Planning a Family Reunion Does Not Have To Be Stressful

Planning a great family reunion can be a big job, but it does not have to leave you pulling your hair out. Recruit some more family members to help you if it becomes to much for you to handle without going insane.

Ask as many family members as you can, when they think would be the best date and time to have a family reunion. Find out if any family members will be away on vacation and unable to attend. It may be helpful to come up with a few different dates on your own, and have family members vote on the date and time.

The first thing you need to do after you come up with a date and time is to decide where to hold the family reunion. The best place to hold a family reunion is in an air conditioned building that has handicap access and has a safe place outside for children to play. If you are having difficulty finding a place such as this, ask your coworkers, friends and family members if they know of such a place.

After you find a location for your family reunion, you need to come up with a list of family members. Send invitations to every separate family, meaning if a cousin Joe's son Jack moves out, make sure to send Jack an invitation as well. In many cases, family member forget to tell someone else in the family until the last minute after they have already made plans. In my family, the invitations are generally only send to the oldest members in the family resulting in fewer family members attending the reunion.

Include in the invitation the date and time, as well as what each family member is asked to bring as far as food and silverware are concerned. Many family reunions have pitch in dinners where each family member brings a main dish, side, dessert, or drinks. This is actually the cheapest and most practical way to feed everyone.

Come up with a few games your family can play together and you can even offer prizes for the family members. My family usually raffles off some nice items that family members have donated. A few people walk around selling tickets, and then numbers are drawn to determine a winner. It is actually quite a fun way to get everyone involved in an activity. Also come up with a few games that the children can play, otherwise your guests may spend more time chasing after their children than they do socializing.

In closing, make your family reunion memorable and fun. If you do not make it memorable and fun, a lot of people, such as young adults, will decide not to attend the next one.