Re: Does Your Family Have a Family Reunion

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

Nope. Never had enough for a reunion and they are all gone now anyway. But I do think it is natural that reunions will fizzle out because the following generations are 2nd and 3d and so on cousins and usually aren't that close.

Reunions are more for closer familyl groups, so as time goes on there will be an ebb and a flow as closer branches get together and more distant relationships die out.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

No, my father's side had family reunions every few years when I was a kid. They were in South, mostly GA and FL and we weren't very close to them. I remember once or twice, my Dad went and took my brother within. There were no family reunions on my mother's side because we were all close to each other and saw each other frequently. All the aunts, uncles, cousins lived minutes from each other and we spend birthdays, holidays, vacations together.

YorkieonmyPillow · ‎01-13-2013

@Drythe wrote:

On my Dad's side we have 2 family reunions every year.

His Dad's family has held a reunion for over 85 years, even during the two WWs. I've been told that photos of each family member serving or killed were brought and displayed with address (if appropriate) so family could write to them.

I hope it NEVER ends.

@DrytheOh, how lovely!

Pook · ‎03-20-2010

My father's side used to have one yearly until I was about 12. Thank goodness that stopped. When you get 7 siblings like his (especially the 5 brothers) together, each with a differing opinon and of course each one right - then throw in the booze. Not a great outcome ever. In my opinon family is overrated. I often marvel at those that have them and like going to them. Both sides of my family are a bit strange and I have never really wanted to be around them much.

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

@wismiss wrote:
My father was one of thirteen, and I grew up attending a yearly family reunion that was one of the highlights of the year. My aunts and uncles were important role models and my cousins were some of my best friends and many of them are my best friends yet to this very day.

This year we will celebrate our 83rd family reunion. BUT, our numbers are dwindling as second and third cousins rarely attend and when my generation is gone, that may be the end of the family reunion. I have second and third cousins that I could pass on the street and would never know them. Their parents (my cousins) may come to the reunion, but not the children (who are now adults and have their own children/grandchildren).

Does your family have a family reunion? Are you experiencing the same problem? If not, what do you do to attract the younger generations to come?

Thank you for any ideas/suggestions you may have. We are at a loss of how to interest the second and third cousins and would like to institute some changes----we just don't know what they should/could be.

@wismiss. Ok this is what my family does...On my dad's side, we have a Family Reunion every 2 years-it is always in adifferent location where there is family living to plan activities,etc.....

So for instance this coming summer it is Orlando, so we arrive on Thursday, go to the hotel and after checking in there is a hospitality suite with refreshments and sign up sheets for various activites, everyone gets re-acquainted,etc.

Friday- everyone meets for Breakfast and then we divide into groups for whatever activity you signed up to do-this year since it is being held in Orlando, everything is revolving around Disney-so all day you are at your activity and then we meet for Dinner, and at our dinners we have had in the past, award dinners(where we award the kids that were on Honor Roll, or participated in a sport, or band or choir,etc) also we have had dinner, and then a Talent Show, one year we had a Fashion Show,etc.....

Saturday- Family Picnic(in the past we have had this at Water Parks), so there is something to do before and after eating...If it isn't possible to have at a Water Park, then we have had it at a big park where we have had Volleyball, baseball, water balloons, miniature golf,etc.....We usually have the Picnic Food catered in....Saturday night is free to do something of your choice again.....Movies for kids, bowling, swimming, video arcades, dinner out, etc......

Sunday-we all meet for breakfast and then vote on next location of next reunion. We always keep the week the same(makes it easier).....Then everyone says their good byes......

It really is a fun weekend, but I will say for the hosts it is a lot of work, and requires you to do a lot prior......Getting the hotel, park for picnic, arranging for transportation to/from activites(usually large busses)....Food(catering?)...

I will also say that when we first started the reunions we had over 250 people, but the last reunion I was at only had about 120 people, so the sizes keep dwindling as well. It is hard to keep it interesting from year to year, but that is why we have committees to help plan and a Finance committee as well, it usually costs about 75.00 per person, excluding hotel stay.........This year for Disney will probably be a lot more money though-haven't decided yet if we are going.....

