Posts Tagged ‘family reunion planner’
Guide To Planning A Reunion
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January 2nd, 2010 by
Monica
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As you begin learning how to organize a family reunion, keep in mind that things can get stressful and overwhelming if you can’t delegate tasks to others and keep it simple. Don’t be afraid to get help organizing your family reunion. It’s this planning together that adds to the bonding experience of the event, after all. Naturally, the first step in planning a reunion is to find out who is invited, who is willing to help and whose addresses you’ll need to track down. Once you have the guest list squared away, you’ll be well on your way to arranging a memorable gathering.
The next step in planning a reunion is to delegate tasks. One person can be in charge of communications and letting everyone know what is going on; this person should collect address, send out surveys, accept responses, create and make family reunion invitations, prepare agendas and make any necessary phone calls. Two other people can volunteer for set-up/decorations at the party site and tear-down/clean-up; after all, it’s taxing and unfair for the host to do absolutely everything. Another person can be in charge of food, whether it’s organizing a potluck style dinner, ordering from a caterer, cooking all the dishes or finding a restaurant who will do a brunch. If your family reunion will be complex, it could help to delegate a finance point person, who can identify a budget, collect money from other relatives or figure out how to pay for everything. Additional jobs might include a family reunion activities/games director, and a historian who can collect information for a family tree, finds photographs to bring or purchase special keepsakes for the group.
Once you get other family members involved and send out a survey letter, your next step of planning a reunion will be to select the date. What good is a family reunion if no one can attend? Look over the survey poll results and try to find the date that is conducive to the most people. Many families select a holiday like Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or a special family milestone. If you plan on turning this into an annual gathering, your best bet is to pick a date and keep it the same each year. You’ll also need to consider how long your gathering will last — just a few hours, a weekend or even an entire week. If you have a lot of family members coming in from afar, then you may want to make their family reunion vacation last more than just an afternoon. It’s important that you understand you can’t possibly please everyone, so try to choose a date that will accommodate the largest number of kin.
Planning a reunion doesn’t seem so bad until you get to deciding on a family reunion location. This is where it gets tricky because there are so many different options and some family member’s attendance will depend upon budget constraints. Since the average American family is spread out all across the country, you will want to find a location that is central to most family members. If the largest cluster of the family is in one area, then pick a household, restaurant, banquet hall, park, campground or hotel that is close to everyone. If your family members are really scattered all over, then try to choose a central location or a place that is cheap to fly to (like Las Vegas or Florida) to cut down on travel expenses.
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De-Stress Your Family Reunion Planning
Posted on
January 2nd, 2010 by
Monica
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The planning steps for a family reunion are as follows. Assemble a guest list, pick a date, choose a location, send out invitations, delegate responsibilities for cooking and planning, make reservations if necessary, plan activities and games, and enjoy your special gathering! Family reunion planning can get pretty stressful if you get caught up in trying to please everyone. The best way to eliminate of all stress is to get help organizing your family reunion. Ask the family elders for their input, advice and ideas, because if you don’t, then these will be the least satisfied members of the family. You’ll need to consider unique issues like proximity to the bathrooms, wheelchair accessibility, comfortable seating and special dietary requirements. Without asking the family elders, you may not have ever thought of these details. Here are some other tips and reunion ideas to consider.
One way to eliminate the stress of family reunion planning is to take your reunion out of your home and leave the hassle somewhere else. You may want to research banquet halls, church halls or VFW halls in your area to see if you can host family reunion activities there. Usually these venues can be booked at a low cost. Public parks and picnic areas are also popular locations. Some families rent out cabins and take part in hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, campfires, movies, games and arranged meals. For a list of places near you, try visiting www.koa.com.
Another way to evade the stress of planning a family reunion is to purchase reunion planning software. Family Reunion Organizer and Family Reunion Planner are two types of software to consider. Not only will these programs walk you through the steps of how to organize a family reunion, but will also provide you with a database for keeping track of family members’ contact info and RSVPs, as well as lists for budgeting, assigning tasks, completing tasks and networking with service providing professionals. Whether you’re planning an at-home get-together or a reunion vacation, you can visit www.family-reunion.com/organizer or www.family-reunion-planner.fimark.net to order this inexpensive organizer software.
