Planning Your First Family Reunion Hospitality Event

By kthypryn

You’ve chosen a host city and date for your family reunion.  Now it’s time to plan the details of your reunion.  A Meet and Greet Night should be the first event on your family reunion schedule.

The location of your Meet and Greet Night depends on the number of relatives who will be arriving on the first night of the reunion and your budget.  If you can get a relative to volunteer his or her home, you’ll save a lot of money on renting a room or hall.  On the other hand, if most of the guests will be staying in the same hotel, you can make arrangements to have the Meet and Greet Night at that hotel.

Many of your out-of-town relatives will arrive on the day of the hospitality event.  A hospitality event gives your relatives an opportunity to pick up any registration materials you may have for them, like name badges, picnic tickets, family reunion banquet tickets, family t-shirts, and a schedule of events.  Also, you can give out any city maps, tourist attraction brochures, and any other materials your city’s visitors bureau may have donated to you for your family reunion.  Ideally, all materials should be in one bag or folder, so family members will have an easier time keeping up with their family reunion materials.

Relatives may trickle in at various times as they arrive from out-of-town or get off from work.  However, you can have a few icebreaker activities planned for your family reunion hospitality event.  One activity could have everyone in the room try to figure out how he or she is related to everyone else-in 10 minutes.  This will be easy for everyone who knows one another; yet, it will be more difficult for those who may not be as familiar with their lineage.  Interaction is the goal of this activity.

The types of refreshments served depend on your family reunion budget.  For a simple hospitality event, water and punch in pitchers and a few bowls of chips set up on a side table are appropriate.  Your committee may decide to ask local family members to donate finger foods or hire a caterer.

Your family reunion Meet and Greet Night sets the tone for the rest of your family reunion activities, so make it fun and welcoming.

July 2nd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Family Reunions, Party Planning, Tips | (0)