Family Reunions

When you are planning a family reunion, get help and input from your spouse, your kids, and all those who will be attending. Here are ways to have an enjoyable reunion and to let go of trying to control all aspects of the gathering.

• Divide up the cooking and cleaning so that no one person or group of people are doing all the work. One way is to have each family be in charge of a meal.
• Encourage everyone to take pictures -- lots of pictures!
• Don't try to have something scheduled for every minute of the gathering. People need time to relax, to escape, to explore, to just talk and visit. Free time is important.
• Don't exclude the kids during the meal time preparation. Give them something to do, too.
• Don´t schedule a family reunion during a major holiday unless you are inviting both sides of everyone's family.
• Discuss with family members how folks want to handle accommodations. Should you rent a really big house or should you all plan on staying at the same hotel or do you all want to camp out?
• Make sure you bring things for the little ones to do. Board games, Wii, books, coloring books and crayons, badminton set, sand toys if near a beach, a kite, etc.
• If you are renting a large home, make sure everyone is responsible for keeping their own "area" tidy.
• Expect the unexpected. Things won't necessarily go as you had hoped.
• Have information available about the area for those who want to explore or go shopping.
• Consider making a photo book of the reunion.