Pare koy

Pare koy musta,

Look at this...

Our clan will be having a family reunion next week. Until now, we still don’t have a concrete plan for our activities. Everything is all set for the food and venue, but our main problem now is what we are going to do for the rest of the day aside from eating. Of course we want it to be memorable since that it’s very rare for us to have a family gathering. I’m thinking of putting up parlor games but I don’t think everyone will enjoy and participate. I hope you could give me some ideas on how to maximize our time together and make it more meaningful for each and everyone of us.

Regards

Jun

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Ok Pare,

When deciding on the activities for the family reunion, kindly remember that the main reason for a reunion is to spend time with as many family members as is humanly possible, both mentally and physically.  Plan activities that achieve this goal by having family members do things together, but make sure you don’t plan so many activities that nobody gets a chance to just sit around on their duffs and visit for a while.  And finally, try to select activities where a large number of people can participate at the same time so that you can avoid splintering out into small groups of close-knit friends.  You want activities where people will need to talk to each other. 

First is you can set up a craft table. Provide the supplies and let the kid’s creativity keep them busy.  Set up a table outside and cover it with butcher paper.  Then set out construction paper, scissors (round tip), glue, water soluble paint and paint brushes, markers, and other arts and crafts supplies.  You can even put out some newspapers and paper mache.

Another thing that you can do is to create an attractive display of old photographs and family paraphernalia.  Ask everyone to bring something to display.  Set aside a table for "missing persons" – pictures of ancestors whom you can’t identify.   Maybe someone else will recognize them.  Mister Spiffy recalls a reunion where just that happened.  You might get lucky.

Family reunion is the perfect place to use that camera.  Where else could you possibly get a photograph of four or five generations of a family all together at one time?  Groups that you may like to photograph include: grandma and grandpa with their grown-up children, all the young cousins or all the older cousins.   Make sure that after you get the pictures developed, you write down who each person in the photo is, so that twenty years from now people aren’t asking, "Who was that"? 

You would probably be surprised at the talents of your various family members.  Put on a talent show at your reunion.  Make sure you tell everyone about this in the invitation or information packet, in case they need to bring something with them (like their violin, juggling balls, or blowtorch).  Print up certificates or awards for the various categories.

-efg