There are also a number of books aimed at assisting you in your family reunion planning process. A book about family reunions can inspire you with reunion tips and ideas, and they can guide you with practical timelines and checklists. Many of the books provide sections with detailed information, as well as areas where you can fill in your own details and record notes. A few books to check out include: The Family Reunion Planner by Donna Beasley, Family Reunion Planning Kit For Dummies by Cheryl Fall and The Family Reunion Handbook by Barbara E. Brown.
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Reunion Planning Software
Posted on
January 1st, 2010 by
Monica
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If you’re a seasoned reunion planning pro, then you won’t need to get help organizing your family reunion from a software program. However, if you’re new at the game, then a few well-organized checklists, address books, surveys and budget calculators would be a world of help. Sometimes you may catch yourself feeling stressed for no good reason. Likely it’s just that you need to take a moment, sit down, collect your thoughts and make a few lists. There are several different family reunion software packages to choose from.
Family Reunion Organizer (www.family-reunion.com/organizer/index.htm) is one of the most popular software programs on the market for planning family reunions. After an easy CD-ROM installation, you’ll be able to enter the name of your gathering and user information, entering the reunion planner’s name, address, phone number and family reunion website information. Next, you can build your family address book with names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, personal websites and notes sections. Later on, you will be able to use this address book to create family reunion invitations, send out Christmas cards and issue reminders. Next you can create a survey to send out to family members, asking for reunion ideas. You will also get some advice from your program on how to create a theme, plan activities, decide upon food and order decorations.
Other features of the $29.95 Family Reunion Organizer reunion planning software allows you to plan family reunion vacations or select an appropriate reunion location, whether it is a cruise ship, a park, a backyard, a VFW post, a restaurant or another venue. You’ll get advice on making reservations and creating maps for out-of-town relatives. Creating reunion invitations is easy, given all the information contained in the software program. You can print and mail invitations or use the program to create a custom family reunion web page for you to alert family members of your plans. There are also budget calculators, shopping list templates, expense tracking forms, committee delegation listing, fundraising suggestions and activity planning suggestions.
Another alternative to reunion planning software is to simply create your own lists in MS Word or spreadsheets in Excel. Of course, you can’t be sure you’re covering all bases necessarily. You won’t need these programs if you’re just having a simple family gathering, per say, but if you’re interested in preserving your family history, learning as much as you can about other family members and gathering the tools to be more committed to remembering birthdays and staying in touch, then you will find this tool to be a great asset.
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Rentals For Family Reunions
Posted on
January 1st, 2010 by
Monica
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The very idea of family reunions is intriguing because you’ll get to catch up with far-flung relatives you haven’t seen in years. “My how you’ve grown,” will be heard echoing around the party, undoubtedly, as kids grow taller and wiser. You’ll see family elders who look great for their age, cousins who’ve changed their style, aunts who have just returned from a cruise and other relatives who may have lost a lot of weight. It’s always exciting to catch up, but sometimes it can be awkward breaking the ice and starting up conversations with people you’ve never met before. To get the party started, you may want to consider family reunion rentals, which can liven up the mood.
Sumo suits can be a blast at family reunions. For about $375/weekend, you could rent an inflatable sumo wrestler suit to liven up the party. Do you have that one cousin you’ve secretly always wanted to battle? Imagine grappling in a ridiculous-looking sumo suit for supremacy! This is one of the family reunion activities that can even get teenagers involved. If you plan this family reunion rental, then make sure someone has a camera handy to capture all those family reunion memories! For more information on ordering and shipping, visit www.sumonationwide.com.
Another one of the more clever family reunion ideas is to organize your family reunion around a Murder Mystery event. You can hire a theatre troupe to arrive at your next event and get everyone involved in a comedic, intriguing and entertaining “WhoDunIt” mystery. Everyone, from young kids to the family elders, will be able to enjoy this type of activity, which makes it an ideal activity for family reunions. The Riddlesbrood Touring Theatre Company (www.riddlesbrood.com) will work with the family reunion planner to customize the performance around your guests. For $750, they can bring setting changers to transform your backyard or home into the scene of a crime, costumed actors, lighting, sound and video effects to make the experience even more immersive. For the $1050 Deluxe Package, they can also arrive with roving themed characters, wandering musicians, magicians, stilt walkers, face painters, balloon crafters and/or a DJ.
