<p>Does your family have them? If they do, what are some of the activities? Our family is having our very first one this weekend. I could not go, but my Mother and son are attending. Plans are to have another one in 2 years. The family will decide tonight where it will be held and what types of activities they will do. Reports given to me so far is that everyone is having a very good time. Lot’s of food, very informal, family entertainment. The noise volume by phone is now at a heightened frenzy, lol. Last night was the Meet and Greet, today they went to Niagara Falls, and having a bbq.</p>
<p>My in-laws took the entire family (18) on a cruise once. It worked well, we all went our own way during the day but met for dinner each night and shared stories.</p>
<p>We had a mini-reunion about 10 years ago for my aunt’s 75th birthday (a large surprise party). We had each family wear a different color t-shirt: for example, her sister Dorothy & Dorothy’s husband, kids, and grandkids wore blue; her brother Roy & his family wore orange, etc. Worked out well because my aunt had 6 siblings, each with multiple kids and grandkids. Lots of us hadn’t seen each other in years, it made it easier to keep track of who was who.</p>
<p>We did the cruise thing with H’s family once; it went very well since you have other things to do if you want a break. The t-shirt idea is great! We went with one shirt for everyone but the color code would help… I have cousins that I haven’t seen since I was 10 so I wouldn’t recognize them without a code, plus my kids have no idea who my 32 first cousins are and which teens belong to who.<br>
If you are doing it yourself, make sure the venue offers lots of activities for all ages - a lake with jetskis, dominoes, historic tours, scrapbooks, board games, video games (limited!, like only old pong), whitewater trips, horseback riding, horseshoes… you get the idea. See why it’s easier on a cruise if everyone (or someone) can afford it?</p>
<p>The Thanksgiving my mother’s side of the family does isn’t really a family reunion, but it does include second cousins in my generation maybe third cousins. One thing we do is have a big family tree so that we can see how we are all related.</p>
<p>We have family reunions on my husbands mothers side every three years. We do a cake walk, lots of eating, some old fashioned games, volleyball, an auction and lots of catching-up. We’ve done summer vacations with the extended family (two sets of grandparents, four siblings and their spouses and 10 cousins) for the last several years.</p>
<p>My husband’s family had a wonderful reunion three years ago in MA. Most relatives were less than 2 hrs drive away. Several were still in the same town. It was based in the town grandpa lived. One of the highlights was the tour. Family homes, churches, workplaces etc are still there. It was wonderful for us to see the home that great grandpa lived in, where he worked etc. The “locals” did lots of work. We had tours of the lake/campground one person had a second home in-son’s glasses are now at the bottom of the lake. Lots of us attended a concert in a local park. The first activity was a dinner at a local golf club. The family had done an extensive family history years ago. Each family received a little booklet with names, address, etc and family tree. The town really had only one motel which worked well. The weekend ended with a brunch sponsored by the locals. I insisted that we go, later son and husband thanked me for dragging them from CA.</p>
<p>My father’s side of the family has had a picnic every year for the past 50 - the 50th anniversary picnic was this past June. He was from a family of 11 siblings, who had up to 11 children apiece, and there are now many grandchildren. There were over 200 people at the recent picnic, and every family had a special t-shirt, like Lafalum’s family.</p>
<p>My immediate family has a week-long reunion every two years at a resort on Lake Michigan. The resort has everything: beautiful beach, pool, tennis courts, basketball court, playground, soccer field, etc., with bike riding and golf available nearby. There are always a few huge basketball games, including all ages up to 80, big soccer games, etc. Every night a different group makes dinner for the group (usually about 24). We have campfires on the beach at night, with singalongs. There are also card and board games, and this year we played a variant of charades (I’ve forgotten the name) that involves identifying famous people in various fields from clues, to general hilarity. It’s an idyllic vacation, greatly valued by all of us, and very important to the kids.</p>
<p>We’ve done one yearly for more than 20 years. A favorite activity that has evolved is a cousin birthday party for all the kids. They really look forward to it and the older ones help keep the tradition alive for the youngest ones.</p>