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Excited For A Family Reunion

In a little less than a month, I will be attending the first family reunion that I have attended in a long time. It is definitely the first one that I will attend with my two boys. I am excited about making the trip to Connecticut to see my mother – in – law’s family. That is the group of people who are reuniting. My mother – in – law’s maiden name is Blake, so it is the Blake family reunion. Interestingly enough, the two youngest attendees at this reunion have the family name incorporated into their names. My husband’s … Continue reading →

Chase Away The Chill and Plan a Family Reunion – Part 2

Now that you have decided to plan a family reunion and you have figured out who you will invite, the date of the event, and a general geographic area where the event will take place, it is time to get to the fun work of figuring out the rest of the details for the reunion. Choosing a venue for your family reunion can be a lot of fun. Of course if you are planning a summer reunion, the big question is whether to have it indoors or outdoors. Depending upon the geographic area where you will be having the reunion, … Continue reading →

Chase Away The Chill and Plan A Family Reunion – Part 1

If the cold, gray days of February have you wishing for warmer weather but a trip to a sunny locale is not possible right now, planning a family reunion for this summer may be a fun way to get your mind off of winter. Summer is a popular time for family gatherings both large and small. Whether you want to invite just a few people from one branch of your family tree or a large group of family who have not seen each other for a long time is up to you. Since it takes a few months to plan … Continue reading →

An Easy and Fun Genealogy Exercise

As an aside from the larger project of creating my son’s family tree, I decided to look into what other kinds of things I could find out through genealogical research. I came across an index of surnames and thought that it would be fun to look up my last name and my husband’s last name. Did you know that surnames came into use relatively recently in history? The Chinese began using them about 5000 years ago as a means of legally distinguishing two people with the same first name. A surname usually came from one of four sources: the father’s … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Planning Activities and Games

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Now that you know why you want to have a reunion, whom you are inviting, your budget, and the type of reunion you will have, you can begin planning activities and games to do during the actual reunion. Icebreakers: Icebreakers are a good way to get your relatives mingling. Some ideas include introducing yourself by saying how you got your name, a game of truth-or-dare, without the dare, or a scavenger hunt to find relatives that have something in common with each other (same color eyes, your cousin, same age, same birth month, etc.). Family Memorabilia: I am assuming that … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Who to Invite and How

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As I discussed in my last post, there are different types of family reunions you could have-from a small gathering of only a few relatives, to a large event of anyone who shares your last name. The size of your gathering may be dependent on factors, such as the reason for the reunion, your budget, and how many people your venue can accommodate. Start by grabbing a pen and notepad and jotting down a list of everyone you want to invite. Don’t forget to include your relative’s spouses and children. Note which relatives you have addresses or phone numbers for. … Continue reading →

Family Reunion Planning: Types and Themes

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I may have gotten ahead of myself in this family reunion planning series, since technically this post should have come before my post about budget, venue, and food. Considering the type of reunion you will have, and any theme you may want, will help tremendously when determining your reunion budget. TYPES Small, intimate gatherings are probably the easiest and most inexpensive family reunions to plan. These often include just a few of your closest family members, and may be held in celebration of a special event, such as an anniversary, birthday, graduation, baby shower, etc. Medium-sized family reunions can also … Continue reading →

Family Home Evening: Family Reunions

If you are planning a family reunion you may want to include a family home evening along with some of the events that you have planned. A family reunion family home evening is a great way to focus on family history and the stories that are passed on from generation to generation. You can start the activity by recounting stories from the life of the oldest living relative there. This can be a fun activity. You may want to record this and make DVDs for each family to have as memories as well. Additionally you may want to ask each … Continue reading →

Planning A Family Reunion

A family reunion can be as simple as a picnic at the park or elaborate as a week’s stay at a resort. It depends on the size, budget, and time frame of your reunion. For starters you need to decide who will be invited, who will plan the reunion, the date of your reunion, and what type of reunion you will have. I will discuss other details such as activities, finances, and further planning in later blogs. Who Will Be Invited A reunion can consist of parents and their children’s families or it can extend outward. My father’s family often … Continue reading →

Facebook as a Tool for Connecting With Relatives

Did you know that Facebook can be a great way to connect with your extended family? I found that out last year when over the span of a few months, quite a few of my husband’s aunts, uncles and cousins joined Facebook and I received friend requests from them. A few months later, I began to get friend requests from some of my relatives, including an uncle, aunt, and cousin that I have not seen in years. For some reason, Facebook has been able to capture the interest of both young people and adults of all ages. This makes it … Continue reading →