Ole! It’s almost time to fiesta Cinco de Mayo-style. Fortunately, throwing a party to celebrate El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla) doesn’t have to cost you plenty of pesos. Instead of heading to your local party shop to purchase fancy games and decorations, look around your house for items that can be given a Mexican twist. For example, you can pull out an old “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” game, make some minor changes with a Sharpie and play “Pin the Sombrero on the Burro.” The Mexican hats can be sketched … Continue reading →
The big game is less than four days away. On Sunday, millions of families will be gathering around their televisions to watch the Baltimore Ravens take on the San Francisco 49ers… or at least to watch the uber-hyped Super Bowl commercials. It would be great if the entire family thought watching a 4-hour game was the epitome of fun. However, if you have young kids, they may want a bit more to do than just sit on the couch and cheer on men wearing tight pants. If you are looking for super fun ideas that will score big with little … Continue reading →
The biggest sporting event of the year is little over a week away. The countdown to Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers is on. Watching the game can be a fun event for the entire family. In fact, millions of clans around the world gather together to cheer on their favorite team at huge Super Bowl parties, though hosting one can be quite challenging and expensive if you are not careful. One way to reduce the cost of hosting a viewing party is to make simple and affordable snacks. Not only will the following … Continue reading →
The best part of the holiday season is getting together with family and friends to share a few laughs. Or, in some case, huge belly busters that have you rolling on the floor gasping for air. One of the simplest ways to share a seasonal smile is to tell a Christmas joke. Kids and adults alike appreciate a good holiday riddle. What’s more, clean, seasonal funnies can be added to Christmas cards, family newsletters or used as an ice breaker at a company party or family get-together. If you are entertaining kids this month, consider printing out the following … Continue reading →
One of my daughter’s young friends officially entered toddler-dom. Today my daughter and I went to our friends’ house to celebrate their youngest turning one. The venue was perfect for the seven toddlers in attendance. The bounce house should have been a big hit, but the toddler pool and sprinkler held far more amusement. I couldn’t help but remember my daughter’s first birthday party. Jessie joined our family two months before her first birthday. We invited all of our friends over to the house and ate pizza. All the children played together with Jessie’s toys. Jessie and a friend’s three-year-old … Continue reading →
Now that you know why you want to have a reunion, whom you are inviting, your budget, and the type of reunion you will have, you can begin planning activities and games to do during the actual reunion. Icebreakers: Icebreakers are a good way to get your relatives mingling. Some ideas include introducing yourself by saying how you got your name, a game of truth-or-dare, without the dare, or a scavenger hunt to find relatives that have something in common with each other (same color eyes, your cousin, same age, same birth month, etc.). Family Memorabilia: I am assuming that … Continue reading →
As I discussed in my last post, there are different types of family reunions you could have-from a small gathering of only a few relatives, to a large event of anyone who shares your last name. The size of your gathering may be dependent on factors, such as the reason for the reunion, your budget, and how many people your venue can accommodate. Start by grabbing a pen and notepad and jotting down a list of everyone you want to invite. Don’t forget to include your relative’s spouses and children. Note which relatives you have addresses or phone numbers for. … Continue reading →
I may have gotten ahead of myself in this family reunion planning series, since technically this post should have come before my post about budget, venue, and food. Considering the type of reunion you will have, and any theme you may want, will help tremendously when determining your reunion budget. TYPES Small, intimate gatherings are probably the easiest and most inexpensive family reunions to plan. These often include just a few of your closest family members, and may be held in celebration of a special event, such as an anniversary, birthday, graduation, baby shower, etc. Medium-sized family reunions can also … Continue reading →
In my last post, I talked about why someone might want to plan a family reunion. This post will discuss planning for the reunion budget, venue (location), and food. Budget Unless you have recently won the lottery, you are probably planning your family reunion on a limited budget. There are a number of websites that offer free budgeting worksheets for party (and reunion) planning. The first thing you need to do when planning a family reunion budget is to make a list of everything you will need to purchase or rent. Some items that may be included on your list … Continue reading →
According to Genealogy.com, approximately 200,000 families hold family reunions each year. More than half of family reunion coordinators say their primary reason for holding a reunion is to keep in touch with other family members. Another quarter of coordinators hold reunions in an attempt to introduce their children to their family heritage. There are many other reasons why people hold reunions: to celebrate a birthday or anniversary, to get together one last time before someone dies, to carry on a regular tradition of getting together, and more. It is a common occurrence at my family’s funerals to hear someone say … Continue reading →
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