Increasingly over the years family reunions have been able to catch the imagination of the general public. And with an increased interest in ones genealogy these reunions have taken on a much more important role.
But getting to organize a family reunion isn’t that easy, especially if you want to include almost every member you know to belong to the family. In fact this can be a colossal task and it wouldn’t be wise to do all the work alone.
Instead, such reunions should be considered as a project and enough time and energy should be put into it to make it a success. The very first thing you need to have is a team of dedicated individuals who would be willing to share the responsibilities.
The team
Organizing a reunion where you expect about 200 people turning up can be some hard work. The primary thing you got to have is a committee.
It should be headed by someone who is responsible, a good diplomat, and who can delegate work and bring out the best from the rest of the team. He should also have enough time to devote as he will be overseeing every aspect of the reunion.
Once you have the core committee ready, take the next step and form the sub-committees. These are the groups who will be doing the field work.
Designate specific responsibilities to each group so that they know what their duties are and what is expected from them. Have separate sub-committees for communications, food, activities and games, finances, and clean up. All these elements are key to having a successful reunion.
You can even start your own website for the reunion where you can post all the latest news and the most recent updates. The guests can not only keep in touch with the entire planning that goes on but can also drop in suggestions and even confirm their acceptance of invitations. You can even ask them to vote on contentious issues when the committee is having doubts.
Where to have the reunion
There are several options as to where you have your family reunion. But this depends largely on two factors the number of family members going to attend the reunion and the budget.
Depending on that, you can just go for a single day picnic or you can hire hotel rooms along the sea beaches and really splurge on different activities.
One good option is to have a picnic on Saturday during which you enjoy the outdoor activities like rowing or hiking if you want to.
You can also have games for children and adults and it really does provide the perfect setting either for you to meet your cousin after seven years and catch up on old times or getting to know some distant relatives who share the same passion of fishing with you.
If you can extend the weekend and everyone is free on Sunday then a nice brunch indoors in some restaurant provides the perfect finale. Such an arrangement is easier on your purse and at the same time helps you to bond with your family.
One great activity you can have during such reunions is to make an album of the family. Ask all the members to bring something along with them to be incorporated into the album.
As much as fun it is, it also helps to keep track of the event and does lend amazing insights to your family which may have been previously unknown to many of you.
