- Discuss the budget. First! You might want the rustic getaway for $50 or the big city excitement costing hundreds. For reunions to work, there has to be some consensus on the budget. Ask each family to offer a range of price for lodging, then choose the place that fits everyone's budget.
- Consider drive time. How spread out is your family? Who has the youngest children? The least flexible job? When planning your reunion, consider what others must go through to make the event and plan accordingly. Does most of the family live in the south? Perhaps the few northern members would be willing to make the drive. Did someone just get a new job? Consider planning your event closer to them so they don't have to miss work.
- Share the load. Grandma may be an excellent cook, but there's a huge difference between cooking for Thanksgiving and feeding the whole clan for a weekend. Involve each family unit in meal planning, perhaps assigning shopping, cooking and cleanup to one family per meal.
- Choose a location that meets the most needs. Mountain resorts and cabins offer rustic options. The beach includes a "playground" at your front door. Big cities offer museums and theater. Small towns offer laid back relaxation. Amusement parks offer thrills and adventure. What works best for your crew.
- Plan activities. Icebreakers help distant family members reconnect without being awkward. Kids' games provide focus. Friendly family competition keeps everyone involved. Even if you plan an amusement park reunion, a little planning (we'll meet at the picnic shelter at 5:00 for dinner) helps everyone connect.
If you have a reunion, large or small, on the horizon, check out Family-Reunion.com. Mister Spiffy says he "is a family reunion doctor trained in healing sick reunions..." The site provides information for just about every reunion topic imaginable and includes other resources as well. In my research, I didn't find another site as complete!
Happy reunion!
Happy reunion!
11 comments:
Those are some great tips! We may be hosting a small reunion this summer. It will be last-minute for sure with my in-laws calling a week before they fly in to let us know when their flight arrives!
Karen I always love reading your posts!!! You have the best ideas and this time I think you did it!! lol!! You have prompted me to think about planning a reunion for next summer.
May you always find Peace in your day! Carla
Audra, enjoy whatever you decide to do.
Carla, advance planning always works! Glad the tips are helping you.
Happy travels. Happy reunion.
Karen,
My family is planning a reunion soon and I will be sure to pull out your list to make sure it goes smoothly! Thanks so much for this post!
~Erin
Erin,
Please let me know what you did well and what you forgot to do... maybe even guest post after your reunion? These things stress us out way more than they should!
Happy planning!
Thanks for linking this up at Freedom Fridays. Great ideas and checklist for planning a super reunion.
Fantastic Tips! WE have a few family reunions coming up, including planning my parent's 50th wedding anniversary which is turning into ANOTHER family reunion! These will definitely help!
Ice-breakers is a good one. I wouldn't have thought of that or thought it was necessary because "we're family" but I will definitely find some.
Ice breakers help a lot. I think they'd be great at a wedding too -- so that table mate strangers can start the conversation with something besides, "So.... bride or groom?" :)
I was the president of the family reunion on my grandpas side.
We had a committee, president, vice president, tresurer and secretary for our family reunion. We held a white elephant sale to raise money and everyone brought a dish to pass. It was great!
Family-Reunion.com actually suggests that you have a planning committee. Glad to hear it worked so well for your family! The fundraiser is an awesome idea too.
Thanks for sharing.
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