Many families, mine included, tend to get together only for funerals and weddings. Memories with cousins, Aunts and Uncles can be few and far between.

At VoiceQuilt, we’re big fans of helping families connect. We’ve assembled some tips for planning a family reunion. Why not use a summer vacation trip as an excuse for everyone to get together?

Nancy, a VoiceQuilt friend, provided the following recommendations.

1. Choose a Family Reunion Planning Team
First, choose one or two family members for a “SWAT Team” to help you figure out logistics.  Depending on the length  of the get together, you may also want to consider sub-committees for food, budget, activities/games, etc.

2. Plan
Many families use a theme for organizing food and activities. Nancy’s family had a “Christmas in July” reunion a few years back. They had a Christmas table-decorating contest as well as a number of other funny twists on the theme. She also recommends an icebreaker activity at the beginning as well as a family story-telling contest. Many groups also use family reunions as an excuse to share photos and memorabilia. (Check out our tips for recording stories associated with family mementos at the bottom of the page here.)

3. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Communicate constantly with your SWAT Team to make sure the logistics are being communicated – and implemented – in time for your event.

Many online resources can help with planning a family reunion. Here are a few Nancy recommended.

http://www.familyreunion.com/

http://family-reunion.com/index.htm

http://www.reunionsmag.com/familyreunions/family.html

No better time than the present to start planting memories…especially if you can piggyback off of a summer vacation trip! And what better time to collect those old family stories?