Family Reunion Institute

Signed in as:

filler@godaddy.com

Account

Family Reunion Planning

1. Getting Young Folks Involved…
- ask for their input and suggestions; incorporate their ideass when you can
- ask what activities they would be interested in, what fundraisers they are willing to support
- encourage them to meet on a regular basis
- music, music, music (add it whenever you can)
- activities they may enjoy –
- sports; basketball, baseball, tennis, Olympic-type games
- roundtables and meetings
- back2school packs
- ice breakers
- researching family history (involves cell phones, audio and video-taping, taking

selfies...they’ll like it!)
- working on a family newsletter
- giving back program; helping elders, babysitting, internships with family members in

business
- workshops focusing on college, getting that first job
- participating in the reunion as greeters, mc, talent show, set-up & clean-up

2. Family Members love getting stuff. Consider…
- sending birthday cards to family members
- inviting family members to attend planning meetings
- starting a family newsletter
- scholarships for students
- door prizes and games (with a trophy or prize for the winner)
- fun gifts for oldest family member in attendance: youngest family member in attendance,

most newlywed couple, longest married couple, person traveling longest distance, first to

arrive, last to arrive, largest family group

3. Have school-aged family members design…
- t-shirts - badges - family crest - invitations

4. Family projects…
- family quilt - family cook-book - family calendar - family tree - research family history

5. Fundraisers…
- raffles - bowling parties - skating parties - family calendar - family cook-book
- Saints & Sinners Ball - candy sale - dances - bus trips - sell dinners

- basketball shoot-outs ($1 for each basket made in 30 seconds or 1 minute)
- Making Change Contest - It’s a contest within a contest. Find a BIG glass jar or container

and challenge your family members to 1- guess how much money it will take to fill it up to

the brim, and 2-bring their change to help fill it up. Create “guess slips” for family members

to record their guess of how much money will fill the container. The family member coming

closest to guessing the exact amount wins either a portion of the amount in the jar —or a

separate prize (ex: movie tickets, gift card, popcorn and soda). Identify rules ahead of time.

Rule #1 – no prize unless the jar is full.

6. At weekend reunions...
- provide family members with disposable cameras
- recognize school students educational achievement for the school year with:
- award ceremony for high school and college graduates
- move-up ceremony for all promoted students
- spelling bee, family history bee, etc.
- game night: have family members bring their favorite board and card games; get games on

Wii or dvd and play on a monitor so more family members can participate – like family feud,

deal or no deal, monopoly
- scavenger hunt
- themed fashion show (Afrocentric, back-to-school, prom, etc.)
- talent show
- who’s that baby photo contest
- Everybody’s Birthday Party!
- splash party
- softball or basketball game (north vs. south, east vs. west, your family vs. a local team)
- cook-off (best fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni & cheese, etc.)
- bake-off (best cake, pie, cookies, etc.)
- include icebreakers - Sample Icebreakers (to get family family members mingling and talking

to one another):
- Family Facts: Create a form with 100 numbered blank lines. Ask family members to find

someone they do not know and write down as many facts about that person as they can.

The person getting the most facts wins (a trophy, certificate, gift card, etc.)

- Family Facts Game: Take the facts that family members gathered from the game above

and create a separate icebreaker where you now list facts about family members, and

ask family members to identify who the facts are about. Each correct answer gets a

point. The family member with the most points wins.

- The Name Game: On a sheet of paper, create a list of general and specific information

about family members, with lines for the answers. The person who gets the most correct

answers wins. For example: Name a family member-
- wearing brown sandals , wearing black sandals, wearing white shorts
- wearing striped blouse, wearing pierced ears, wearing a hat
- without pierced ears, with red toenail polish, with red fingernails
- born in 1930’s, born in 1940’s, born in 1950’s, etc.
- lives in (name cities and/or state where family members live)
- with two brothers, with only one sister, who is an only child

7. At the family picnic…
- Recognize school students educational achievements for the school year with an award

ceremony for high school and college graduates and a move-up ceremony for all promoted

students
- Create an Olympic Event with activities for all age groups. Provide ribbons for all participants,

and award winners with a trophy.

Sample Olympic Races:
up to 2    = baby crawl
2 to 4        = block race
5 to 6        = 20 yard dash
7 to 10      = sneaker race
11 to 13    = sack race
14 to 15    = potato race
16 to 38    = basketball shoot-out
39+           = horseshoe toss
all ages     = tug of war, water balloon toss

- Hold a series of tournaments to see who’s best at basketball (3-on-3); volleyball (3-on-3);

double-dutch, hoola-hoop, dodge-ball, jacks, board and card games including: bingo, pinochle,

go-fish, pokeno, chess, checkers, scrabble, monopoly, etc.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Click below for more planning information.

REUNION ACTIVITIES

Family Reunion Planning