KLynnTX Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 We currently do a very inexpensive game, where you bring a gift, and you can choose a gift, or steal one that someone else has already opened... You can steal a gift only 3 times. We're tired of it. Any new ideas? There are like 6-7 kids that attend, from 2-14. Mostly older people.... Any ideas? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 25 Fun Activities for Your Family Reunion – George G. Morgan Summer is the time of year most families hold their annual family reunion. The weather is more dependable, the kids are out of school, and parents can better schedule their vacation time. But what do you do at the family reunion? You want to seize every opportunity to spend time building relationships with your relatives, and you want everyone–from elderly aunts to unruly teenagers to toddling children–to feel like the reunion is for them. The following twenty-five activity ideas for a family reunion are just a sampling of the many fun and easy things you can do to get every family member involved and excited about the events of the reunion. You’ll find activities for sunny and rainy days, activities for the park and the beach, activities for sports enthusiasts and young children, even activities that will further your family history research and involve the family at the same time. There’s sure to be something for everyone, and any of the following ideas can be modified to fit your own family reunion needs. With that in mind, here are twenty-five ideas of fun things to do at your family reunion this summer. General Activities 1. Plant a tree to commemorate the reunion. You may want to make this an annual event at your family reunion. Throughout the coming years, whenever a family member sees the tree, he or she will remember the reunion. 2. Hire a caricature artist to come to the reunion for an hour or two to draw portraits of family members. The rates these artists charge can be inexpensive, and the caricatures are sure to become treasured keepsakes, as well as provide great entertainment. 3. Rent a karaoke machine or hire a disc jockey or square dancing caller and open up the activities to dancing and singing. These are great group activities; even the kids will have fun. 4. Put on a family talent show. Family members may want to perform skits, sing songs, play musical instruments, perform magic tricks, tell jokes, or demonstrate other talents or hobbies. The talent show could be its own event or could serve as entertainment following a family banquet. 5. Make homemade ice cream with fresh fruits of the season. If no one owns an ice cream freezer, you can rent one from a party store or catering supply company. The ice cream is sure to be a welcome refreshment on hot summer afternoons. 6. Hold a best-dessert contest. Ask family members of different ages to act as judges who sample each of the desserts and choose the first, second, and third place winners. You may also want to collect the recipes for a family recipe book. 7. Hold a family raffle or auction. Ask family members to contribute knickknacks, costume jewelry, baked goods, even specific services to raffle or auction off. This activity can be an entertaining event, and the proceeds can be used for the next family reunion. 8. Play card games. Bring several decks of cards, score pads, and pencils to the reunion so everyone can get involved in a card game. Many families play a traditional card game when they get together, such as Rummy, Canasta, Bridge, Pinochle, Rook, or Hearts. Card games also come in handy when the weather doesn’t cooperate with outdoor activities. 9. Play outdoor group games. Form teams and organize games of "Pass the Orange," "Toss the Egg," "Telephone," and others. These group games can include a large or small amount of people, and everyone is sure to have a great time. Family History 10. Ask family members to bring funny pictures of an ancestor to the reunion. The ancestor may be dressed in strange clothing, may be making a silly face or standing in a strange pose, or may have an unusual hairstyle. Set up a display of the photos and label each picture. For more fun, omit the label and let people guess who the individuals in the pictures are. 11. Create a family mural. Buy a roll of heavy-duty white banner paper and post it on a wall. Provide crayons and non-toxic markers and ask everyone to contribute to the project. Family members may draw a picture, write a poem, contribute a favorite saying, etc. Ask each person to sign his or her name on the mural. 12. Organize a "family" scavenger hunt. Prepare a form with random family-related questions such as: Who is the youngest/oldest family member at the reunion? What was great-grandfather Jones’ first name? How many babies at the reunion are under the age of two? Where and when were grandpa and grandma Wilson married? Distribute the form and set a deadline for its completion, then gather the family together to review the results. You may choose to award prizes to the people who get the most answers correct. 13. Bring old records and tapes of the music you enjoyed when you were growing up. The music will spark memories of the past and will encourage reminiscing among family members. 14. Collect baby pictures of as many family members as possible. Then select the ones you think will be most difficult to identify and set up a display. Have attendees guess who the babies are, and award a disposable camera (or other prize) to the family member who gets the most answers correct. 15. Post a large family tree on a wall that illustrates as many generations of the family as possible. Ask family members to find themselves, highlight their names, and correct any inaccurate information. The family tree then becomes a record of the event and is a good source of genealogical information. Family members will also have a visual representation of the family structure, its history, and their place in it. 16. Organize an ancestral "fashion show" in which family members model or display old-time clothing and explain what they know about it–who owned it, when it was fashionable, etc. Someone in the family can act as the disc jockey and play music to accompany the parade of family costumes. Just for Kids 17. Host an evening pizza party for the kids. You can order pizzas, supply soft drinks, and organize activities for the kids to get to know each other. You might even rent a couple of movies and serve popcorn and snacks later. 