3 Tips For Planning An Unforgettable Family Reunion
If you’ve been fortunate enough to live close to all the members of your family for the majority of your life, you’ve likely never thought too much about having a family reunion. But for those families who have members strewn all throughout the country or even the world, the occasional family reunion may be some of the only times where you can all get together to spend time with one another. Because of this, it’s worth it to really put some time and effort into planning the perfect retreat for everyone. So if you’ve recently been tasked with this overwhelming responsibility, here are three tips that should make planning an unforgettable family reunion a little bit easier.
Plan Into The Future
While you and your own small family might only need a few weeks to pull together a trip, if you’re hoping to include a large number of people in your family reunion, you’re going to want to give them all the time you can for them to plan and prepare for this event. According to Valerie Rains, a contributor to Real Simple, you’d ideally want to plan at least one year in advance of the time set apart for your reunion. Especially if you are going to be inviting family members who have demanding jobs or kids in school, they’re going to need to plan and rework their schedules to ensure that they’ll be able to attend the reunion. This will also give people time to save money and be on the lookout for travel deals.
Consider An “Open House”
Depending on your family, the amount of time that you should plan for your reunion will vary. While some people are satisfied with just a weekend together, others lean more toward spending a whole week or more together. So to accommodate all that you can, Better Homes and Gardens suggests trying an “open house” option. Especially if you’ll be holding your reunion at someone’s house or other privately-owned property, having a few days where people are free to come or go as they’re able could be the great way to see family members who have tighter schedules or who can’t actually participate the entire time.
Keep Everyone’s Finances In Mind
Family reunions will usually bring families of all different sizes and states together. With this, you’ll also have people from all financial situations trying their best to make this reunion possible for themselves. As you plan, Edith Wagner, a contributor to the Huffington Post, recommends that you try to keep this in mind and plan things that won’t put too much of a financial strain on any of the families you’re inviting to your reunion.
If you’re about to start planning a family reunion, consider using the tips mentioned above to help make this a simpler feat.
