Do you have relatives spread out all over the state of Texas? Do you find it hard to get together with everyone and stay in touch? If so, then you are like many other families who struggle to keep up with gatherings and make time for one another. That’s exactly why a family reunion can be the perfect solution, especially during the holiday season.
A family reunion gives everyone a chance to catch up, create some new memories, and touch base in person. So, if you’ve decided you’ll be the one in charge of planning the family reunion, there are some tips you’ll want to keep in mind, which will help it to be a successful party.
Get Everyone’s Most Current Contact Information
To make organizing the reunion possible, you’ll need to send out invites, which means gathering everyone’s most current contact information. This can be more difficult than you may think, as people tend to move, change phone numbers, and even email addresses.
To find people in Texas quickly and easily, you can always use the Intelius. This particular service is ideal for doing a people search, finding phone numbers, and even a reverse phone number lookup. Of course, social media is always another fabulous tool when trying to find relatives.
Pick a Venue
Before you can send out the invitations, you will need to let people know where the reunion is taking place, so picking a venue should be top of your list. Obviously, not everyone you invite will be able to make it, but when planning the size of the space you need, it’s always better to have a little too much room than not enough. You want ample seating for all, tables and chairs if there will be a meal, enough washroom facilities, and room to spread out.
The biggest challenge tends to be picking between an outdoor space versus an indoor one. When you pick an indoor space, it won’t be as scenic, but then you won’t have the worry of weather messing with the plans.
Send Out Notice as Far in Advance as Possible
Because people tend to get pretty busy, it’s important you send out the invites as far in advance as possible. Experts recommend even up to a year in advance if people have long distances to travel. This also gives them the ability to plan a vacation if they choose.
Think About Food and Drink
Next is the food and drink, which is always important at a reunion. This is when you may want to put together a committee if you are in charge of the food. You can choose to make it a pot luck meal, which means there should be a “food director” keeping track of who is bringing what, or you can opt to have a caterer.
Share the Costs
The final consideration is the cost of the party. Unless you have extra money yourself, chances are you’re not going to be able to cover all the expenses. Instead, treat the party more like a ticketed event. Figure out the costs of everything, and then you can charge each family member a small fee to attend.
Now all that is left to do is enjoy the party!