Studio 5 Party, Holiday and Ideas Contributor Alisa Bangerter shares some fun ideas…with help from a member of her own family tree, mom Mella Bedell.
Tips and Ideas:
The first tip for planning a reunion is to choose a theme to help get you started. Theme possibilities are endless but by choosing a theme, it will help give you ideas to work around. For this segment we have chosen the theme: Meet Your Family Tree.
• Start a family blog or newsletter to advertise and get everyone excited for the reunion and to post information and updates after the reunion.
• Be creative with invitations. An actual tiny tree branch with the invite tied on would fit this theme nicely. Other ideas might be to mail a family group sheet with the name highlighted where they fit in the family – as part of an invitation or send an invitation featuring a photo of the couple the family reunion is honoring, etc. Be creative so everyone is excited to attend.
• Have the reunion on the birthday or anniversary of an ancestor. Have a birthday cake and sing to them.
• Make name tags for family members at the reunion – these could be in a leaf shape to go along with the family tree theme. Add a creative photo of them on each nametag.
• When family members arrive at the reunion have a tree (branches in a pot, a fake evergreen or even a real tree) with names clipped or tied to the branches. Each person chooses a name of someone attending the reunion. That person must find the person whose name they chose and get to know 3 things about them. Then later in a group setting, have each person stand and tell about the person they learned about.
• Have a big paper family tree or huge family group sheet on a wall so people can see where they fit into the family.
• If you have a large live tree at the reunion, utilize it by hanging items from the branches or placing information on the tree trunk etc. Use actual trees as part of the décor.
• Have each branch of the family tree wear a certain color t-shirt to the reunion.
• Make family tree t-shirts or t-shirts with a family logo, saying or crest. A fun t-shirt would be to have a family photo of the couple who started the family line together, screen printed on t-shirts.
• Have a “field” trip as part of the reunion to an old family homestead, cemetery or other important place for your family.
• Take a skein of yarn and cut it into different lengths. Make some a foot long others longer. Roll the yarn into a ball. Have family members sit in a circle and have the first person start to unwind the yarn. They must speak about their family or themselves as long as their yarn piece lasts. This is a great get-to-know-you game.
• A fun activity for each family would be to have them design a family flag. Have a parade of flags. One flag could also be made as a group.
• Guessing games are always a hit. Have a jar of something that everyone must guess the correct amount. Have the things in the jar related to your family somehow.
• Have a family fashion show. Include items from the past as well as the present. You could show old wedding attire, prom dresses, beach wear, etc. Have a humorous commentator and tell stories along with the items.
• Have a memory or question jar. Have each person pull out a question and answer it. Have the questions family related.
• Have someone make up a funny song about the family and perform it.
• Have a family talent show as a spoof on the “American Idol” TV show. Call it “Family Idol”. Have family members perform talents and have three or four judges. After each person performs, have the judges give lavish and exaggerated praise and comments. Everyone could even vote for the family idol winner, however give prizes and certificates to all. Play the music from the TV show and add lots of fun special effects. Have someone host the show – someone who is humorous and can ask creative questions to those participating.
• Create a family history quilt. Have each family or each person write or design a fabric block (with permanent markers, fabric crayons, etc.) to represent them or their family. Have someone complete the quilt and give it to grandma or auction it off to the family to earn money for the next reunion.
• Set a timer for five minutes and give each person at the reunion a paper and pencil. Each person must write a five minute history of themselves or their family or a write a family update. Compile these in a book for everyone.
• Have kids make family paper chains with a name on each link (like a family group sheet, hooking multiple chains off a central one). Each link represents a person and the child could have their link a different color so they can see how they fit in.
• Create coloring pages for the kids of family members, family homesteads, etc. or create a family storybook about those present or an ancestor(s).
• Set up a story time area for children to sit and listen to family stories. A quilt on the ground under a tree with snacks is always fun!
• Have a contest to see who can fill out the most information on a family group sheet. Have a time limit and give a prize to the winner. Send everyone home with a completed one.
• Make a family matching game and put photos of family members on large cards to match up. Put a baby photo and an older age photo to match. Variations could be photos and names, photos and birthdays, photos and a fun bit of info. for that person, matching spouses, etc. This is great to get to know current family members or ancestors. This could also be turned into a matching type card game.
• Have each person at the reunion write something interesting about themselves and place it in a bucket. Draw a paper out of the bucket and have everyone guess who it is. This is a great way to get to know those in attendance – and many funny stories will come out.
