Help 2011 family reunion ideas on a budget.

[MartinaC]

Can anyone help me with idea's on how to get a family reunion together. We have only had one and it was about 15 years ago. So any idea would be greatly apprieciated. With times the way they are we know that we have to keep it budget friendly but, with that said we would have several families coming in from out of state. (3 different states) Our family is fairly large. There can be up to 300 people there.
Thanks everyone
Martina

 

[Princess Nancy]

Several years ago we did a big gathering. We did it in the summer and went to a local park. We reserved shelters.

I think everyone pitched in $ for meat, the men grilled.
Then everyone brought dishes to share (you can organize who brings what)
Put some people in charge of activities. We had adult and kid games.

We asked people to bring pics. It was fun to look back at all the fun times we had growing up together and apart!

We brought lots of lawn chairs and blankets. It was a whole afternoon and people just came and went as needed.


Now to entice me to travel for something like this and $ was tight, I would hope someone would invite my family to stay with them. Meals provided for the weekend for the travelers would be nice. Invite them now to "hang" at different homes for the weekend. But also research the local hotels and find info. If some people stay in the hotel see if they will throw in a conference room as a gathering place for the weekend. Keep it stocked with snacks and soft drinks.


Another place is often nursing homes. We would reserve the gathering space at my grandma's retirement home. It is always cheap to free. AND the resident doesn't have to travel at all, a nice perk!

Good Luck!

 

[MartinaC]

Wow, thank you so much for the park idea! When we were all younger and still living somewhat close together we would do park gatherings all the time. I love the picture idea too. I can only imagine what images are out there for those times.
I hear what your saying about out of state people but, hopefully they would be able to work it in if we gave them a lot of notice.

thank you

 

[cheriemek]

We also have rented park shelters for family reunions. Around here a big shelter was about $50. The organizing family gets the grill going (no sense everyone bringing their own charcoal). We ask that each family brings a dish to share. One year we had a dessert competition which was fun. We take a group shot of everyone at the picnic.

 

[moongirl]

Several years ago we did a big gathering. We did it in the summer and went to a local park. We reserved shelters.

I think everyone pitched in $ for meat, the men grilled.
Then everyone brought dishes to share (you can organize who brings what)
Put some people in charge of activities. We had adult and kid games.

We asked people to bring pics. It was fun to look back at all the fun times we had growing up together and apart!

We brought lots of lawn chairs and blankets. It was a whole afternoon and people just came and went as needed.
Good Luck!

My family has been having our reunion at the local park for the last 25 years. Before that, it was held at various family farms. The family has been having reunions for 102 years starting with the first reunion of a family of 12 siblings! It is a picnic style gathering with several hundred people in attendance. Each sub-family sits together and arranges their own picnic for that group. A hat is passed around for donations to pay for the musical entertainment (this is usually a blue-grass band) and pavilion rentals. Some sub-families rent a tent. There is also a 50/50 drawing to help raise some money. There is one father/daughter team that arranges everything and they are in contact with a person from each sub-family. My family brings a large photo of the "original 12" family members from which we are all descended and displays it on a table. Everyone contributes to a smaller family photo album which gets passed around as well. The father/daughter team arranges the entertainment, pavilion rental, park fees, children's entertainment, and even gives out some little prizes which include 1) traveled the furthest, 2) oldest in attendance, 3) youngest in attendance.

Having it at the park makes it easy to get to, ensures entertainment for the kids (playgrounds, ball fields/courts), and shelter in case it rains. The fees are small and there are also bathrooms and lots of parking. The park location also takes the burden away from one person having to host it.

Each year we take a photo of our entire sub-family and add it to the photobook that gets passed around.

 

[MartinaC]

My family has been having our reunion at the local park for the last 25 years. Before that, it was held at various family farms. The family has been having reunions for 102 years starting with the first reunion of a family of 12 siblings! It is a picnic style gathering with several hundred people in attendance. Each sub-family sits together and arranges their own picnic for that group. A hat is passed around for donations to pay for the musical entertainment (this is usually a blue-grass band) and pavilion rentals. Some sub-families rent a tent. There is also a 50/50 drawing to help raise some money. There is one father/daughter team that arranges everything and they are in contact with a person from each sub-family. My family brings a large photo of the "original 12" family members from which we are all descended and displays it on a table. Everyone contributes to a smaller family photo album which gets passed around as well. The father/daughter team arranges the entertainment, pavilion rental, park fees, children's entertainment, and even gives out some little prizes which include 1) traveled the furthest, 2) oldest in attendance, 3) youngest in attendance.

Having it at the park makes it easy to get to, ensures entertainment for the kids (playgrounds, ball fields/courts), and shelter in case it rains. The fees are small and there are also bathrooms and lots of parking. The park location also takes the burden away from one person having to host it.

Each year we take a photo of our entire sub-family and add it to the photobook that gets passed around.

Wow, 102 years and still going strong. It's been a long time for us and I am worried about how to do it again. It would only be our second. You have inspired me to quit worrying so much and just get in there and do it. Now I just have to pick my partner in crime and I will be off.
Thank you for the inspiring story and all the great ideas.