Did you know you can rent a photo booth for family reunions? The average price is around $595/4 hours for a mall-style photo booth that instantly prints out slides of four keepsake photos. Kids and teens especially will love these antique photo booths, which can even bring a sense of nostalgia to adult couples who may want to sneak a smooch in these neat booths! In this day and age, almost everything’s gone digital, but it’s fun to capture family reunion memories and transform them into instant mementos. For more information, just visit www.rentphotobooths.com, www.alltimefavorites.com or www.partybooths.com.
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A Family Reunion Cruise
Posted on
January 1st, 2010 by
Monica
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In 2001, the Travel Industry Association reported that 1 in 5 vacations spanned three generations and that a third of all summer trips involved a family reunion. Whether it’s for a full week or just a weekend, the best family reunion vacation deals can be found on a cruise ship, where all activities, meals and child care is included in the cabin price. “The best part was that nobody had to cook, do dishes or plan anything. We could just focus on being together,” Jane Austin told the Eugene Register-Guard newspaper following her family’s reunion cruise. Another cruiser, Carl Weinburg, reported: “One of the worst parts about living so far apart is that when we get together, it’s a big event with all the emotional risks of a big event. The cruise made it easy to have casual, everyday interactions, which were much more rewarding.”
If it’s your first time planning a family reunion cruise, then you might feel a little nervous that someone in the family will have a problem with your plan or you may worry that a cruise may fall beyond time and money budgeting for some family members. To stay flexible, try planning your family reunion vacation 18 months in advance or opting for a shorter 3-4 day cruise instead of the full week. Another good idea for including families with kids is to make arrangements over the Christmas holidays when everyone is out of school. Many families also like spending their holidays on a cruise ship because it cuts down on the hassle of cooking, cleaning, bouncing to several different homes and driving in poor weather conditions.
The best way to plan a destination family reunion is to stick to the basics and not over-stress. Focus on the cruise line and family reunion location. Be sure the cruise line knows you’re planning to make this a reunion and travel together. Don’t worry about shore excursions, dining times or other minute details beforehand. It’s best to see what everyone is up for when the time comes, but you could email everyone with updates and details to get them excited, such as which shore excursions are available, which port stops are on the itinerary and when family members must book by to receive the promotional rates. Not surprisingly, a lot of planners go with a travel agent to get the best deals.
There is much to see and do aboard a family reunion ship adventure. Kids will love the arcades, supervised games, theater experiences, fashion shows, cookie baking, ice-cream-and-pajama-parties, karaoke and computer classes aboard Crystal Cruises. Disney Cruises offer unparalleled activities for kids, while parents can relax in kids-free zones like the spa or fancy restaurants, giving them a chance to catch up with other family members. The whole family can learn from the National Wildlife Federation, Miami Seaquarium or California Science Center educational programs on the Princess Cruise line. There is simply nothing like a family reunion cruise to create new memories that will last for years to come.
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Planning A Family Reunion Location
Posted on
December 31st, 2009 by
Monica
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Since 9/11, there has been a return to family-centric activities in America. Spending time together and planning a family reunion has become more and more popular. In fact, one in five U.S. adults said they took a trip to attend a family reunion within the past year. An estimated 72 million adults have been to a family reunion over the last three years. The travel industry says that more than half of all reunions are held at someone’s house (52%), although city or town parks (12%) and state parks or forests (6%) are also popular. However, nearly a third of all travelers reported going 500 miles or more to attend their family gathering, so travel experts say that family reunion vacations are on-the-rise.
One of the best ways to plan a family reunion is to book an all-inclusive family reunion cruise or a stay at an all-inclusive family reunion resort. This option is best suited for active and far-flung families, many of which have to travel across the country to get together with relatives anyway. This option is also suited for family members who enjoy a convenient, no-fuss vacation that allows for a myriad of fun family reunion activities. The best part about these family reunions is that there are no hidden expenses — generally all meals, sodas, transportation, rooms and entertainment are included. Additionally, no one has to cook, clean or drive anywhere! The one con to booking this way is that extra costs like shore excursions and alcohol expenses can potentially rack up the bill. One can expect to pay anywhere from $250 to $600 per person (plus airfare) for a 5-day cruise, assuming that 20 or more people attend. Naturally, the more people that go, the lower the price and often times, the party planner gets to sail or stay for free.
