Planning activities for your reunion is essential. That does not mean something for every minute because visiting and catching up are always as important as structured activities. But as you plan, keep in mind ages, abilities and interests of your members. Be sure to include some activities just for kids and some things that force all ages to mingle and get to know everyone.

When descendants of Rose & Frank Darga meet, games are organized and run by the Benny Darga Game Committee. The children and adults have fun playing games and whistling with soda crackers, Carol Idalski, Charlotte, Michigan, reports.

Some ideas for clowning around at reunions include tossing ping-pong balls into goldfish bowls, and a knock ’em down competition with stuffed toys as targets. Takes a little planning up front, but these kinds of activities will get everyone laughing.

Marianne Mersereau, Seattle, Washington, reported that during their Portland reunion, members of the Van Valkenburg Family Reunion got to know each other better through an adaptation of Bingo, called Vango. Everyone received a Vango card with the letters V-A-N-G-O at the top and a clue in each square. The object was to collect signatures of persons who matched the clues. For example, one clue was “Purple Heart Veteran,” so you had to find the family member who fit this description and get his signature on the card. Everyone completing a card received a Dutch-themed treat. The family was surprised and frequently amused by many revelations that resulted from the game!

Or establish your own family Olympics. Create contests — sack races, 50-yard dashes, checkers games, card tournaments, a family trivia game — for all ages and abilities. Award medals in a ceremony.

Sarah Okuno, Saratoga, California, shared these ideas from the Awaya Family Reunion.

Awaya family members represent a broad spectrum of talents, hobbies and disciplines, which were called upon to arrange activities and events. The week kicked off with a t-shirt tie-dye party, including a silk-screen station to apply the family coat-of-arms as a reunion memento. With colorful shirts drying in the background, the space adopted a week-long festive, party atmosphere, as family members also made colorful paper lanterns (to festoon the anniversary dinner later in the week), beadwork, model airplanes and a papier mache piñata, among other projects. One of the week's highlights was the “unbirthday party,” during which the whole gathering participated in uproarious games and broke the piñata they'd made.

The Rabb-Herron Biennial Family Reunion Picnic includes a big track meet. The picnic was held at the Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, Louisiana, known for its mountain bike trails.  Laura Morgan, Chicago, Illinois, writes, “We just pick a section of the park that’s isolated and have family members from two to whatever age run against each other. Everyone gathers around to cheer on their family members. The competition can get fierce, especially among the older ones trying to regain their form and finding out that you can’t go back. This year we gave the winners medallions with pictures of our maternal and paternal grandparents.”

J. Lynne Wilson Jenkins, Simpsonville, South Carolina, reports that the Douglass-Blount Family Reunion has a talent show, tours, kid & adult games and family history games. Everyone introduces themselves and explains how they’re related to the family. They also play icebreaker games that "force" people to mix and mingle. It is traditional to recognize the oldest and youngest family members, the member who traveled farthest, and the family with most immediate members present.

And from Gannett News Service, Press & Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, New York.

• Bake-off. Have relatives bring their best cakes, pies and cobblers from all over the country. A panel of judges selects the best and awards bragging rights to the winner for the next year.

The Seideman Family Reunion always holds a tasty bake-off called a Kuchen Contest.

• Speech contest. Improve younger family members' public speaking skills with an oratorical contest and give a savings bond as a prize.
• Showers. What better time than when everyone is together to set aside time for baby and wedding showers?
• Talent show. Showcase family members who sing, dance or play an instrument well.
• Family tree. Plant a tree in a spot significant to your family to honor your ancestors. As it grows older, commission a plaque explaining its importance.

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White elephant
Plan ahead and ask everyone, in pre-reunion correspondence, to bring a gift-wrapped item for a white elephant sale. White elephant items are usually those no one wants, too tacky for words, or simply not the taste of the giver. At random, give each member a number, which becomes the order in which members can pick a white elephant. The first person unwraps and waits for the second person (with whom the first person might exchange … or not). The exchanging can continue as people open packages, but no item can be swapped or exchanged more than three times, so the person who ends up with a third trade keeps that item and is finished in the game.

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Old Soldiers and Settlers Reunion features games

If the Davis County (Iowa) Old Soldiers and Settlers Reunion teaches anything, it's that kids don't change. Games played during their reunion are sack races, three-legged races, hoop races and other events that would probably have been recognizable to children in 1846, when Drakeville, Iowa, was founded. There was fishing, a makeshift duck pond, and a mad scramble for candy hidden in hay (a more savory version of the needle in the haystack) for the younger children. An egg race and balloon toss entertained older ones.

The wheelbarrow race—where kids pair up and A holds B’s ankles while B scrambles on his hands—was for children ages seven and eight.

