Family Reunion Secrets

Organizing a family reunion is no different than organizing any other large party, with one exception: your guests may be coming from all over the country — or even all over the world — and your objective is to make sure they get to know each other better.

With that in mind, your choice of location is crucial. You need to pick a venue that will hold everyone you’ve invited, plus be amenable to mingling and socializing. You’ll want a certain amount of privacy, so your family can get reacquainted without distractions from other parties. You may want to poll family members to see if they are interested in a picnic at an outdoor pavilion or a private room at a hotel or restaurant.

Cost will be one of the main factors in determining where you meet. A potluck picnic is considerably less expensive than a catered meal. A potluck picnic is considerably less expensive than a catered meal. A potluck has the added appeal of letting everyone share their family’s favorite specialty. Out-of-town guests who won’t be able to bring a dish can be responsible for activities, souvenirs or beverages.

Bear in mind that as organizer, you may have additional expenses, such as postage, deposits and decorations. Don’t forget to include those expenses in whatever fee each family pays.

Help your guests make a connection between families. Post a large family tree poster so guests can see how they are related to other guests. Name tags are essential, of course, but also consider color-coding them so people can see at a glance what branch of the tree someone is from.

There are bound to be blanks in the family tree. Invite your guests to fill in the blanks, and follow up after the reunion by sending a small copy of the family tree to all the attendees. Better yet, consider establishing a family website where this information can be posted for all to see. Invite your guests to post photos from the reunion.

Speaking of photos, invite relatives to bring photo albums and scrapbooks. Or encourage them to scan old photos and e-mail them to you. Photo software usually allows you to create a simple slide show that could be the hit of the reunion. You might even want to present the show on a CD for each family.

Planning activities that will get families mingling is probably the greatest challenge. The Family Reunion Institute at Temple University?s School of Social Administration recommends these activities:

• A talent show
• Family history telling
• Recognition ceremonies (with prizes)
• A fashion show
• Sports

When playing games or sports, be sure to mix up the teams to create a sense of community and conviviality.

After it’s over, keep the family connection going with a semi-annual newsletter or family blog. See the article on Staying Connected for other ideas to keep warm family feelings alive until the next reunion.