I do agree though it is hard to keep the interest going-but once we all get together we have so much fun and our kids/grandkids enjoy it too......

Good luck with yours-hope you have a great time......

Rockycoast · ‎03-02-2016

@wismiss wrote:
My father was one of thirteen, and I grew up attending a yearly family reunion that was one of the highlights of the year. My aunts and uncles were important role models and my cousins were some of my best friends and many of them are my best friends yet to this very day.

This year we will celebrate our 83rd family reunion. BUT, our numbers are dwindling as second and third cousins rarely attend and when my generation is gone, that may be the end of the family reunion. I have second and third cousins that I could pass on the street and would never know them. Their parents (my cousins) may come to the reunion, but not the children (who are now adults and have their own children/grandchildren).

Does your family have a family reunion? Are you experiencing the same problem? If not, what do you do to attract the younger generations to come?

Thank you for any ideas/suggestions you may have. We are at a loss of how to interest the second and third cousins and would like to institute some changes----we just don't know what they should/could be.

Yes, we have always had a yearly family reunion. My mom was one of a dozen children so our family is very large. My story sounds just like yours @wismiss. When I was growing up we would all go to the Cape during the summer. Rent houses/hotel rooms and get together. It was so much fun. Everyone lived close (surrounding towns) and would visit each other. Now, it is just us regulars. Third cousins are no shows. It seems sad that the cousins don't know each other as we did growing up.

Twins Mom · ‎04-03-2016

DH family reunion is every two years. Two brothers married two sisters of both large families. Numbers were over 800 but current numbers more around 600. Name tags, organized games, food, small admission fee, T-Shirts, family rosters so people learn connections, and same location highlight day. Lots of volunteers needed and those same people tiring of obligations too.
Kids are intrigued by connections to people they would never think of as family. Games geared toward all ages important.
It is getting harder to draw in people from out of town as vacation times are limited. Facebook used to remind people and coordinate volunteers.

Eileen in Virginia · ‎08-25-2010

My mother was one of 10 children and we were very close to most of them. We had occasional family reunions in the summer at my Aunt Hannah’s house because she had a big yard (this was in the close-in Philadelphia suburbs). We had delicious food galore, drinks, played games with my cousins, and had sparklers after dark. One memorable reunion was the one right before my cousin entered the convent. We hired a photographer to take a group photo, which is really cool to revisit now.

Fast forward to 2017. It’s the 50th anniversary of my cousin’s profession of vows in her religious order, so we decided to combine that with a family reunion. We haven’t had a “reunion” since my wedding in 1976. All of the original siblings have died, as have some of the first cousins. Over the course of 2 or 3 months, my sister, 2 cousins and I organized a jubilee/reunion that included cousins from my grandfather’s brothers’ families, as well as from our own branch of the family. Everyone had a good time either reminiscing or meeting new family members.

About 6 months later, one of my cousins put out feelers for someone else to organize the next reunion. The silence was deafening and I can understand why. Even with 4 people working on it, organizing that reunion was a ton of work! In the past, our reunions were organized by the wives, most of whom didn’t work outside the home. Also, they were able to hold it at Aunt Hannah's house, so the venue was readily available. In 2017, we had a hard time finding a venue for our 120 cousins that was within a reasonable drive and affordable. It’s just much easier to keep in touch via social media these days.

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

Dh's side of the family had a few but it was not well attended. There has not been one for years. My side, never - I would love to have some close family to visit with but it will never happen....we are all very different and really don't enjoy spending time together.

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

Edited to say that I think Family Reunions are a fantastic way to keep in touch and get to know your family and its heritage......It is a lot of work to plan, but usually the people on the planning committees enjoy it or they wouldn't volunteer. When the last one was held in our town, I was head of the committee and I throughly enjoyed it......

I wish we would get our numbers back up to the 200's, but as people age, traveling becomes a hardship in a lot of cases. I also think that they are talking about the next reunion being a 3 night Cruise!!!! I am close to all of my 1st cousins because of reunions......Ours started back in the late 60's and have continued on throughout the years......