How to Plan the Best Family Reunion

Planning a family reunion is one of those things that sounds simple until you’re actually doing it. Coordinating schedules, keeping everyone fed, finding activities that work for a four-year-old and a seventy-four-year-old at the same time — it can be a lot of work. But after a couple of decades of annual reunions with our big extended Eyre family, I can tell you that the effort is so worth it.

Here’s everything I’ve learned about making a family reunion actually work — the planning, the themes, the traditions, and the little details that turn a gathering into something people look forward to all year long.

Why Family Reunions Matter More Than You Think

I have been talking to a few friends lately who are in the midst of some really difficult family dynamics. Families broken apart because there are misunderstandings and tough things going on.

If you are one of those people in the thick of worry about family relationships, my heart is reaching out to you. I know that family reunions are not a magic ticket to a happy family. There has to be some soft hearts and lots of work woven in there. And sometimes that takes a lot of time.

But I do think that prioritizing a few days to be together can be an incredibly important way to minimize hurt and misunderstandings. To be proactive in nurturing relationships…and even to heal broken ones. Creating ways to have productive communication is such a key factor in relationships, and family reunions are such a great tool to make that happen.

Yes, I’m a big fan of family reunions.

So whether you are smack-dab in the middle of some tough relationship trenches or just trying to keep building relationships that are working, I hope these ideas may help spur some of your own to strengthen family dynamics.

Four Tips for Planning the Perfect Family Reunion

Holding a family reunion takes a lot of effort. But I believe that reunions are the
best way to celebrate the most important building block of society: the family!

Step 1: Lock In Your Date and Location

Plan “where” and a “when.”

Of course, the reunion won’t happen without that! We always set a date for the next reunion right after we finish the current one. That way everyone can plan accordingly.

We are lucky enough to have this place at Bear Lake that is embedded deep into our hearts where we hold our reunion each year:

But of course, any place where family gathers will do!

Step 2: Divide Up the Work with Smart Assignments

In our family there are nine kids. This means we are lucky to have lots of people to rotate the work of orchestrating family reunions each year. Each of us takes a turn to plan out the reunion and we rotate each year. Of course, one family can’t “do it all,” so we make assignments.

There are lots of activities worked into a reunion, so when you’re in charge you assign out as many as you can to make your load lighter.

One of the biggest assignments is food. Each family is assigned to make a meal for the crowd.

As for activities, it helps so much to put various families in charge of the activities you want to carry out. For example, during our assigned year we had a painting project and we assigned another family to be in charge of that to take the burden off our plate.

Every year there are all kinds of different activities, from relay races to games to work projects to keep the cabin spiffed up (see the section on jobs below).

You’ll find all kinds of those ideas on the actual reunion posts linked with all my other ideas on our family reunion help page.

Step 3: Choose a Family Reunion Theme

Each year we have a theme we unveil the first night during the “opening ceremonies.”

This helps with the cohesiveness of the reunion.

For example, one year when Max was in Taiwan serving his mission our family was in charge and we chose “Live Life to the Max” for our theme.

Can you see that cardboard cut-out of our missionary Max that Elle is holding up? We had to incorporate that guy!

Everything we did was based around living our lives to the best of our abilities in many different ways.

Had to have a Part 1 AND a Part 2 to document that one!

I loved my sister’s theme one year when my little sister Charity couldn’t come:

I loved this one too that was called “Turn the Hearts,”

Those are ancestors faces they’re holding up up there. All the activities were based around honoring our ancestors. So many stories to share and learn.

Ok, and we can’t forget “Fifty Years of Eyrealm,” when we celebrated my parent’s 50th anniversary:

I love having a theme because it works as something to tether all the activities together. And also shows up the personality of the family in charge that year.

Step 4: Establish Family Traditions That Bring Everyone Back

Traditions are what ties the family together. And if you’ve never done a family reunion before, it’s never too late to start! These are some of our favorite traditions we make happen every year:

OPENING CEREMONIES

Probably our favorite is the first night of the reunion. We have our opening ceremonies where the theme is introduced:

We always have a calendar so people will know the schedule:

MUSIC BONFIRE

That night we have a bonfire where the “favorite songs” are introduced:

Everyone guesses who’s song is who’s (those songs become our “playlist” for the whole reunion), and it always ends in a dance party, usually complete with sparklers:

…and always s’mores.

FAMILY OLYMPICS

We also always have some sort of family olympics:

This is such a great way to get everyone involved.

Each year it’s done differently. One year we had a running relay. Other years we do different contests on the beach. Some years we’ve done different games like “Minute to Win It.”

