How to Throw the Best Family Reunion

With more and more families finding themselves having members living in countries all over the world, family reunions are more important than ever. It can be quite challenging to coordinate such an event but the result, when done properly, make it well worth it. The internet enables the organisation to be a lot easier but there is still certain etiquette you need to bear in mind. Here are a few tips on how to make your family reunion a success.

Plan in Collaboration

There’s no point in setting a date and a venue at the start and then hoping everyone can come. Put your heads together with the people who are likely to find it most difficult to make it to the event (this may be because of babies or geographical reasons) and come up with a selection of dates you can make. In the same way suggest a number of venues before settling on one.

Plan Well in Advance

The more time you give people, the better chance they have of penning it in their diary and not getting double-booked. If you have relatives all over the world a year will probably be needed to sort holidays and other arrangements.

 Pick the Perfect Venue

If you are expecting a lot of people it is probably a better idea to hire a venue (a function room or village hall perhaps) rather than hosting the party at someone’s home. You should then think about catering, whether you need a bar and what other entertainment you think is appropriate.

 Create a Facebook Event

Facebook has all manner of uses but perhaps its best asset is its organisational capabilities. Once the date is set, creating a Facebook event for the occasion will allow the invitees to discuss the reunion before and after and for people who have important information to broadcast it to the people coming.

 Make the Most of the Opportunity

If it is a rare occasion when all the family gets together make sure you milk it for all it’s worth. Get a family portrait photographed (Venture Studios are great at this), maybe go out for a meal with the people you don’t see as much near to the time and spend as much time as you can doing family friendly activities.

 Watch your Budget

With things like hiring a bar, organising catering and you may also want to get a DJ or even karaoke, you will have to consider costs. Set yourself a budget beforehand and ask if anyone want to chip in many will be more than happy to. Make sure you know how much you are happy to pay before you go ahead with the plan.

 Consider a Theme

To make it that bit more fun you may want to come up with a theme for the party. This will create a talking point between the disparate family members and give the photos from the event a little bit more personality.

*o*     *o*     *o*

This post was provided by one of this blog’s partners.