If you have never had a family reunion before, you are in for a treat! Meeting far-flung cousins and getting to know them is interesting and very rewarding. And with social media, it is easier than ever to stay in touch with those you really make a connection with.
Now is the perfect time to start planning that family reunion. Summertime is the easiest time to get everybody together so it makes sense to start planning now.
It may seem like a huge undertaking but with a few tips, you can organize a successful family reunion. Yes, it’s more complicated than just organizing a small event for immediate family, but it doesn’t have to be too difficult.
Take a look at the tips below to see how to do it.
Set a date
Start with a tentative date in mind when the event will work best for you and your immediate family. That way you have a general starting point that you can then workaround.
As I mentioned in the introduction, summer is usually the best time of year as most people will use their vacation time.
Begin with contacting family members you are in frequent contact with and see if that date range works for them, too.
Get some swag made
Once you have the date set, you can then start getting people excited about the event. Come up with a catchy name for the reunion based on the family name. That will be your catchphrase to put on your swag.
Custom sports apparel doesn’t just have to be for sports. Have some shirts made for the reunion and then send the pictures. That will set the date for them and let them know that this is going to be a reunion to not be missed.
Find and book a location
After you have the date set up and everybody agreed, you’ll need a headcount to see how many people will be coming. Always expect fewer people to show up than you invited, but you do have to account for most of them.
Once you have an idea of how many people will be there, it is time to find a venue. Outdoors are usually best since you’ll have more space. This is highly weather dependent, of course.
Outside, you can set up lawn games and races and all kinds of things to keep people occupied and having fun.
Keep them fed
This is the most difficult part to organize. You want to make sure everybody has enough to eat, of course.
Having it catered is the easiest way to do this. You can still have a picnic and a catering company can take care of the food and all the tables, chairs and plate ware that you need so you don’t have to do it yourself.
If you are on a budget then you can set up a potluck and have everybody bring something if they don’t live too far away.