When was the last time the whole family was in one place? Life spreads everyone out — different cities, packed schedules — and the years slip by between visits. Meanwhile the stories, the traditions, and yes, the secret to Great Aunt Myrtle’s cheesecake all risk going with them.
A reunion fixes that. Get everyone together, reconnect, strengthen the family bond, and finally pin down that recipe. Below is everything you need to pull it off — with a minimal amount of time and stress.
Why Family Reunions Matter
Sharing stories and traditions with the people you came from keeps your sense of identity rooted. A good reunion strengthens relationships, builds understanding, and is honestly just a great way to see your own family traits walking around in real time — and maybe uncover that family secret you’ve been dying to hear. So let’s get to it.
How to Plan a Family Reunion in 7 Steps
1. Build Your Planning Committee
Start by reaching out to a small core group of family members who’ll help plan and share ideas. This is your planning committee — together you’ll set a budget, pick a destination, and choose a few possible dates.
Don’t try to do it all yourself. As you go, assign each committee member (or other willing relatives) a clear role:
- Financial management
- Photography
- Greeters / registration crew
- Decorations
- Meal planner
- Activity planner
- Clean-up and goodbyes (a great moment to gather feedback and float the next reunion)
2. Pick a Destination
The right destination is what actually gets people to show up — they get a vacation and a family reunion in one. Look for somewhere that is centrally located for the majority of the family, cost-effective for a range of budgets, and stocked with activities so nobody’s bored.
Your destination should also:
- Have your dates available
- Have a gathering space for shared meals and activities
- Accommodate the full headcount
- Offer a variety of sleeping options
- Keep both adults and kids entertained — the more it offers, the less you have to plan
The goal: nobody stuck in a living room with 50 relatives staring at each other with nothing to do.
3. Invite the Family
Once you’ve got a destination and a few date options, reach out to everyone. Create a free Facebook group — most people already have an account. A group beats the alternatives every time: emails get lost, nobody wants a 40-person group text, and calling every single relative individually is… no. Plus the group lives on year-round, so you can stay connected between reunions and start planning the next one when you’re ready.
Add your committee as group admins so they can help field questions. Then post your three date options and let everyone vote — go with whatever works for the most people (you’ll never please all schedules, and that’s fine). Once a date wins, lock it in with your venue.
4. Plan the Schedule
Set up a few meals, some social time, and a handful of activities — but don’t overdo it. Most families will have already scoped out the area and have their own day trips in mind, so a packed back-to-back schedule just stresses everyone out. Send dates and times ahead so people can plan around the group events.
Fun extra: color-code each immediate family for gatherings. Assign every household a color to wear — and it doesn’t have to be matching t-shirts. Hats, bandanas, hair accessories, whatever. It’s a fun, instant way to see who belongs to whom.
Activities we’ve seen work for all ages:
- Cornhole tournament
- Horseshoe tournament
- Volleyball
- Build-and-paint a birdhouse
- Water gun fight
- Fishing
- Kayak or canoe races
- Floating on the lake and soaking up the sun
- Hiking
- Trail riding
- Bicycling
- Card tournament
- Scavenger hunt
- Talent show
- Yard games
- Auction (some families auction items to fund the next reunion)
5. Sort Out the Meals
Meals are the easiest way to gather everyone, relax, and swap stories. A few approaches that work:
- Potluck — assign each household a dish to bring
- Each family takes a meal — taco bar, sloppy joes, burgers and dogs, pasta bar
- Cater it — contact a local eatery
With any of these, set a price per person so no single family is stuck footing the bill for a big crowd. Collect funds ahead of time or at the event.
6. Weave In Family History
A reunion is all about family, so make the history part of the experience. It’s the perfect chance to teach younger generations where they came from. Celebrate the anniversaries, birthdays, engagements, and promotions — and take a moment to remember the family members who are no longer with you.
And don’t be afraid to start a new tradition. Maybe it’s a family website with all the photos and stories you gather, or a simple keepsake everyone takes home — a family logo on matching shirts, or a photo book. It doesn’t need to be extravagant; it just needs to help everyone remember the reunion and the memories made.
7. Confirm the Details
A few weeks out, meet with your committee and confirm everything for a smooth, stress-free reunion. Make sure you’ve got:
- Enough parking and seating for the whole group
- Setup and clean-up crews ready
- Meals and activities locked in
- A plan for any emergencies
Quick Tips for the Ultimate Reunion
- Set a planning committee and a budget early
- Pick a destination with budget flexibility and plenty to do
- Don’t over-plan group activities
- Weave in your family history
- And the big one: don’t forget to actually enjoy the reunion yourself!
Ready to Plan Your Reunion? Come Stay at Hidden Lake.
We might be a little biased, but we think Hidden Lake Campground & Resort is one of the best places in the Black Hills to bring the family together — and we’ve got the track record to prove it. We’ve been a reunion destination since we opened in 2020, and we’ve picked up plenty of tricks to make them run smoothly.
Tucked into the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, we offer a private spring-fed lake, a range of cabins and RV sites to sleep everyone comfortably, and loads of on-site space to gather, play, and reconnect. From kayaking and fishing to cornhole and lazy afternoons floating in the sun, there’s something for every generation — all with the Black Hills as your backdrop.
Let’s make some memories.
Have a reunion tip — or a story about what didn’t work? Drop it in the comments and share your experience!
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