18. Organize a family show-and-tell for the younger children. Ask them to learn a story about one of their ancestors and to prepare a short speech or story about the ancestor. Then let the children dress up in old clothes or costumes they have created so they can get into the character of the ancestor they are representing. Have them present their skits to everyone; the kids will enjoy the creative process and the opportunity to dress up. 19. Provide a supply of sidewalk chalk and encourage the kids to exercise their creativity. Ask them to draw pictures of their families or a favorite activity they have taken part in during the family reunion. 20. Organize a story hour. Set aside a quiet place for the younger children to gather with one or more grandparents. Ask the adults to tell stories about their childhoods. This is a great way for the children and the older generations to connect. Outdoor Fun 21. Have a tug-of-war. Bring along a twenty-five-foot nylon rope and hold a tug-of-war. This activity can be held just about anywhere except, of course, near Aunt Penelope’s flower beds. 22. Build a sand castle. If your reunion is being held at a beach or in a park where there is a lot of sand, organize a competition to build the biggest or best sand castle. People of all ages will enjoy participating in this activity, and it will lend itself to individual and/or team competition. 23. Organize a family softball game. Bring a bat and a softball and something to represent the bases. Teams can be formed based on any criteria you choose, such as a members of a single family, people with the same surname, people with the same hair or eye color, or people wearing the same color T-shirts. 24. Organize a sack race. Ask each family to bring an old pillowcase or a gunnysack to the reunion for a sack race. You can make this an individual competition or organize teams to compete in a relay-style race. 25. Organize a volleyball game. If you don’t have a net, don’t worry. All you really need is the ball. However, if you want something to act as a net, use a rope or cord of some kind stretched between two posts or tree trunks. Hopefully these ideas will bring back pleasant memories of your own past family reunions, and give you some practical ideas for great family reunion activities this summer and for many summers to come. Have a fun family reunion! George G. Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc., which provides continuing education to library employees and professionals. His book, Your Family Reunion: How to Plan It, Organize It, and Enjoy It, (Ancestry, 2001) was released in June 2001. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 -- Our church did a fun game that got people involved, laughing, and having fun. It was a modified version of a "scavenger hunt" and "musical chairs." Basically, you get about ten-fifteen people from the group who will volunteer to play a game. The others just watch and/or assist if they can from their tables. The "emcee" directs the volunteers to sit in back-to-back, musical chairs style chairs. Then, the emcee gives a scavenger hunt task. For instance, "Go get a five dollar bill and return to a seat." The players run around to the audience members and try to get the object specified. The audience members participate if they have an item called, and a chair is removed each time from the participant chair section. So, the last person to get the item is out. It goes until there is one winner. People run, breathe heavy, interact in frantic fun, and get support from those they don't know. Of course, they must return the items to people, but it is another way to connect well with others. Some tasks don't have to be with the audience.... for instance, from our church gym, people were given the task of grabbing "?two squares?" of toilet paper.....it was so funny to see people race to the bathrooms and run back with toilet paper. Everyone was laughing and enjoying each other! -- Game for New Year’s Eve with people of all ages.. You move around like Bunco. Crazy Bridge http://www.thepaytons.org/games/crazybridge.html'>http://www.thepaytons.org/games/crazybridge.html'>http://www.thepaytons.org/games/crazybridge.html'>http://www.thepaytons.org/games/crazybridge.html Great for parties (which is where we learned it--thanks Walkers!). Easy rules but lots of mayhem. This page is suitable for printing out and distributing to all players (or for copy & paste into your word processor to customize the look). For 12 players. (Actually, any multiple of 4, but one of the ideas is to play with a different group every round.) http://www.thepaytons.org/games/ -- We like to play Family as a group game. ________________________________________ Seat guests in a large circle. Provide each guest with a small piece of paper, and a pen or pencil. Ask each person to write down the name of a famous person -- leader, movie star, author, sports figure, politician, artist, inventor, scientist, etc., fold the paper, and put it into a hat, bowl, or basket. The player will "be" the individual he chooses for one round of the game. One person acts as the moderator and doesn't actually play. The moderator unfolds all the papers and reads through all the names aloud two times only. Players must remember the list, and sometimes that's the hardest part! (Note: Sometimes, more than one player will write the name of the same person. That's fine; just read both names and note that there is "another Ben Franklin", or whoever.) Play begins with the youngest player; s/he tries to guess the identity of one other player: "Susie, are you Ben Franklin?". If a player guesses incorrectly, play passes to the next person in the circle. If the guess is correct, Susie/Ben Franklin becomes a family member of the one who guessed, who is now the head of a family. The player who guessed correctly whispers his/her identity to Susie/Ben Franklin, but they keep their identities secret from the rest of the players. The newly formed team gets another turn, and can collaborate as they try to add another member to their family, with the head of the family as the spokesperson. As they guess correctly, they add the members of other teams to their family. In the end, everyone will be in the same family. __________________ ~ ereks mom -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marf1273 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 A relay game is fun and could involve the young and older ones. It can be any kind of relay so be creative. A sack race can be another option as well as simon says. Newspaper dance is great as it encourages dancing. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.