The activities you plan for at a family reunion will play a key role in ensuring that people have a good time. Games and activities have a way of bringing a family together, making the bonds stronger.
And that’s why we do family reunions, isn’t it.
Listed below are some games and activities that adults and kids can do together.
Family Reunion Activities For Adults And Kids
Joint Family Skits
Pair a grandparent and a grandchild (or even an adult) together and have them perform a skit for everyone. Give everyone a theme based on family history (Or a funny family episode) and let them act it out. Make sure to include all the generations attending and bring a video camera (Then play the footage at the next reunion to produce some great laughter).
Joint Family Talent Show
Families have members that are talented in different ways. Some may be talented with a baton while someone else may be a competitive gymnast. Show off everyone’s talent in an hour long show that includes every generation (We had our grandpa play the National Anthem on his harmonica). For this to be successful, make sure to ask about any special talents in the Family Reunion Survey.
Other ideas for family talent could be
1. Square dancing (Or any kind of dancing really)
2. Singing
3. Playing a musical instrument
4. Perform magic tricks
5. Cheerleading/Gymnast or any other sport that can be displayed indoors
Rent A Karaoke Machine
Want to really get the family moving? Then rent a karaoke machine and let your family members loose. After the first few acts, the rest of the folks will begin to join in as well. Make sure to select a list of songs that were popular across several generations and upload the video to your Family Reunion Website.
Time Capsule
Create a time capsule every five years or so at the family reunion. Have every family create something (A signed photo at the very least) that they can place in the time capsule for later retrieval.
As you continue to plan reunions, this activity will take on a life of its own as people will plan what they are going to place in the time capsule. Of course the real fun is when you get to open one up after five years.
Family Detective
Pair an adult and a child as a team and have them look at clues based on family names, history, and culture. The answers should lead them to the next clue until finally they solve all of them. The pair that solves all the clues first wins.
Minor League Baseball Game
Not only will a minor league game not bust your Family Reunion Budget, it will also be more family friendly and fun. Plus, if you want an autograph, you’re likely to get one. A fun thing we did was we looked up some top prospects in AAA and found out when they were going to be playing the minor league team in our city.
We had our family reunion picnic outside the stadium and then proceeded to the game where we managed to get this hot prospects signature.
To this day, my kids remember meeting Mr. Derek Jeter.
Family Bingo
As has been the theme in this article, pair an adult with a kid and play family Bingo. You can buy the components of bingo online or even make the boards yourself (Good time killer for the kids, by the way). Give the winning bingo team something simple like the largest piece of dessert or a “pass” for when everyone has to clean up. People will appreciate these little prizes much more than a trinket that they may or may not use.
Family Scavenger Hunt
Want real interaction between family members? Do the scavenger hunt. The game is played by answering family related questions and whoever answers them first wins. Give the list of questions or a booklet of questions out and have each team research the answers by going to different family members. For example, you could have a question like “Which uncle once participated in Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island”.
Parental Sack Race
Instead of planning an activity to keep the kids busy, have them watch as their parents (As a team) compete in a sack race. Put both parents in a sack and have several sets compete to win. Not only do the kids have a great time watching their parents fall all over the place, the grandparents will love it too.
Kitchen Stadium
Get a few cooks in the family and pair them up with some kids that can act as their assistants and them have teams square off against each other in a battle that is ultimately judged by votes at the dinner table (Use a secret ballot system to avoid people getting upset). If you are not familiar with the term Kitchen Stadium, it’s a popular term used in a show called Iron Chef on the food network.
If you do not want to do a full fledged meal, then have teams just prepare one course (Dessert being the most popular).
Plan An Outdoor Game
If your family reunion is at the beach, build a sandcastle or organize a volleyball game. Otherwise, plan for a family softball game or a men vs. women game of basketball. You could also play tug of war or create an obstacle course that has to be completed partially by kids and partially by adults.
Camping
Create a bonfire and tell family stories around the fire. Have everyone in your family prepare a (true or funny) story from their childhood that they feel comfortable sharing with everyone. You’ll be surprised at the kinds of things you will learn about your family around this campfire.
Something else you can do around a campfire is to play family trivial pursuit. Have one moderator ask questions like “This family member has been to Antartica” and let family members take turns with their answers.
Other Common Family Reunion Activities
1. Museums
2. Boating
3. Skiing
4. Nature walk/Hike
5. Apple picking/strawberry picking
6. Mini Golf
Hopefully these popular family reunion activities for adults and kids will make your event a successful one. By having several activities that involve active participation, the entire family will be able to bond together and create some great memories.
What should you read next?
Since you’re planning a family reunion, you could check out some more easy to plan activities and games or take a look at some money saving ideas for your next event.