Reunions are a great way to connect with one's family members, and also to know about one's ancestors and distant relatives. In order to make this occasion fun, exciting, and memorable, lots of planning and preparation is required. If you too are planning a family reunion and are looking for some ideas to conduct it adeptly, here is some information that you will surely find handy. Guest List The first thing that should be done when planning a reunion of your entire family is to make a guest list of the people who you want to invite. Depending upon the resources that are available to you, you can plan how many members of your family you want to include. If you want it to be a cozy affair, you may invite only your immediate relatives, such as your siblings and their families, your parents, and grandparents. If you are planning to make it a grand affair, you can include your first cousins, second cousins, third cousins, and their respective families too. Reunion Committees If the number of attendees for the occasion are more, it is better to divide the work among different family members. One of the best ideas is to create a number of committees and appoint heads of each committee, who will be responsible for the work assigned to it. You may make the following committees:

• Budgeting: This committee will decide about the finances that are required for organizing the whole event. It will also decide the contributions that will come from each and every family member. Proper utilization of the finances is also this committee's job. Planning the finances well makes sure that there are no ill feelings among all the family members.
• Communication: This committee will be responsible for collecting the addresses and sending out invitations. Any kind of communication, whether through phone calls or mails, will be taken care of by this committee.
• Decoration: This committee will be responsible for choosing the venue for the reunion. It will also be responsible for various decorations at the venue, such as table decorations, venue decorations, buffet decoration, setting up the welcome tables, etc.
• Food: Food is a very important part of any party. So, the ones in this committee will decide whether to set up cooks at the location, to order food from some restaurant, or to engage a caterer.
• Activities: This committee will be in charge of the activities, games, competitions, etc., that will be conducted at the event. In order to make the reunion fun and memorable, such activities should be properly planned well in advance.
• Photography: This committee will be responsible for two things. Firstly, it will collect as many photographs as it can from the different family members and create a family tree with them, at the venue. Secondly, on the day of the event, it will either arrange for a photographer or assign one family member to take capture the event in photographs.

Post-event Newsletter Once the event has been organized and conducted successfully, you may create newsletters, which contain the photographs and stories about the event. You can also include lots of family information and some special comments from the family members in this newsletter. Send this newsletter to all the guests and also the relatives who were invited but could not make it to the event. Sending a newsletter is a great way to preserve the memories and some special, unforgettable moments of the reunion. Fun Ideas One of the best ideas is to plan a camping trip over the weekend with the entire family. You can stay in a log cabin or in a tent. If many elderly people are going to be a part of the event, it might be difficult for them to stay outdoors though. Otherwise, camping can be quite fun for the children, as well as couples. Select a place for a camp where people can indulge in activities such as hiking, boating, sports, etc. You can even plan for an outdoor barbecue menu instead of ordering food from a restaurant or hiring a caterer. Another fun idea is to have a special theme for the event and base everything right from the food, invitations, and activities to the clothes of the guests on that theme. Some of the themes for family reunions that will be liked by all are Hollywood night, wedding theme, and African safari. I hope these ideas will help you to plan and conduct a family reunion successfully. Proper planning, time, and patience, along with some fun activities, such as family talent shows and karaoke night, can make this one of the best events of your life!