Reunion Games, Scavenger hunts, Crosswords - Family Reunions

The Cairns-O'Rourke Family Reunion has been an annual gathering for over 20 years over Easter weekend. The family is seven (six living) children of the late David and Marie Cairns, 29 grandchildren and almost 42 great-grandchildren (one on the way). A typical reunion has at least 80 members in attendance. Our background is Scottish so we're a clan of great size.

Each year a t-shirt is created, but this year was a “retro reunion” so family members were asked to wear a t-shirt from the last 20 years. A runway fashion show featured each and every t-shirt. Our colors are red, black and white. Tables were decorated with lots of retro pictures and sayings from past reunions.

For our “Circle of Love” we gather to share news and happenings that have occurred during the past year. We have lots of games for the children, everything from a penny scramble and Easter egg hunt, to hula hoop and pie-eating contests. For adults, we have an annual shoe kick where all the women line up to see who can kick a shoe the farthest, then the men do the same. We have an egg toss and new this year were Family Feud and the 1st annual dodgeball contest (to help work out any family issues).

Reported by Brittany Streufert (daughter of Maureen Cairns Campeau), Fort Pierce, Florida.

Tag, Mother May I, Red Rover,1-2-3 Red Light, Kick the Can and Duck-Duck-Goose. Bring back memories? There were so many and we all had our favorites. Gathering with neighborhood kids or during family get-togethers, someone would always suggest one. You played until dark or until you heard your name called for supper.

During a recent family reunion I decided to revive some of those games. It was a memory I felt needed rekindling. Observing my nieces, nephews and cousins with their laptop computers, handheld electronic games and cell phones, I realized they didn't know how to play outdoor group games. Oh sure, they could toss a baseball or shoot a basketball, but they couldn’t play a game together with all ages involved. In other words, these kids, most under age twelve, were totally out of touch with each other.

I decided not to tell the adults about my plans and gathered my young students together. Initially, you would have thought I was suggesting they participate in an ancient ritual. I finally rallied about ten of them reluctantly into a game of Duck-Duck-Goose. Soon, groans and long faces were replaced by squeals and laughter as they relaxed and enjoyed themselves.

Gradually teenagers and adults joined in. That June afternoon, a cow pasture was filled with adults and children, all laughing and sharing activities that had nearly been forgotten. The childhood games of the baby boomer generation have been replaced by electronic gizmos. We failed to pass the games to the next generation. Don’t worry about forgetting rules, there will be someone who remembers. So at your next reunion, share one of your favorites. After all, someone shared them with us.

About the author
Patti Perry-Armes began writing short stories in high school. After a 30-year hiatus, she won first place at The Tennessee Mountain Writers conference this year. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband of 20 years and their five four-legged furry children.

Moore family maintains tradition
There were four children in the Moore family and every other year one of the children's children is in charge of choosing the reunion location, which changes with each family.

Everyone pitches in a set fee (for example, $40 per person, but no more than $160 total per family).

Each host family is responsible for planning activities. My family created a “brag book” rather than the usual recipe book. A “brag book” gives everyone an opportunity to share their accomplishments, goals and interests with the family. Often a two-day reunion isn't long enough to rekindle relationships with every attendee or get to know new ones. The brag book gives everyone a “snapshot” of their kin.

We play a game called “Two Truths and a Lie.” Everyone secretly writes two things that are true about themselves and one “lie.” The Host is the moderator and collects all entries, then one-by-one reads them out loud. Other family members must guess who the Host is describing. The truths and lie must not be gender-specific and not obvious, because the object is to stump family members. Family members have three minutes to guess, then the moderator reveals the mystery family member and moves on to the next one.

Prizes for games are donated by family members. We have artists in our family who donate works of art; a hairdresser donates a basket of hair care products; an interior designer donated a free room makeover; a landscape artist donated a plant with directions; a tire store manager donated a 20% discount to any of his stores nationwide; an airline pilot donated Buddy Passes; a photographer donated an 8x10 photo of the reunion; others donated handmade afghans and quilts and original poems. These prizes are more personal than store-bought items.
Reported by Jodie Schrier, Spring, Texas.

The younger members of the ALAFFFA Family Reunion enjoyed a game modeled after the CBS show The Amazing Race. They divided in two teams and were assigned tasks centered on six continents. Instead of a $1 million prize, the winning team received 100 Grand (candy bars).

The first task was to take pictures. The list included a team picture, a person over 60, a person under six, a grandma and grandchild, and other designated photos.

In “Antarctica” there was the “Penguin Ice Race.” Four team members dressed as penguins in top hats and knees tied together to ensure proper waddle. A fifth team member was the ice catcher with a bucket. Each penguin carried ice to the bucket using a spoon in his/her “beak.” The team with the best time captured the continent.

