How to Plan a Family Reunion: 10 Steps

The timeline can change depending on the details you choose. Planning a cruise reunion takes much more lead time than meeting at a local park. Good luck, have fun, and be sure to enjoy yourself on the day!

1Create a List of Family Members

If this is the first time your family has held a reunion, you might be starting from scratch. Reach out to the family you know and ask them for other family members’ contact information.

Call, email or mail out a short survey with some basic questions:

• Are you interested in a family reunion?
• What do you like to do?
• Do you have any special menu needs?

The answers will help with all of the planning that follows.

2Get a Committee Going

Look for the people who seem the most interested and ask them to help organize the event. At the least, you will need people to help with:

• Money and the budget
• Invitations and the family list
• Photography
• Greeting and registration
• Food preparation and serving
• Entertainment and activities
• Clean-up

3Come Up With the Basic Plan

This is the bare bones of the event. Answering these questions will give you a good place to start:

• How long should the reunion last? One day, or a weekend?
• What date? Most planners suggest starting a year in advance, and more if it is a destination reunion.
• Where? A local park, Mom’s house, a theme park, a cruise, a hotel at the beach or a campground. There are lots of options, and you can work out the details later. This gets much easier if you surveyed the family first.
• What will we do for food? Not the menu yet, just the basic idea: potluck, barbecue, pizza, soup or chili, or catered.
• Do we want entertainment? Games, competitions, live bands and scavenger hunts are just a few possibilities. Narrow down the types you want now and save the details for later.
• What souvenirs? T-shirts go without saying. Cups, can coolers and drawstring bags with the family name are popular too, and a banner is nice for the venue.

4Create the Budget

Budgeting is important. You will want to charge enough to cover all of the costs involved. There are many spreadsheets on the internet to help. Here are the main things to include:

• Printing and mailing for invitations and other printed materials
• Deposits for services and facilities
• Decorations
• Prizes and souvenirs
• Entertainment
• Meals, including plates, cups and serving items
• Table and chair rentals

5Send Out the Invitations

You now have enough information to start inviting people. Send an invitation that includes the date, an outline of what will happen, and an RSVP date.

• Get the t-shirt size for everyone who is coming.
• Quote a price per person for those who sign up by the RSVP date.
• Do not hesitate to list a higher price for signing up after the RSVP date, and a higher one again (with no t-shirt) for walk-on guests.
• Make it easy to pay. Sign up to take credit cards or use a service like PayPal.

Follow up to get an idea of how many people will attend.

6Book a Location

As the RSVP forms and money come in, you can start making reservations at the venue you chose. If people will be traveling, contact a hotel and pass the information on to the family.

7Work Out the Menu

Finalize the menu with the exact items, the quantities and the drinks you need. Confirm that you have food and drinks for people with special needs.

There are many good websites with information on how much to buy per person. This food quantity chart for cooking for a crowd is a great one.

8Plan the Entertainment

Entertainment and activities are the key to making the event memorable. There are a few points during the day where a good activity will keep the excitement high.

Start with an icebreaker. As people arrive, give each person a name tag and ask them to write:

1. Their name in the center
2. One thing they like to do in the upper-left corner
3. Their favorite color in the upper-right corner
4. Their favorite hobby in the lower-left corner
5. Their favorite food in the lower-right corner

When everyone has arrived, ask the family members to find someone who shares their favorite color. Then ask them to find the person who matches them the closest. Have a prize to give out.

Plan something for mealtime. Displays like old family photos, a family time capsule or a “family in the news” board are a great way to fill the wait for meals. The simplest is a map with pins for people to show where they live. You can give a prize to the person who lives the farthest away (or the closest!).

Do not forget the kids, because they sure will not let you forget about them! Crafts, board games and simple active games work great.

Plan a main event. This could be a family talent show, a baseball game or another friendly competition. Be sure to have prizes for the winners.

9Order the Souvenirs

The number one problem with souvenirs is a failure to plan. Check with your vendor and get the latest possible order date for on-time delivery. Set your own cutoff a week before that, and tell every family member it is the absolute last day.

After years in the t-shirt business, I cannot count how many calls I have had asking to add “just 3 more” the day before shipping! Last-minute small orders are possible, but they cost more per shirt.

• Order an extra shirt or two for on-site sales and size swaps, and sell those at a profit.
• For other souvenirs, watch out for minimum quantities.
• To find your cost per item, take the total cost and divide it by the number sold. Sell the extras for at least that amount.

10Have a Backup Plan

No matter what, be sure you have an out for any problem. Bad weather might be the number one issue, but lost luggage, missing food or bad directions are no big deal if you have a plan.

Congratulations on deciding to hold a family reunion! It can be a lot of work, but the rewards are great. If there is one piece of advice that helps, it is this: attention to detail is the key to success.

The Jackson family proudly wearing their custom family reunion t-shirts.

A Sample Family Reunion Planning Timeline

Every reunion is different, so treat this as a starting point and adjust it to your plans.

When	What to do
About a year ahead	Build the family list, send the survey, form the committee and make the basic plan (steps 1 to 3). Start earlier for a destination reunion.
Next	Create the budget and send the invitations with an RSVP date (steps 4 and 5).
As RSVPs come in	Book the location and share hotel information (step 6).
After the RSVP date	Finalize the menu and the entertainment (steps 7 and 8).
Before your vendor’s last order date	Order t-shirts and souvenirs, with your own cutoff a week earlier (step 9).
The week before	Confirm reservations and walk through your backup plan (step 10).

References

• The Complete Guide to Planning a Memorable Family Reunion (KOA)
• 7 Steps for Planning Family Reunions and Saving Your Sanity (Family Tree Magazine)
• Plan a Family Reunion in Just 7 Days With This Simple Guide (Family History Daily)
• How to Calculate Food for Large Groups (LEAFtv)
• 30+ Family Reunion Ideas to Plan a Fun Family Party (FamilyEducation)