I’m planning our first family reunion and need ideas. Any info would be great on things to do, not to do, ect. We have never had a “family reunion” with everyone, and I have never planned one myself. Any ideas would be great if you have experiences to share too.
1. timing – if people can’t come it won’t be much of a reunion. Find out when most people have some free time.
2. location, location, location – similarly if they can’t get there or there’s not enough room it will spoil things
3. food: have each family bring a dish to pass (something special to them). This makes for great conversation over recipes, how the dish came about etc. Helps break the ice sometimes (i.e. if you feed them they will come).
4. Provisions: let people know what you’re providing and what they have to bring (like chairs, pop, beer, etc. depending on your budget and lcoation)
5. Entertainment: it’s nice to have music, and a must to have games and activities to keep children from being bored — they should have something to look forward to rather than the outting being a chore
6. a set up and clean up crew – see if you can get a few people to help out (this can be a HUGE task)
7. invitations and thank you notes (also a sign up sheet for those who want to be invited for future family events that includes email, addy, phone numbers etc.).
8. covering – weather happens.