Family Reunion Ideas That'll Help You Celebrate Together
TABLE OF CONTENTS
On This Page
Venture to a New Place
Create a Family Cookbook
Have a Catfish Fry
Get the Games Going
Make It a Themed Celebration
Create a Family Memory Book
Print a Flexible Schedule
Don't Stress—Enjoy!
While we acknowledge that reunions take place in every part of the country, Southerners like to claim bragging rights to doing it better than anyone else. Perhaps it's because we jump at any excuse to lay out a spread of casseroles and gather with loved ones to catch up and tell stories. If you don't know, this ode to Southern family reunions says it all.
Nothing compares to the Annual Family Reunion, usually held on the same day each year at the same place. Some family members will have passed away and some new ones added, either by birth or marriage. Some reunions are heavily organized and span a weekend, while smaller families might meet for a quiet meal. However, the sentiment is the same: Let's have good food and lots of laughs.
Incorporate these fresh and fun family reunion ideas into your family's celebration, and you're bound to make some new memories. Time to get planning!
Venture to a New Place
Reunions, frequently referred to as homecomings, are often hosted back at the original home base, back to the place that holds poignant memories from childhood, whether that's a grandparent's home or community church. However, if you and your extended family haven't seen each other over the past year and everyone can head on a mini weekend vacation, it might be the perfect year to try out somewhere new. For that, we can happily suggest one of our South's Best Beach Towns and South's Best Mountain Towns to start your planning. Rent houses or hotel rooms, and have fun!
Create a Family Cookbook
If you don't already have a collection of your family's signature recipes, a reunion is the perfect opportunity to get a lot of crowd-sourcing done in one day. Come prepared with an empty scrapbook or recipe box and request that any interested Southern cooks in the family arrive with a typed-up or hand-written recipe to glue down on any empty page. You can go back later and transfer all of the recipes into a fancier format online, print copies, and send to everyone for the holidays. Everyone will thank you for divulging your grandmother's secret to her best-ever deviled eggs.
Russell Lee
Have a Catfish Fry
On another food-related note—because that's always the main event at family reunions!—you can do something different from your usual lineup of casseroles and baked ham to make the family reunion feel fresh and new. Suggest a Southern-themed meal that is a little outside your family's typical comfort zone in the kitchen, such as a Mississippi catfish fry, a Cajun crawfish boil, a Lowcountry oyster roast, or even a Texas-style smoked brisket barbecue dinner.
Get the Games Going
Think of this like an outdoor field day for both the adults and kids that allows any older family members to sit out and "judge," if they prefer. Tug of war, water balloon toss, and sack races are all guaranteed to bring on the good times and memories, without fostering too much competition. It's all in good fun! This is a perfect option for those who typically host the reunion on a family farm or anywhere that has some space to set up multiple games running at once—and snack stations, of course. Not into sweating? Bring a bunch of board games or card games and set up tables where people can rotate between to catch up while having a laugh.
Make It a Themed Celebration
Don't just do the bare minimum for a reunion. It's time to celebrate! Some ideas for a not-your-basic family reunion, theme party edition? A backyard movie night with a projector screen and hotdogs, an afternoon tea party or Kentucky Derby party with pastels only and lots of tea sandwiches, a Great British Baking Show-inspired bake-off (everyone brings their best dessert!), or a "decades" party that requires everyone to show up in their best 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s attire. Bonus points if the outfit is pulled from the attic!
Create a Family Memory Book
The idea here is basically putting out a guest book for everyone to sign, but with their favorite memories of past family reunions, words of wisdom, meaningful quotes (see our Family Reunion Quotes & Sayings for inspiration), and more. This is something you can bring to every family reunion, pass down to future generations, or make copies of to send out as favors after the reunion is over.
Print a Flexible Schedule
This is especially important if your family reunion is going to spill over for more than just one day or if you're all traveling for the occasion. It allows people who want to socialize and catch up more to do so, without putting pressure on anyone to show up to everything. Make it cute and casual to email or hand out to everyone before the reunion begins, which will relieve any pressure.
Don't Stress—Enjoy!
All in all, family reunions and homecomings are about catching up with faraway loved ones and celebrating the ties that keep you together, with good food and even better company. Just keep repeating "take it easy," and you're bound to not get annoyed when someone shows up with the same casserole as you.
