Class reunions offer classmates a chance to get together and catch up, often after a decade or more. Along with reminiscing about the past, they also help rekindle many friendships and create long lasting bonds.
In this article, we are going to go over some of the most popular class reunion activities and games so you can create a memorable weekend.
Let’s start by talking about what to do on the first night that classmates arrive.
Friday Night Activities For A Class Reunion
Host A Cocktail Hour
On Friday, most classmates will have had a long day of travel so keep things informal. Host a cocktail hour at the hotel that you reserved a block of rooms or at a local high school restaurant. Start the cocktail hour with some icebreakers.
Class Reunion Ice Breakers
Ice breakers are very important for any class reunion. Help start conversations with some of the following:
Jog That Memory
Have someone in the class reunion activities committee create a slide show of 20-30 photos of events that defined your graduating decade. You can take anything from world news, local news, area festivals, local haunts, and anything else that will get people into the mindset of the decade that you graduated in.
Play the slideshow with your laptop and project the images onto a screen. Ask classmates to identify the image. Reward each correct answer with extra drink tickets.
Team Jeopardy
Split the group into several teams and play Jeopardy (ask questions that apply to your high school or college). For example, you could say “In addition to being a great physics teacher, this person also sported a wig.”
Topics can be about famous movies, popular music, or local events from the years that you were in school together.
Melody Match
Play a tune for 10-20 seconds and the first person that identifies the name of the song and the artist gets a free drink coupon. Make sure the songs are from around the time that you graduated. You can do this activity individually or in groups (recommended).
Name Tag Hunt
You can play this ice breaker only if you have photos of classmates on the name tags (Recommended). As people enter the cocktail hour, let them pick up one random name tag at the entrance (The name tags should be faced down). Tell them that they have to find the person that the name tag belongs to. This exercise is a good way to increase familiarity with one person right from the start.
Saturday Activities
Saturday is the big day for all the activities and games. Many class reunions make the mistake of not adding any daytime activities and they miss a great chance for more people to connect.
Following breakfast/brunch, schedule any of the following activities:
- If things have changed in your city since you graduated, then take a tour downtown.
- If your school is hosting a football game (Many high school and most college games occur on Saturday), then buy tickets in advance and make it part of the class reunion festivities. Ask everyone to wear the class reunion T-shirts and name tags so people at the game can identify their alumni.
- Add a charity golf tournament and have people play in groups. The proceeds can go to a local charity.
- Tour your old school on a weekend and see if your old locker still exists. You can also have everyone gather together at the auditorium like you used to and have the principal give a talk.
Saturday night is generally reserved for the main class reunion banquet. Rather than filling up the entire evening with activities and games, provide one or two of the following and then let classmates mingle, dance, chat, and eat to their hearts content.
DJ Led Dance Party With Songs From Your Graduation Year
People are going to be shy at first so get your class reunion planning committee to start dancing first. Show some of the moves that were popular during your time and encourage everyone to join in.
Speeches
Do you have any teachers attending your class reunion? Let them give a short speech about your graduation class. Teachers and principals can contribute some very funny stories that you may not know about during your school years.
Slideshow
The slide show is a popular mainstay of most class reunion banquets. Make these slideshows exciting by adding your own captions to the photos. Grab photos from the past, current photos, school photos and group photos and put together a collage that you can present right before dinner. Make sure to include photos of graduation, the prom and any other significant event (High school championship games etc).
Rent A Theater
Rent out a theater for a night (Do this right after dinner), and have them play any movie from your graduation decade. Make sure the movie is the type that defined your generation (For example, “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” was very popular among the kids in the 80’s). Renting out a theater is not as expensive as you might expect.
Bowling
Bowling is truly American and is great fun at any class reunion. Right after the banquet, head on over to the local bowling alley (Preferably the one that your classmates used when they were younger), and host a tournament. Don’t know how? No worries, just talk to the bowling alley and they can help set up the entire tournament for you. All you have to do is show up with the class.
Group Photos
In your class reunion planning phase, ask classmates to send in some group photos from graduation, the prom, a sporting event or from a regular day at school. The important thing is to make sure you know who everyone is in the picture.
When your classmates have arrived, try to get the same people to provide the very same pose for a new picture, only XX years later. Post the “Then and now” photos on the Class Reunion Website.
Memories Uncut
During the banquet, randomly select people one at a time and have them answer the following questions:
- What was your funniest memory? Why?
- Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
- Who did you have a crush on in high school but never had the guts to ask out?
- What was the biggest trouble you got into during your years in school?
Select the funniest answers and post them on the class reunion website. Alternately, you could announce the results after the class reunion banquet. Just make sure to keep the answers anonymous.
Sunday
People are going to want to get up late on Sunday (long night, you know) so don’t schedule any morning activities. Instead of a breakfast, consider setting up a brunch to maximize attendance.
An alternative is to set up a class reunion picnic where people hang out one more time before everyone heads home. Consider bringing some frisbees, a volleyball, and other sports gear to keep people active.
Now that you have a list of activities and games to select from, keep the following tips in mind before you start setting them up.
Tips For Setting Up Class Reunion Activities And Games
Class Reunion Games And Activities Should Create Nostalgia
In order to create a fun and interesting experience for classmates, you have to plan activities and games that will create a bit of nostalgia to stir up lots of forgotten memories. The activities and games should result in people thinking about their past, their years in school, forgotten crushes, and old rivalries.
Don’t Over Schedule The Activities And Games
Many people make the mistake of scheduling so many activities that there is barely enough time for classmates to just sit back and hang out. You should schedule a a few activities and games throughout the weekend that get people to talk to one another. Anything more would be to start thinking about the past.
Class reunions can be a lot of fun if the planners have provided enough activities and games that get people thinking and talking about the good ‘ol days. With the class reunion activities and games above, you will play a key role in helping classmates relive their past and create new memories.
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