When I was a child my mother had family, on the sides of both of her parents, living in fairly close proximity in the Kansas City, Missouri area and regular gatherings were common. In the summertime especially, picnics or Sunday dinners brought the family together. My grandparents, most of their generation, my mom, and many of her cousins are no longer with us. The remaining family members have spread out across the country and few are still in the Kansas City area, but we continue to work hard to keep the tradition of a regular family gathering alive. As is common with family reunions, our numbers get a bit smaller each time. People pass away or become unable to travel due to aging, and the youngest family members haven't formed the close bonds that the older generations did growing up with cousins nearby. But, for now, those of us that go have a really great time and we'll do this as long as we can.
Every other year for the last 15 or so years we have met lakeside on Truman Lake in Central Missouri. Traveling from all over Missouri and as far away as Washington, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Louisiana, and Arizona, we all descend on the friendly resort in the heat of late July for a three-day party. Everyone always says they wish it could be an annual thing, but every other year comes around pretty quick. This schedule also allows families a chance to plan a different vacation on the off years and still get to every reunion.
The Reunion Schedule
We do a three-day reunion (Friday-Sunday) and have found a resort with a hotel and a kitchen/clubhouse that we reserve. I use the term "resort" loosely because it's more like a fishing camp, but it meets our needs and the price makes it more affordable for everyone to attend. Each person attending contributes $20 to help pay for the clubhouse and the food and we all pay for our own accommodations. We have a group of about 40-60 with the biggest turnout on Saturday. A few early birds arrive Thursday night and the rest trickle in on Friday and Saturday. Some just come on Saturday if they live nearby, but for those traveling far, it's nice to have three days to visit. On Sunday afternoon we start saying our goodbyes and everyone has headed home by Monday morning.
Our routine is the same every time.
Day One:
On Friday morning a crew does the grocery shopping at the local Wal-Mart while another group is setting up tables and decorating. We plan a light lunch on Friday so as people arrive they can grab a bite if hungry. Then on Friday night, we have a buffet dinner. This is always a late night of visiting and catching up.
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| A recruited helper (my Uncle) making paper chains for the Christmas in July theme. |
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| The sun setting on the lake. |
Day Two:
Saturday begins by opening up the clubhouse early and getting the coffee on. Breakfast items that can be kept warm and cold cereal make it easy for people to eat whenever they wake up. Once breakfast is cleaned up most of us play BINGO. All ages love the game. Everyone brings some prizes and it goes on for hours. The hotel has a pool which is always a huge hit with the kids and other options for activities are outdoor games, fishing, and boating.
A light lunch is offered, but the main attraction is the Saturday main reunion meal. Served in mid to late afternoon, this is always huge with lots of dishes and lots of desserts. After the meal, we draw for the raffle prize or prizes. These are always something handmade. We have had a crocheted afghan, quilts, and family history books. This year I'm making a quilt and so is another cousin. Quilts are always popular raffle items. Raffling items helps to bring in funds to keep the reunion going even as our numbers are dwindling. Group photos, if we remember, are done after we clean up.
Saturday nights are for story-telling, sing-alongs, laughter, and reminiscing. It's always another late night.
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| The kids love hanging out by the pool. |
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| A crocheted afghan was raffled the first year we started doing a raffle. |
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| Quilts are always a popular raffle item. |
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| Lake fun! |
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| Playing music and singing on Saturday night :) |
Tip: if you can plan a time for everyone to gather for a photo, do it! We've found that this is something you have to be flexible with as there'll always be someone napping, at the pool, or on the lake and you'll likely never get a photo with everyone in it.
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| The one and only year (so far!) that we remembered to get a big group photo. |
Day Three:
Sunday morning goes about the same as Saturday though we may switch up the breakfast items. Many of the folks check out of their rooms and head home Sunday afternoon, so the goodbyes begin after breakfast. Those of us that stay through Monday morning all help with clean-up and polish off as much of the leftover food as we can. If we're a small group, we sometimes head out to a local restaurant for a casual dinner.
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My mom (in the blue blouse) passed away 7 years ago.
Here she is pictured with her brothers and sister at one of the reunions.
These four are the reason I started planning this reunion. |
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| Our reunion spot sits on this quiet cove. |
Planning the Reunion
Family reunions take a little bit of planning. Years ago when we first started, invitations were sent in the mail and RSVPs collected to get a head count. Now we have a facebook group and I just create an event with all the details after the reservations have been locked in. Those without a facebook account are contacted by phone or just hear about it from someone else. We collaborate and plan a menu in advance, then buy enough food and disposable tableware for our average group size and don't worry about an exact count anymore. For BINGO, we use a deck of BINGO cards, a pad of paper cards and plastic markers purchased online years ago that transport easily. If we run out of markers, Cheerios work well!
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| BINGO! |
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| Bingo playing is a highlight of the reunions. |
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| The table of BINGO prizes one year. |
The kitchen work goes smoothly with a simple menu. Even for easy dishes, print out the recipes so anyone can help. Delegate the work. Setting up the buffet, taking out the garbage, food prep and clean up can all be delegated. Even though it's work, it's fun to do with others. We often have a group in the kitchen visiting and laughing as we prepare a meal and those are some of my favorite reunion memories. At the last reunion, we ordered the main dish on Saturday from a local restaurant and that reduced the workload a lot and was still within budget. We may do that again this year.
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| The clubhouse kitchen boasts a huge prep table that we put to use. |
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| Having fun with reunion food. |
I always choose a simple theme for the decorations. One thing that's been popular is to incorporate old family photos into the theme. They are great prompts for some terrific story-telling! Some of our past themes were "fiesta", "family tree", and "Hillbilly Hoedown" (our Ozarks hillbilly roots!). One year we did "Christmas in July" and everyone wrapped the BINGO prizes they brought. That was a lot of fun. This year it's "Flower Power" so we'll be getting our retro groove on. I just have fun with it and keep it simple.
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The theme was "family tree".
The leaves and acorns hanging down from this tree all had a copy of an old family photo attached.
Leaves and acorns with photos were also scattered on the tables. |
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| BINGO prizes wrapped as gifts for the Christmas in July theme. |
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Hillbilly hoedown was a fun theme.
One of my Aunts made the mason jar centerpieces. |
The main thing is to just relax, keep it simple, and focus on enjoying the time with your cousins, aunts, and uncles. If you don't already have family reunions, consider starting the tradition. It's worth the effort, believe me.
