If you are looking for family reunion ideas, there are literally thousands of great ideas out there. The internet, your local library or bookstore, and even your relatives can provide a treasure trove of ideas. In fact, finding great ideas is relatively easy. The more difficult task is determining which ideas are right for your reunion.
Without a clear vision for what you want to accomplish, planning your reunion can become overwhelming. When evaluating ideas, you will need to decide which ones to use, which ones are wrong for your reunion, and which ones will need to wait for future reunions. Unfortunately, there are limits to how much time, money, and resources are available for your reunion, and trying to do too much can cause so much stress that no one enjoys the experience.
The key is to establish the scope of your reunion before you begin your planning. Once you (as well as the others who are helping to plan the reunion) have identified clear parameters, you will have a clear guide for your decision making process.
When determining the scope of your reunion, make sure to answer the following questions before you begin your planning:
* What is the purpose of your reunion? Are you celebrating a family event? Trying to maintain or reestablish family relationships? Attempting to meet family members for the first time? Hoping to learn more about your family history and genealogy? Or is this reunion a part of your regular, recurring reunions?
* What is the budget for your reunion? Where will this money come from? How will expenses be dispensed or reimbursed?
* How much time will you have to plan your family reunion? How long will the reunion itself be?
* Who is willing to help you plan your reunion? What are their skills and abilities? What other resources are available to you?
* Who will be invited to attend? Will it include just immediate family members? Will your reunion be centered on a certain branch of the family tree? And if so, how far back and how many descendants will be invited to participate? What will be the age ranges of attendees?
* What travel will be involved for attendees? Will all of the attendees be local or will some be traveling longer distances? What accommodations will be needed for those that will be traveling?
* Where will your reunion be held? If you already identified a location, what opportunities or constraints will this place on the games or activities for your reunion?
Not only do you need to determine the answers to these questions, but it is critical that you write these answers down and share them with other members of the planning committee. Getting everyone to agree on a common vision can sometimes be very difficult. But if everyone involved in the planning has different expectations, you will continue to run into roadblocks throughout your planning process.
However, once you have articulated a clear mission statement for your reunion, you will be ready to begin your research and find the family reunion ideas that will make your reunion a success.
Tags: history and genealogy