• Play “Who wants to be the Family Millionaire.” This is a spoof off the TV game show “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” Have someone be the host and some one be the contestant. Have series of family trivia questions and have them harder each time. This is a lot of fun and rotate family members through as the contestants.
• Play a family bingo themed game. Make bingo cards that have photos on them, names of family members, trivia about family members or just family sayings, quotes or tidbits. This is a fun activity for young and old alike.
• Make a collage of old family photos and number each person. Let people try to identify each person in the photos. This would make a fun placemat for people to use and work on while they eat. You could also place individual photos placed down a table or around the walls or area of the reunion and have people identify them. Give a prize.
• Have a photography contest before or during the reunion. Limit photos to maybe five per person and give prizes. They could be downloaded and shown or printed for voting right at the reunion. You could also have a board for family photos to be displayed.
• Have a family trivia quiz. Make a sheet with questions that are trivia questions about those at the reunion or ancestors. Make some easy and some hard. Create questions such as “who lives in a green house that was once a barn?” or “who has a birthday on Christmas?” etc. This would make a fun TV style “Family Feud” type game as well.
• Make a list of items that will help family members mingle and get to know one another. Each person can sign someone else’s sheet only once. Have things like: “someone wearing glasses,” or “someone who traveled over 200 miles to attend.”
• Family skits are always fun. Have skits that re-enact family stories and events.
• Set up a family heirloom display table or have a family heirloom show and tell time. Ask family members to bring an item from the past they can show and tell a story about.
• Have a video chair. Ask each person to sit in the chair (this works great outside as well – set a soft recliner or other chair under a tree or somewhere relaxing) and talk into a video camera for five minutes about a family memory. Make copies of these and give to family members. You could even have a specific question such as: “tell a memory about Grandpa Jones.”
• Have family photos made as jigsaw puzzles for the kids to assemble. This might also be a fun favor for each family to take home.
• Have kids fill out fun information sheets about themselves. Do these each year for kids under 18. Compile them each year and through the years you will have a fun keepsake and great information about the children as they grow.
• Make a reunion journal that each person in attendance writes in every reunion.
• A fun craft may be to have people hand tint copies of black and white heritage photos to keep.
• Plant a family tree as a group. Place a memory plaque with it in honor of a family member.
• Have cards available to write a note to family members serving in the military, on missions, those who are ill or others who may not have been able to attend.
• Make a family time capsule. Have each family or person bring something to go in the family time capsule. A trunk or plastic bin might work well. Seal it up, label it and decide on a time to open it at another reunion – maybe in 25 years.
• Ask family members to bring family photos to swap. Have a scanner readily available so photos can be scanned. Make sure everyone gets copies.
• Take a group photo and be creative! Line everyone up like a family group sheet or family tree – each member could even hold a sign with their name on it. You could line everyone up from oldest to youngest. Another fun option would be to have everyone line up and spell the family name using their bodies. Place tape or flour on the ground so people will know where to stand and then have someone take a photo from a high ladder or a roof looking down on the group. You could also have a fun backdrop (of an old homestead, great-great- grandparents, etc.) for individuals or family groups to have a photo taken at.
• A fun favor for each family to take home would be a small booklet with the names, addresses, birthdays, etc. of all family members.
• A great idea for each family to take home would be a bag filed with photos, cd’s of family information, group sheets, treats, an address book of family members, family t-shirts, etc. Many companies might be willing to donate items for the bags or check out local dollar and discount stores. Even better, have each family bring something to put in the bags.
• A favor that would fit this theme well would be an actual tree seedling.
• Present a family slide show. Set a certain limit of photos (or slides) for each family to send in for the show. Hang a big sheet outside if a screen is not available.
• Have a family recipe cook-off contest. Have members bring a favorite family recipe to be judged. Another option would be to make recipes that have been in the family for generations and tell a story about each dish before serving.
• Make a family cookbook. Make sure to add fun stories about the recipes or favorite memories. If you have recipes that are from long ago – you may want to copy them so the handwriting of the ancestor is part of the book. This would be a fun favor for everyone to take home or sell them to raise money for future family reunions.
• Serve a cake with a family photo on it or create photo cookies. Simply take your photos to a bakery that will print your photos (print a sheet of 2″ x 2″ or 3″ x 3″ or so) onto edible wafer or sugar paper. Cut out each photo and place on frosted sugar cookies to serve. (You can also buy edible ink and edible paper to go through your printer. See www.kopykake.com for information.)
• Google “family tree cakes” under images and you will pull up amazing and fun family tree cakes you could make and serve.
• Make leaf cookies with the names of everyone at the reunion. It will be fun for everyone to find their own personalized cookie.
Add comment