Groups - Church & Family

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park™ Hill Country was designed with the family in mind. We have everything for fun for the child in everyone... plus we can keep even those finicky adults on their toes, too. We are one stop shopping for your Church or Family gathering with Lodging - furnished space with kitchenettes, private cottages, tent and RV areas, large picnic spaces and three meeting rooms for just the right size place. Contact Yogi Bear™ with any questions or availability...

Family reunion ideas: Tips for planning a great family reunion or church gathering.

Planning ahead, choosing the right location and making it fun
By: Jillian Scheeler

The task of planning a family reunion and coming up with great family reunion ideas can be daunting, but by following these few, small steps you can ensure that your family reunion will run smoothly and be tons of fun too.

The first step in planning a family reunion is to create a list of all the family members attending the reunion. This is a crucial step, because knowing who is coming will help you make many of the following decisions. Are there going to be lots of children? Are there going to be elderly individuals that need wheelchair accessibility? These are just a few small things that need to be thought of before jumping straight into the family reunion planning process.

The second decision in planning a family reunion is the location. There are a variety of great locations to hold family reunions: old family homesteads, national parks, cruises, ranches and resorts. (We offer 28 acres of wooded playground, Canyon Lake for fishing and boating, The Guadalupe River for Canoeing, Kayaking or inner tube floating the day away... Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Hill Country is the obvious choice) However, there are many items that need to be considered when choosing a location. The first is proximity; traveling distances will vary between the individuals attending. It is best to choose a place that is centrally located. Second, before choosing a location it is necessary to do some research to ensure that the location will have proper accommodations and also will offer plenty of activities and attractions for the reunion attendees to do. Third, the location needs to be affordable for everyone. The best thing to do when choosing a reunion location is to send out a survey to everyone attending and get their input before deciding. The survey can also include questions on the best dates, favorite activities and costs.

After choosing the location is finished, the date needs to be set. Choose a time that will work best for everyone because you can't have a reunion if no one can attend. Also, depending on the location, different times of the year will work better. Once the date is chosen, make the reservations immediately.

The guest list is compiled, the date is set and the location is chosen and reserved. You now have the all the basic logistics covered in planning a family reunion. Now it's time to consider entertainment and come up with some great family reunion ideas. For example, what are you going to do with all these people and how are you going to feed them? Once again, the location depends a lot upon this. If the reunion is to be held at the old family homestead or at a home there a few options to be considered. The reunion itself can be held in the backyard and a tent can be rented. To feed the family you can either cook yourself, or it can be catered. Having the event catered is the best option so you don't have to spend your whole time in the kitchen. You can still cook Grandma's famous chocolate cake though. (Why mess up the house.... take the fun on the road for a small cost for the weekend out) Another option is to rent out a room at a hotel or other venue and have them cater it. This option may be more costly. If the reunion is to be held at a resort, cruise or out-of-town location, the dining can be done at the resort or restaurant reservations need to be made.

To entertain everybody, choose activities that both children and adults will enjoy. Once again, the location plays a big part in what activities can be planned. Ice breakers are a great way to kick off family reunions, especially if it has been awhile since everyone has gathered. Nametags may also come in handy if there is a large group of people.

Once the reunion has begun and everyone is having a great time, you want to make sure that you archive the event somehow. There several ways to do this. First, shirts, buttons and programs can be printed and given out as mementos. Second, take lots and lots of pictures. A professional photographer can be hired to take photos or a great low-budget option is to have disposable cameras bought and given out. This is great especially for little kids, because it gives them something to do as well and a lot of times they take great photographs. Last, if many people attending have digital cameras, photos can be shared easily via e-mail. So make sure to have a list of everybody's contact information so these photographs can be shared. Also, do not forget to ask for feedback so you can gather more family reunion ideas for next time.

If you follow these few steps for planning a family reunion, everything will run smoothly and everyone will be having a great time. The most important part to planning any reunion is to make sure that everyone is having a great time!

Jillian Scheeler is a spontaneous road-tripper and avid writer working on assignment for TravelPost.com - The Premier Source for Unbiased Hotel Reviews and Ratings. This article can be reprinted freely as long as all links remain active.