The Gathering of the Clan - Family Reunion Picnic

Planning a family reunion? What better way to catch up with kith and kin than with a picnic? A family reunion picnic is probably the most cost effective way to celebrate with the relations. The outdoors venue enables freedom with numbers. Children can be catered for more easily, and everyone gets to go home at the end of the day.

Once the date has been circled in the calendar, spring and summer are best for weather purposes, the next decision is the location. A large picnic site is an obvious choice if you have a big family. If people will be traveling long distances, are there overnight camping facilities? Select a site with ample shade facilities. A creek or river for the children to play in is also an excellent idea. Playground facilities and trees are also great for keeping the children entertained.

The picnic site should have bathroom facilities to cater for your numbers. Ensure there are enough BBQ grills so that everyone can have their meal at approximately the same time. It is probably a good idea to bring along portable BBQ sets to make sure there are sufficient cooking facilities on hand. While the men are busy charring the meat the ladies can be cutting up bread and preparing the salads.

Each family could be encouraged to bring along an old family favorite recipe cooked up. Organizing that there isn't going to be 20 potato salads is obviously fairly important. If family members are traveling great distances, then maybe they could bring less perishable items like cookies or contribute with refreshments. Each branch of the family could also bring along copies of the recipe they have used. Everyone gets a folder with the date on the front and compiles all the recipes as a memento of the day.

A great idea is for everyone to bring along an old photo with unknown ancestors in it. Hopefully someone else at the gathering will be able to provide the information about the photo.

Fun ideas include everyone bringing along an unnamed baby photo for a guessing competition. If there are going to be folks from out of town at the event, a map can be used to show where everyone has come from. A family tree can be compiled and while at the picnic, photos can be taken of all the separate family branches to modernize the information.

To encourage socializing, why not have everyone tell a funny story about a family member? Or arrange a family themed trivia competition. Name tags are another great idea if there are going to be relations attending whom others will not know.

Bringing along a couple of marquees is another splendid idea. One can be allocated for food and another possibly for displaying the family memorabilia. If there are no marquees available, beach umbrellas in clusters could work very well to shade the food.

Additional picnic tables and chairs are essential to ensure that every one has somewhere to sit. Larger groups are able to form instead of being limited by the tables provided at the picnic site.

A family reunion picnic is a fun and healthy way to get the relations socializing. Organizing the food contributions will play an essential part of the day's success. Cost effective and with plenty of room for everyone, it won't matter if the ketchup gets spilled or the children have dirty hands. Restock that picnic basket now.