Kids lined up for the egg race.  Each contestant clenched a plastic spoon in his mouth. Organizers gave each an egg, which had to stay in the spoon during the race. The number of drops and falls quickly suggested that the eggs were hard-boiled.

There was still a frog jump, canoe carnival, mule show and several other events to go.

The youngest folks at the reunion were on the main stage in the baby contest.

From an article by Matt Milner in the Ottumwa Courier, Ottumwa, Iowa.

Our online survey (www.reunionsmag.com) asks where your “dream reunion” would be (money is no object). Theme parks consistently score very high and Walt Disney World (WDW) is at the top of the list.

Scavenger hunts for “Hidden Mickeys” in WDW is a new group activity, with clues, hints and points. Hidden Mickeys are images of Mickey Mouse that Disney’s designers have camouflaged all around WDW – in rides, on walls, even in walkways and fences.

Disney fanatic Steve Barrett, who has visited WDW almost weekly for over a decade, wrote Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets. There’s a scavenger hunt for each park, one for the resort hotels and one for everything else in the “World” … almost 500 hidden Mickeys. 

To add to the fun, Barrett assigned point values of one to four for each Hidden Mickey you find. The harder to spot, the higher the score. Young children can focus on easy-to-spot one- and two-point Mickeys, while teens and adults will especially enjoy finding the better camouflaged three- and four-pointers.

Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets, 2nd edition by Steve Barrett (2005, 173 pages; $11.95. The Intrepid Traveler, PO Box 531, Branford CT 06405; www.TheOtherOrlando.com).

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By Shamele C. Jordon

• In E! True Toomerwood Story at the Toomer Family Reunion, the best family story wins. Each person has up to three minutes to tell a g-rated family story, based on a chosen category. Family members then vote on the best stories. The top three or five will go on to the finals, taking place on Reunion Saturday. Each finalist must tell a new story. Following are sample categories: Family Table, Reunions, School, Trips, Big Aunt Ida, Us Against Them, Blueberry Field, Whippins, Brothers & Sisters, New Baby, Christmas, Family, Gatherings, Church and Holidays.

These are other reunion games the Toomers play:

• Silent Auction - We have had this prize winner for more than a few reunions. There is a table with auction items. In front of each item is a box. Purchase tickets at $1 each. Place ticket(s) in the box, in front of the item you want to bid on. Winners are drawn from the box and announced during the Saturday program.
• Guess Your African Ancestry was an opportunity to guess results of a DNA test — before results were in — and win a prize.
• Get To Know Your Family. At registration, forms for this game are handed out. They list family questions. Players had to find family members who match the answers.

Can you match ’em?
Maria Moore, Fredericksburg, Virginia, helps plan the Moore, Swensson/Mattsson and Ferro Family Reunions andHayward Cousins Crusade. For a recent Moore Family Reunion she made a match game. The first card has pictures of family members now and as youngsters. Their matches are on the second card.

After the sun goes down
Spilsbury’s newest collection is perfect for kids and adults who like to keep playing after the sun goes down! They came up with light-up versions of favorite games families can keep playing after dark. Spilsbury’s Collection includes Light-Up Bocce Ball, Football, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Horseshoes and Croquet. All light-up games are sturdy enough for years of outdoor nighttime fun.

More game ideas
Hay rides
Dj, band, dance lessons
Skits, talent show
Top 10 list (like David Letterman’s)
Invite a celebrity, politician, sports figure
Exhibits
Displays
History: papers, books, pictures, maps, memorabilia, artifacts, tools, toys, crafts, implements

Demonstrations: whittling, caning, quilting, hand sewing, butter churning, ice cream making, tatting, style shows, skits

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The King comes to family reunion
Diane Yamaguchi’s affinity for Elvis began as a young girl. She'd play his records, sing and dance along to the music, pretending she was a star. In seventh or eighth grade, she entered an Elvis impersonation contest and took first place. She graduated from high school in 1963.

She never considered bringing The King back to life until a family reunion about four years ago.Yamaguchi's family gathers every year in Avila Beach, California, where they hold a huge family reunion, complete with entertainment.

In 2002, Yamaguchi and her sons decided to entertain their family members by performing a song-and-dance routine as Dolly Parton, Michael Jackson and Tina Turner impersonators and, of course, Elvis. Yamaguchi lip-syncs a 12-minute CD of prerecorded Elvis songs and moves her hips and pelvis, just as Elvis did in his day.

She's performed as Elvis at her past four family reunions and her 40th high school reunion in 2003.

From a story by April Charlton in the Santa Maria Times, Santa Maria, California.

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