1. Start early – The more time you have to plan the better and the more time your family has to make plans to attend. Not to mention that time equals savings!
2. Choose a date and length of the vacation – Summer is the most popular time for a family reunion because children are typically out of school, but there are many long weekends and holiday weeks throughout the school year that may work for you and your family. Find out from other family members about their interest in having a reunion as well as the dates and place. Also, after gauging the initial interest, send 3-4 dates from that reunion-goers can choose the date that works best for them. Make it clear that the date with the most possible attendees will be the date selected. You don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable if they can’t make it.
INSIDER TIP: When dealing with communication to a large group, it’s better to give choices than to ask for suggestions.
3. Choose the location – Now that you know when you can go, where will you go? Maybe you can return to or visit an area that your family comes from. If there's a lot of interest in family history you can explore your roots. Or, if ancestry isn’t the reason for the destination maybe recreation is. Beaches, mountains and amusement parks are also great locales for a gathering group. After all, you want the reunion to be about having fun together. Many attractions offer group rates and discounts so be sure to call them and inquire about those separately as prices are often dictated by your group size and not usually shared online. Celebratory reunions are a great reason to gather. Is there a golden anniversary, birthday or special occasion that you can all get together to celebrate? There are many destinations, resorts, and cruises that cater to just such get-togethers when location is merely the backdrop to all the great times that you will have together.
4. Facebook It! - Now that you know who is going, when the reunion trip will take place, and where you are going, create an event page on Facebook and invite all those attending as well as the potential attendees who might find themselves available at the last minute. Where were we before Facebook?! Now you have a central location for your group to share their excitement, ideas, photos and old family stories AND all the details related to the actual reunion. Events can be made to be private so that only those that are invited to join the page can see and share its content. I recommend having more than one page administrator to share that responsibility. And, continue to use the event page post-trip to share photos, videos and your favorite reunion memories.
5. Make Accommodation Reservations – Having time to book rooms, accomodation and secure great rates is pivotal to the success of your trip. Most hotels, big and small, including websites, such as Hotels.com, work with groups to help accommodate their needs. Even more reassuring is that they have dedicated personnel focused squarely on group business. Here are the things that you need to know when booking accommodations:
Your group’s per night budget
Number of rooms required
Amenities (on-site restaurants, children’s programs, in-room kitchens etc.)
Nearby attractions
Meeting space, and catering services available (if required)
Shuttle service and parking
6. Plan Activities and Meals – Everything will run much more smoothly and your family will have a great time if you coordinate group activities and meals. After all, you are going on this trip to be together, right? Activities can range from site-seeing tours to group-bonding activities such as white water rafting, ropes courses and golf tournaments, visiting museums and cultural and historic landmarks, and of course, a few sit-down meals that you all enjoy together.
So there you have a few tips to get you started planning that next great family reunion getaway!
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