Planning a family reunion is a lot of work, however. Tracking everyone down, finding a time that works for everybody, choosing a location, and planning the food and activities is a tremendous undertaking. If you have a large family, you’ll want to start laying your plans a year or two in advance.

The most difficult part is figuring out a time when most of your relatives can make it. People are busy with other plans, or can’t get away from their jobs. This can make or break your family reunion plans. Thankfully, modern technology has brought us email, which makes it much easier to communicate quickly and settle on a date.

You will need to choose a good location for your family reunion. The size of your family will be a big factor in where you hold your gathering. If someone has a large backyard or country acreage and is willing to host the event, this can be ideal. Another option is to hold it in a park where you can reserve a section for your group.

Feeding the Crowd

Next on your checklist should be the food. Eating is always an important part of any family get-together, and you need to look at what your choices are to feed everyone.

Start by getting in touch with a representative of each family to collect their ideas and preferences, and then get general agreement on what you’ll be eating.

Probably the easiest solution is to cater your family reunion. Of course, that can get very expensive and it might not be practical for everyone’s budgets.

A barbecue can be a fun and inexpensive way to feed the crowd. Ask each family group to bring their own grill to the park, and everyone can cook and eat together. And people can prepare the food that they enjoy the most. This is the ideal way to please everyone.

If you like, you can ask everyone to chip in some money to purchase drinks and snacks. Assign a side dish to each family and have a potluck.

Fun Family Reunion Activities

After everyone has caught up with each other’s lives and eaten their fill, it’s time to get everyone moving. Having some fun activities planned is essential to a successful family reunion.

Your plans should include some sports and games that are fun for all ages, such as softball or volleyball. Another great idea is to hold a family Olympics with prizes and ribbons. Team up different age groups to keep it fair.

You also want some activities geared specifically to the children to keep them from getting bored and unruly. If you have lots of space, consider renting an inflatable play structure for the day. Set up a coloring area, and bring lots of outdoor games for them to play such as croquet, badminton, and horseshoes. Organize a sack race and candy toss.

With careful planning, your family reunion will supply enough memories to last a lifetime, or at least until the next gathering!