the day. This also helps guarantee that you never miss a memorable moment!

  10.) Invite The Family!
Once you have your plans set, start inviting the family! You can invite relatives by mail, e-mail, or phone. Whatever works best for you! Just remember to be considerate & do this far in advance. This will ensure that everyone has plenty of time to plan. If you've arranged to split costs, this is also a good opportunity to start discussing when a good time to have funds in would be. You can either choose a set date to receive reunion funds or if you're a little more well set, arrange to accept shares at the actual reunion.

  11.) The Last Few Things
Now that you've got all the hard stuff out of the way, it's time to think about those last few loose ends. After all you want things to go as smoothly as possible for family members once they arrive! Consider creating bright, easy-to-ready signs to point relatives to parking or other important locations such as bathrooms. Also, think about creating or purchasing a guest book to collect signatures, addresses, numbers, or other important contact info. It can be a good way of keeping track of relatives and also double as a memorable reunion record. If you’re holding a considerably large reunion, think about creating name badges. This can sometimes help unacquainted family members mingle a little easier. Family trees or genealogy charts are also popular to include since relatives are usually eager to see where they fit into the family history. Once everything's said & done, get ready to start having fun! Your family will no doubt have a wonderful time & you can all look forward to sharing & creating a whole new set of happy memories.

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