Planning a family reunion is a great way to reconnect with family members whom you haven’t seen in a while. Planning a family reunion is going to take some time and effort, in order to make sure everything goes smoothly.  Here are some tips to help you.

First, decide upon whom to invite.  If your family has very few members, then invite everyone.  However, if you have an extremely large family, you will need to make some decisions.  Is this a family reunion for your mother’s side of the family, or for your father’s side of the family?  You might want to combine a family reunion with the birthday of one of the eldest members of the family.  The guest list could then consist of everyone who is blood related to that special person.

Next decide on when you are planning the family reunion to be held.  Keep in mind that most people will need to take time off of work to attend, especially if the family reunion is far away, or will take place over a few days.  Give people a lot of time to make arrangements.  For better results, plan the family reunion to take place in the summer months, when the students will be on vacation from school.

Now you need to decide the location of the family reunion.  How to choose a good place is going to depend on what your family enjoys.  Do you want a “child friendly” venue?  Perhaps your family loves to go camping, and has a favorite campground they like to visit.  Is there a favorite restaurant that is large enough to accommodate your entire family reunion?  One simple solution is to choose a park, or forest preserve that has a picnic area, and have your family reunion there.

Your family will need to eat.  If you are doing a picnic or BBQ style family reunion, you might ask each family member to bring a dish to pass.  This will spread out the costs.  If you rented a hall, or are having the reunion in your home, consider having it catered.

Finally, add some fun “extras”.  Music is important.  Dancing is fun for everyone.  Nametags might make it easier for people to recognize one another.  Commemorative t-shirts are a great idea!  Hand out disposable cameras to everyone, collect them at the end, and share photos online.  Photos make wonderful memories for everyone.