How You Can Make Everyone Happy and Throw a Great Family Reunion
Written by Dorothy Watson
Family reunions are supposed to be great events where people can reconnect with those they may have fallen out of contact with. At their best, family reunions are fun parties filled with laughs, smiles, stories, and promises to stay in touch. At their worst, family reunions are sparsely-attended nightmares full of bickering and quarrel. Don’t let your family reunion fall into that latter category. Dawn Hale Coaching shares some tips to make your reunion a success.
Get the word out way in advance
It wouldn’t hurt to begin sending feelers out to your extended family up to a year in advance, but you should at least begin notifying people six months before the event is scheduled. This has two major benefits. First, you get input from more people so you can determine a date that works the best for the most people. People are busy, and it’s nearly impossible to find a date where there will be perfect attendance, but if you start planning far enough out you can improve your odds. Second, you can let people be involved in the actual planning. The more people have input, the fewer quarrels you’ll have about activities, location, amenities, etc., down the road. Just be sure to agree to making a vote to avoid haggling over particulars.
Better Homes & Gardens shares a helpful checklist explaining what you should be doing 6 months out, 4 months out, 3 months out, etc.
Delegate
Don’t try to plan everything on your own. Organizing a family reunion (even if it’s just a single day or weekend event) of 30, 40, 50 or even 100 people is incredibly daunting.
“No one person can manage all aspects of a family reunion. Surround yourself with capable and enthusiastic committee members. As the chairperson, you'll oversee the event, handle communications between committees, coordinate the volunteers—and occasionally play peacemaker,” suggests FamilyTreeMagazine.com.
Delegate the bookkeeping to one volunteer. They will deal with the budget (and collecting funds). Have another person deal with lodging for all the attendees. Have another person coordinate the food, and then another person who can focus on figuring out the activities/entertainment.
Location, location, location
What you do at your family reunion is important, but where you do it is perhaps the most important aspect of the whole thing. If you’re planning on putting on a more traditional family reunion, you will need to make sure you choose a location that’s as centrally located (in relation to all your attendees) as possible.
Get out your map and push pins (literally) and find a point of interest that’s the closest to everyone. People are more likely to attend your family reunion if they are, let’s say, only 3 hours away from it by car as opposed to across the country.
Another option, of course, is to throw a destination reunion. This hybrid of a vacation and a family reunion could take place in a fun and interesting location like Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, New York, or Montana. Whether or not this is feasible will depend on how mobile your family is, and whether they are financially able. If it’s your first family reunion, Group Travel suggests it may be best to start small, however.
Hosting It Yourself
If your family reunion will be on the smaller end, say about 30 to 40 people, you may decide it’s best to host it yourself. While this will be quite the undertaking, it can help to offset costs. And if you offer to let some people stay with you, they may be more likely to come if it will help them save money.
You’ll still need assistance planning the particulars, so with your team, refer to your countdown checklist to help prepare your home. A few weeks out, make a point to declutter and reorganize both to beautify your space and to make enough room for everyone. Consider swapping out some decor, adding plants or including anything else to imbue a happy environment.
Next, address furniture. Does anything need to be removed or repaired? If you’re expected to host a dinner at your grandmother’s antique dining table, now is the perfect time to reupholster those seat cushions. Search terms like “upholstery shop near me” can help you unearth local experts who can make your dining room chairs look brand new. In addition to cleaning or repairing pieces, look into whether you also need to rent additional tables and chairs as well as linens and cutlery.
Finally, consider the yard. You’ll need ample space for activities, tables, chairs and, of course, family. You’ll want to have the entire area cleaned up, mowed and prepped to handle your crowd. Again, if you need to, connect with professionals who can give your backyard a refresh.
Family reunions are large gatherings of family, so there are bound to be some quarrels throughout the planning and execution phases. But if you get started early, gather input from everyone, focus on a central location, and delegate responsibilities, you can help boost the odds that your foray into event planning will be a great success.