In a 2004 study, the Family Travel Forum looked into planning a family reunion at an all-inclusive resort. They examined family reunion location choices, transportation availability, the variety of accommodations, activities for all ages, unique attractions, dining facilities and group discounts in choosing their “Top Getaways for Family Reunions.” Their top all-inclusive resorts were the Woodloch Pines in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, and Club Maeva Tulum in Riviera Maya, Mexico — although the latter is currently closed for renovations following Hurricane Wilma. Woodloch Pines has also been highly recommended by Family Circle Magazine and Better Homes & Gardens as “one of the best family all-inclusive resorts.” Each guest house holds 10-12 people, giving families full access to on-site spas, championship golf courses, Broadway shows, boating, hiking, kayaking, rappelling, fishing, dancing, crafts, go-karts, outdoor sports facilities, family Olympics, bingo, scavenger hunts, swimming and intimate family-style meals.
When planning a family reunion of this magnitude, it’s best to survey everyone and see which places stand out the most. Naturally, the family reunion planner does not want to exclude anyone, so some thought should be given as to what places have relaxing activities for older, frail adults and more adventurous programs for wild young children. The benefit of choosing a cruise, an all-inclusive resort or a place like Walt Disney World is that they really go the extra mile to create an inter-generational environment where everyone can find something they enjoy. To ensure the family doesn’t scatter their separate ways, it’s a good idea to take advantage of the special family reunion activities these places offer, such as private receptions, scavenger hunts or special excursions.
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Ideas For Family Reunion Gifts
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December 31st, 2009 by
Monica
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Often times, our family reunion plans are centered on another event, such as a special birthday or Christmas. If gift-giving will be part of this occasion, you’ll be glad to know there are family reunion web site stores that specialize in family-centric mementos. Whether you’re considering inexpensive ideas for family reunion gifts like calendars and personalized pens, or you’d like to find something more expensive to commemorate a matriarch’s birthday, you’ll find there are a number of clever gifts to choose from.
One of the best websites with family reunion gifts is simply www.gifts.com. This site acts as a compendium of other sale sites and brings you the best of the Internet. Here you’ll find a $10 family scrap-booking kit, personalized wall decals for $24.95, $20 custom tees, personalized luggage tags for $29, personalized photo calendars for $16.95, $45 family tree picture frames, $5 family fridge magnets, $150 family heirloom photo quilts, custom photo M&Ms (3 bags for $38.97) and $345 custom “Memory Lane” artwork of all your family’s favorite locations. Many of the gifts on this site are intended to be given to individuals or won as a prize in family reunion games, rather than purchased in bulk for everyone.
Another great resource for the family reunion planner is www.findgift.com. Many families like the idea of giving a personalized marble tile message for $29, which makes the perfect spoon rest for a kitchen or mantel accent for the fireplace. Another $29 offering is a family recipe cookbook, which keeps the sumptuous culinary traditions going. The $54.95 family tree tapestry afghan makes a wonderful gift for the heads of the family, which can be passed down for generation to generation to help keep track of the lineage. Another one of the ideas for family reunion gift giving is the “Origin of Last Name” genealogy print, which gives a little bit of thoughtful family history for $29.95. Personalized plaques can also commemorate each family member and be given to the patriarch. A wonderful book for the grandkids to give nana is the “Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories” book, which asks the family elder to write her answers to a number of questions into the journal to be kept for posterity. The $29.95 personalized family tree platter is another nice gift.
There are many ideas for family reunion favors, but if you find that family reunion games and gifts are stressing you out, then just skip them this year. The most important thing is the gathering of people. The second most important thing is ensuring that the food arrives. (There are few things worse than being surrounded by a bunch of hungry, grouchy relatives!) Everything after that is just gravy. You may want to begin introducing these little details one at a time each year or delegating these responsibilities to someone else. At the end of the day, you’ll just be glad you took the time to assemble everyone to create these new family reunion memories!
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Planning Family Reunion Activities
Posted on
December 31st, 2009 by
Monica
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Often times we collect so much junk lying around the house, it’s crazy. So, when planning family reunion festivities, why not ask each family member to bring one special item to auction or raffle off? Perhaps it’s an antique piece of furniture that’s just been collecting dust, a piece of old jewelry, a knick-knack, baked goods or an article of clothing that no longer fits. The proceeds can then go toward organizing future family reunions, which will take some of the stress off the family reunion planner. With a little creativity, your family reunion can be the best it’s ever been.
