Planning a Family Fun Day aka Family Reunion

Are you having a family reunion this year? I have one every summer. We call them Family Fun Days because I want everyone to have fun. Every year I plan a different team activity. 

Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunts are popular. They're the easiest to set up. I have my family work with a partner. They don't choose their own partner, instead I have different ways for them to find one. Sometimes they have ancestor cards and have to find the person who has the matching card. Or they are given pictures of farm animals and have to find their partner match by making the animal sound.

Amazing Genealogy Race
Last year I created a Genealogy themed race. It was a version of the Amazing Race but each activity teams went to was based on a real event that happened to one of our ancestors. This required posters with instructions for each event, as well as hiding clues in plastic eggs, and arranging for referees at each event. It was super fun and hilariously funny but tons of work so I won't do that one again any time soon!

This year I'm debating creating another Scavenger Hunt but this time giving it a genealogy twist. I haven't worked out all the details yet but I've got two months to think about it.

Fun & Games
It's great to have one organized game with a prize for the winner(s) but you also want to let your family just talk and enjoy themselves. My rule of thumb is that the race or the Scavenger Hunt should not take more than an hour, but I aim for 45 minutes.

I put out lots of activities such as hula hoops, foam lawn darts, golf clubs, croquet set, football and so on. We also clean out the horseshoe pit and hubs makes sure the ATV is gassed up and ready to go.

Our ATV holds two small children on the back seat plus hubs driving, and I think it's the favourite part of the day for the grandchildren!

If you're running your Fun Day alone, you need to be super-organized. Here's a few tips that might help.

What do you do for your Family Fun Days?