Another element that is crucial to a well-planned family reunion is to choose the right venue for your meeting. As you plan the activities that you want to do you may find that you actually need more than one venue to cover everything that you want to do. It also depends on how large the event will be. For example just dinner one night is much easier to plan than something that includes dinner, classes and a group activity.
One place that may be fun and be able to include people of all ages is the park. You can rent out a picnic area and plan to have the dinner at the park. If you are planning daytime activities that include children you may choose to have the lunch at the park instead of a dinner. A park allows you to plan fun games and get to know you activities that invite children in. Additionally it is not very expensive to rent a picnic area and this may make it easier if this is your first family reunion. If you are planning on a picnic area you may also need to consider whether or not you need to bring a sound system.
Another option is to hold the dinner or event in a community center or a church hall. These are great places for dinners, because you can usually opt for a kitchen. For the first dinner that you have potluck is an easy way to make sure that you have enough food. If you are considering catering you may want to have people purchase tickets in advance so that you have a good headcount and can cover the cost of the meal. A community center or church hall should come equipped with tables and chairs for you to use as well. They may also have a sound system available.
Splitting the reunion between two areas may work if you have a very large reunion planned over several days. The classes could take place indoors while most of the other activities can take place out of doors. The venues should be someplace near where the family was originally from or where the majority of family members currently live. This will also make accommodations for people who travel to the center much easier to get.
If you are planning a large reunion, be sure that you get a good head count before booking your venue. It can be disappointing and discouraging if the turnout is not as high as you anticipated. You may also want to ask those who are attending what types of activities they would prefer to participate in before making any final plans. This will help your activity to go much more smoothly.