Stress-Free Guide for Planning a Family Reunion

Do you love to spend time with family? A family reunion can be a great way to get to know everyone in your family a little bit better. But planning one can be overwhelming. Read our reunion-tested tips to find out how you can have a stress-free family event.

Family reunions run the gamut from multi day affairs with scores of smiling relatives wearing matching t-shirts to a few hours at an overcrowded picnic table with a potluck and revival of sibling animosities. The secret sauce is in the planning: knowing what your family can handle and not imposing your dream vacation or party on others.

Vacation time is precious, but so is getting the whole family together. Our family get togethers have ranged from renting houses in East Hampton to getting a block of rooms at a beach resort within driving distance (with a reduced group rate!) to flying to the Caribbean.

Planning a Family Reunion: Scheduling

Getting the whole family together can be the most difficult when a large group of children are at different schools, or attend camps, play on competitive sports teams  or have plans with their own friends. Try to schedule far in advance and search school schedules so no one has to miss out. My youngest had to miss our last reunion get together because her college is on trimester. But our family has a good record – in 31 years, only two kids have missed our family gatherings.

Location

A central location or easy to get to destination can be key. Your family vacation ideal may be the Balkans, but the rest of the family might want to stay closer to home. If everyone has to fly, try to choose a place that has nonstop flights from multiple locations. My sister-in-law once chose a remote Caribbean island that required a seaplane flight or long boat ride after a flight. Her daughter, an infant at the time, got sick on the boat ride there and sicker on the flight back. I was very glad we had not been responsible for selecting that resort! But we all felt sorry for the baby. And my in-laws weren’t too happy with the arduous trip either.

Budget

This can be the biggest pain point when family members are at different life stages. My husband is significantly younger than his three brothers, and when they wanted to host a family reunion for his father’s 50th birthday, we had just gotten married and were still in graduate school. We couldn’t afford the five star resort they chose – or even the flight to the remote Caribbean island.

Luckily, my siblings and I are closer in age and income. We tend to just share all the costs, not worrying if one family is bigger, or one brother drinks more. But the time to figure out how to split the costs is before you get the bills.

For our purposes, house rentals, food and alcohol are shared. Activities like kayaking and stand up paddleboarding are paid by each family.

Pitching In: Planning a Family Reunion with the Key Planner

The logistics of our most recent reunion, a surprise long weekend in East Hampton for my brother’s 60th birthday, were particularly challenging. My brother, the keeper of the family tree, is the mastermind behind most of our family reunions. But he was in the dark. Plus, we had to coordinate cars, airport pick ups and food deliveries. In this instance, we each took charge of a particular task so my sister-in-law didn’t get overwhelmed.

Once we were all there, my other brother took charge of meals. It is good to have one person in charge, but make sure everyone takes food allergies, avoidances and preferences into account. If one of your children is now on a Paleo or Keto diet, be sure to make this known well in advance. You might have to keep reminding everyone, but you also want to keep your children happy and well fed.

Honoring a family member

Two of our biggest and most successful family gatherings have centered around a 90th birthday. My husband’s great aunt and his mother had giant family reunion birthday parties where every single grandchild and great grandchild came. The aunt had her 90th nine years ago and she is still going strong. We weren’t involved in planning these reunions, but being a guest was fun.

Not to be morbid, but my mother-in-law hinted that she didn’t want the next family reunion to be her funeral. Suddenly, everyone’s schedule opened up. One of my kids made a last minute decision to miss a couple of law school classes and the whole family showed up.

Now we may have to top this for a 100th birthday party for the great aunt!

Follow up: time for family photos

My millennial kids love to post on social media. Who am I kidding? We ALL post on social media. At our last reunion we airdropped photos at the end. You can also set up Dropbox to share family photos. Make sure to take plenty of group photos. Use the timer on your camera to ensure everyone’s smiling face.

What does your perfect family reunion look like? Are you planning a family reunion in the near future?

Article Published by: Judy Antell

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