The teams are always different as well. Some years there are teams of families, but with a group this big, we generally mix everyone up by assigning them to all different groups.

TALENT SHOW

The talent show always seems to be the hit, especially for younger kids.

FEAR FACTOR

Fear Factor is the most loved/hated tradition. Ha!

I did a whole post with specifics on how to run Fear Factor, but I’ll just say here that this one is a hit in our family.

So funny to watch those kids doing all they’ve got to get down new and interesting foods to come out as the winner.

You’ll find a lot more about Fear Factor in all the reunion recap posts linked on my reunion idea page.

FAMILY PICTURE

Every year we take a family picture.

Sure, it’s a pain. But we make it as easy as possible and love having everyone captured as they are each year.

Family Reunion Food Ideas for a Crowd

Food is another big issue at a family reunion. It’s important to work together as a family to decide how this will be done. Here are some good questions to discuss together to make it work.

• Do you want to keep it easy and do low-key food?
• Do you have chefs in the family who want to cook more fancy things?
• How do you get the food to the reunion spot?
• Who pays?

Our family tends to love to cook. Isn’t that weird that all nine kids really do love to come up with new recipes and share them? I don’t quite know how that happened, but I’ll take it. Because man alive, people come up with so many delicious things!

My brother always cooks “Jonah Burgers” for his meal:

Another brother has his expertise in Japanese Curry after serving as a missionary in Tokyo, Japan. Our mouths water for that one every year.

Every year we all shift and change ideas a bit as to what we want to cook, but it’s so nice to divvy out meal responsibilities. And to get to taste so many new recipes.

Now, don’t let this intimidate you if your family doesn’t love to cook. Dave’s family would much prefer making meals much more simple and easy than my family does. And that works just as well.

The important thing is to decide together what will work, and make assignments as to who will do what.

Family Reunion Games

In my opinion, games are what keeps family reunions fun. And it’s important to have inclusive games that get everyone involved. Games that work for people at all ages.

Through the years we have gathered together some pretty great games, if I do say so myself!

I have written up a whole post about good family reunion games if you want to check them out!

Family Reunion Jobs: How to Keep Things Running Smoothly

Jobs are another big deal at a family reunion because whenever a group of people gathers, messes are bound to happen, am I right?

We do jobs kind of different every year depending on who is the “reunion chair,” but usually we have rewards for the “group” (made up of grandkids) who help the most:

There are all kinds of details about what we’ve done each year. My mom has a tough time sitting down and enjoying conversations. So I loved one year when my brother, as the reunion chair, brought a pair of handcuffs to keep my mom sitting down while the rest of us worked.

Ha!

I LOVE watching all the kids get involved to help things stay tidy:

I think the most important thing about jobs is to outline them clearly. Make sure everyone knows what’s expected of them. The things that work for one family at home also work for extended family at a reunion! Here are some ideas:

• Make a detailed list of jobs (maybe for when people “check out” of where they’re staying, or around meals).
• Make impromptu lists of what needs to be done in the moment.
• Have a “job jar” that makes the jobs fun for the kids.

See Our Family Reunion in Action

Here are a few of my favorites through the years:

• “Turn the Hearts” – in 2018 my sister and her family centered the reunion around ancestors and we all learned so much about those who have gone before
• “Invest” – in 2023 another sister and her family taught all kinds of things about investing, whether with money, time or personal progression
• “50 Years of Eyrealm” – in 2019 my brother and his family put on a wing-dinger of a reunion in celebration of our parent’s 50th wedding anniversary

Looking for more reunion inspiration? Browse all our family reunion posts and recaps from nearly twenty years filled with real reunion ideas, games, recipes, and more.

Every family is going to be so different, of course, but hope these ideas help to create your own ideal family reunion!

Family reunions don’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. They just have to happen. Even a simple gathering with a few intentional traditions can become the thing your family talks about for years and counts on coming back to. If you’re just starting out, pick one tradition from this list and build from there. And if you’ve been doing this for years, I’d love to hear what works for your family in the comments.

More Family Reunion Resources

• Browse all our family reunion ideas, recaps, and resources — all gathered together on one page
• Family reunion gathering ideas – games for a crowd
• Family reunion food ideas – recipes that work for big crowds
• Creating a bold new heritage – our family has been doing these reunions for years. If you are new to this practice, remember you can start with baby steps!
• The emotional & social benefits of family reunions
• How to navigate family reunions when your own family grows up

Also, my sisters and I have recorded a podcast all about the history of our reunions and how they have evolved over the years over at “In the Arena.”

Check it out!

Happy planning!