How to Recruit Relatives for a Family Reunion: Top tips on how to get everyone on board.

One way to plan a family reunion is to choose a place that will be interesting for everyone. This can be challenging, but it is possible. Just look at the example of one family who used our family reunion booking tool and spread the word about their event.

After all, practically every family has some relatives who are ‘difficult’ or live far away. In the end, it is worth it, though; that’s what this article is about.

How to Recruit Relatives for a Family Reunion

Top tips on how to get everyone on board.

1. Acknowledge that most people hate family reunions and many will be reluctant to attend.

2. Don’t try to be all things to all people. If you want a big family reunion, pick a date and location and stick with it.

3. Give the out-of-towners plenty of notice so they can make travel plans — six months is ideal.

4. Send out invitations early, and be sure to include the who, what, when, where and why of your family reunion in every invitation:* Who’s invited?* What do I bring?* When is it?* Where is it?* Why should I come?

5. Make your family reunion a weekend-long event with activities for all ages. (You’ll need something for the kids to do!)

6. Hold a drawing for an exciting door prize or ask guests to bring gifts for a charity auction and donate the proceeds to your favorite charity in honor of your family.

7. Involve relatives in planning the reunion — especially those who live near the site at which you’ll be holding your reunion

Family Reunions can be a blast, but only if you can get everyone on board. Here are our top tips for recruiting relatives for your next reunion:

1. Pick a Date

It’s best to pick a date that falls in between two major holidays, so you don’t have any conflicts with other family events. Also, avoid times of the year when people tend to travel, such as summer and winter holidays.

If you’ve got relatives scattered across the country, finding a date that pleases everyone is going to be tough. You’ll need to pick one at least 6 months in advance, then send out “Save the Date” cards as quick as possible, so they can arrange time off work and make travel plans.

Top tips on how to get everyone on board:

1. ”’Make sure you have your own accommodation, even if that means a tent in the backyard.”’

2. ”’If you’re hosting the event, it can be a lot of fun to research your family history and create some activities around that.”’

3. ”’Be aware of relationships. Maybe this is an opportunity for people to reconnect, but maybe there are family members who don’t get along.”’

4. ”’Don’t make it too competitive.”’

5. ”’Keep kids busy with activities.”’

6. ”’Tell everyone to bring something to share.”’

7. ”’Involve adults and children in the planning of it, because they’ll feel more connected.”’

If you’re planning a family reunion, the first thing you’ll need to do is get people to commit. And that can be a challenge. After all, who has the time?

But there are ways to make it easier – and we have 24 of them! All you need to do is pick the ones that work best for you. So let’s get started!

1. Make sure your dates and location work for most people.

It sounds obvious but you need to figure out when and where most people will be able to show up. You don’t want Aunt Martha missing her flight because of a mix-up at the airport or everyone stranded in your driveway because of a surprise blizzard. Check with everyone before setting the date and book hotels well in advance.

2. Give everyone plenty of notice.

The more time they have, the easier it will be for them to plan around other things they already have scheduled, like work trips or school breaks. If possible, start talking about your reunion now, even if it’s not until next year.

No one in my family has ever done a reunion. I don’t know if anyone else has. But I think it would be fun to do one.

I would like to make a list of all the relatives on my mother’s side and send an email to each one inviting them to the reunion.

The first goal of the email is to make sure the person knows who I am, so I’ll have to tell them what my mother’s name was and that she had a son named William. (I’m not sure if there are others who share his name.)

My mother’s maiden name was _, and she had a son named _.

If you already know me, then great! If not, that’s okay too! My cousins ___, ____, ___, and ___ will also be at the reunion. You might remember them from when we were little kids at ___’s house.

Then I’ll have to get down to business:

We’re having a family reunion in June of this year in Las Vegas. We’d love for you to be there! The whole family will be there including my mom and dad as well as all their siblings and their kids and grandkids. We’re expecting about 50 people in total. The date is

1. Make sure you are passionate about the project

2. Hand-select your committee

3. Plan early, plan often, and share your plans

4. Create a strategy for contact and communication

5. Stay organized and ask for help

6. Give people time to participate in the planning process

7. Be flexible on guest list, budget and other details

8. Start a blog or website early in the planning stage

9. Offer a variety of ways for family members to contribute

10. Use social media to keep everyone informed and engaged

11. Ask everyone who plans to attend to preregister

12. Make it fun!