Karaoke is another classic idea for family reunion fun and inter-generational bonding. There are many ways to facilitate a bar-style karaoke event. If one of your family’s youngsters has a Playstation 3, Wii or Xbox, then they can hook up the Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Sing Star or Karaoke Revolution Party game. Another option is to rent a bona fide karaoke machine for the day. For instance, www.nationwidekaraoke.com will rent you a system with two microphones and over 1,000 songs for just $49/weekend. However, if you think you may be using this karaoke machine again to create future family reunion memories, then you may want to simply buy one for $79 to $200. Some top-selling models at www.amazon.com include the Memorex Sing Stand, the Singing Machine SMG-137, the Singing Machine STVG-535 and the Singing Machine STVG-999 Pedestal Karaoke Machine. You can be sure there will be lots of laughs once your family members begin to belt out their favorite hit songs!
When you’re planning family reunion fun activities, it’s a good idea to come up with something active and amusing. A scavenger hunt is the perfect way to involve family members from 8 to 80. Divvy up your family members into mixed-age teams and give each team a list of objects to find, including household items, funny items and obscure items. For instance, you could hide your uncle’s bowling trophy, family photos or grandma’s socks. Then, set a timer and see which team scores the most loot. Some family reunion games can get pretty involved. For example, your scavenger hunt could start teams out along a paper trail, where they need to move from clue to clue or riddle to riddle before they solve the mystery of where the family heirloom treasure is hidden. The first team to reach it wins!
Planning family reunion events should be about creating and preserving memories for years to come. Therefore, the “Family History Hot Seat” is the perfect addition to any family gathering. You can incorporate the hot seat in with other games. For example, whenever someone loses or gets eliminated from game play, you can send them over to “the hot seat,” which is a chair off to the side, next to a video camera and designated interviewer. The interviewer may then ask the family member questions. Where did you attend eighth grade, and what is a fond memory from that year? How did you and your spouse first meet? Tell us about something you broke or needed stitches for. What is a fond childhood memory you have of your grandparents? List all the places you lived in your life and tell us an interesting story about each one of those locations. For more inspirational fodder, visit the “Memory Grabber” family reunion website at www.familyhistoryproducts.com/mg2008.html.
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Get An Idea For Family Reunion Invites
Posted on
December 30th, 2009 by
Monica
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The first time you organize your family reunion, you’re likely brimming with ideas for invitations, activities and food. After five, six or seven years of planning, you start to feel like the well of family reunion ideas has run dry. Choosing a unique and inspiring invitation can really show a bit of your personality or pump some new life into your event. One popular idea for family reunion gatherings is to choose a theme like “the roaring twenties,” “safari,” “disco,” “Hollywood glamour,” “fiesta,” “Mardi Gras,” “ancient Rome,” “Hawaiian luau,” “sailors and mermaids,” or “medieval times.” Once you have selected a fun theme, you can get to work designing a unique invitation and thinking of a few decorating ideas and family reunion activities.
Creating “save the date” magnets is one spectacular idea for creating family reunion invitations. At www.freshimpressions.us, you can order magnets for just $1.59 each! These magnets can be customized with artwork of your choosing or a family photo. You can also choose the colors, fonts and wording of the invites or include a calendar with the date circled to help everyone remember when the shindig is going down. If you’re not really sure what you want, you can also look at templates and choose one that you feel is appropriate for your gathering. The best part about this type of fun family reunions’ invitation is that your relatives will have a keepsake memento for years to come.
Another creative idea for family reunion announcements is to create a special family reunion web site. Granted, you will likely have to deliver some invites by mail or by phone, since not all older adults are comfortable with using the Internet, but the vast majority of the family will love what you’ve made. Family websites are the best way to keep in touch — sharing recipes, photos, videos and writings; announcing exciting news like births, promotions or weddings; arranging more informal events throughout the year; and exchanging amusing stories. A good site to check out is www.myfamily.com, which offers free hosting and private user login access, so the family files are only visible to the people you want. Here you can announce family reunions, post files, email and do pretty much everything any other social networking site allows. This type of family reunion invitation will save on paper and ensure your family bonds stay thick the whole year through!
As the family reunion planner, you may be concerned about getting a tally for attendees at your big event. One idea for family reunion response eliciting is to use online invitations from a family reunion web site like www.purpletrail.com. This website will let respondents RSVP with the click of a button, making the process as easy as reading the invite itself. They’ll also be able to see who else has responded (which sometimes ups the count too), leave notes, announce what they’ll be bringing and view other updated details about the party. Best yet, the website also has built-in features like “Request a Response” and “Send a Reminder,” which can automatically zing out additional emails to family members as the date draws near.
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