In “Africa” members participated in a “Big Game Hunt” using a super-soaker to hunt ferocious (inflatable) giraffes, gorillas and bears, shooting them across the finish line and, to complete the hunt, shot a giant Earth across the finish line.

In “Europe” teams went on a “Backpack Scavenger Hunt” to collect designated ALAFFFA items. The team with the most objects collected in the best time took the continent.

The “North America Challenge” was a “Las Vegas Poker Walk.” One member from each team walked five times around the house collecting cards during each lap. The person with the best poker hand at the end of the race captured the continent for his/her team.

The final step was the “South American Rainforest Trail Mix Challenge.” Each team prepared a bowl of trail mix from designated ingredients and placed one cup on a plate. Next, 10 peanuts in shells were added and one team member had to pick up all the peanuts with his/her mouth and transfer them to a second clean plate. The team with the quickest time captured the continent.

Each team won three continents, so the contest was a draw, and both teams shared the prizes.

A softball game is one of the longest-running ALAFFFA traditions. Three generations participate in this friendly contest. Who won? No one is certain, but it is a great activity for young and old alike.

We left with warm memories of another great ALAFFFA reunion, and an enthusiastic chorus of, “See you next year!”

About the author
Lisa Alzo, Ithaca, New York, is the ALAFFFA family historian. She is author of Three Slovak Women (Gateway Press), as well as many genealogy articles, and is recipient of the 2002 Mary Zirin Prize from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies. Lisa instructs genealogy and writing courses in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York, teaches genealogy courses online for MyFamily.com, and has been a speaker for national conferences and genealogical and historical societies.

Scavenger Hunts
We found these great games at Dollar Stretcher, www.stretcher.com.

Scavenger-hunt/road-rally. Divide participants into teams of two or three, with immediate family members on different teams. The list of tasks/questions requires each team to collect information. Be clever and creative in how you word questions.

Bring back the proof
A Polaroid scavenger hunt. Each team needs a Polaroid camera to bring back the proof. Get a photo of your group doing a human pyramid or your group in front of a house with the numbers 123 or a picture of a member of your group getting frisked by a police officer. Set a time limit - two hours is good. Some pictures are worth more points than others, depending upon difficulty of acquiring the picture. After time is up, add up the points.

The favorite relay race for our whole family involves only paper plates, whipped cream, and ’Nilla wafers (cookies). The family divides into teams and each person must run to the end and try to pick up a cookie from the plate on the ground without using their hands. The fun part is that the cookie is COVERED with whipped cream! The kids love to watch us make fools of ourselves!

Reunion trivia Tailor questions to each reunion. Questions should teach and entertain. Introduce anything about your family you think is unique. Questions are limited only by your imagination. Your objective is to entertain, educate, recall and get everyone involved. Keep comments and speeches to a minimum.

Add some bragging questions to recognize people who are doing something special or outstanding. Emphasize what’s extraordinary and worth recognition. Who’s in college? Each college student should stand, tell the name of the college and their major. Who bought a house since our last reunion? Had a baby? Retired? Was promoted?

“Rules” for trivia games
Never ask a question for which you have no answer. A little foolishness is fun. Be creative. Avoid negatives. Welcome family stories that often interrupt the game. Teach youngsters that family history is fun.

Peggy Rockwell Gleich, Rockwell Family Reunion, says she loved changing around the word search puzzle to anything you want to. She found the puzzle she took to reunion at http://puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html. (Discovery School’s Puzzlemaker, August 2005)

ASHTABULA	AUNTS	FAMILY
GENEALOGY	HAYDEN	HISTORY
MILITARY	NEWSPAPERS	PUZZLES
RESEARCH	REUNION	ROCKWELL
SHEBOYGAN	SPAFFORD	UNCLES
WALWORTH

Make your own reunion puzzles!
Joan Griffis, Largo, Florida, shared this great idea for making your own reunion word game. Play it at your reunion or include it in a newsletter. Go to puzzlemaker.school.discovery.com/WordSearchSetupForm.html.

At the website, go through the steps to create a word puzzle using family names or words pertaining to your reunion. For example, I typed in the list of words shown after the puzzle.
Hints for creating a word search puzzle are also available online. It’s easier and faster to generate smaller word-search puzzles. The smaller the puzzle, the more enjoyable it will be to solve.

The program ignores one- and two-letter words, punctuation, capitalization and duplicate words. It allows three-letter words in a puzzle, but they advise against it. Punctuation is treated as a space. Try not to use parts of words that might get lost in the puzzle or confuse the solver. For example, if you input the words cat and catalog, the word cat could get hidden in the word catalog.

This puzzle is dedicated to Ray Seideman’s 100th birthday at his 69th Seideman Family Reunion!
Happy 100th birthday, Ray!