Empty Handed

I would bring outside toys for all the kids. Walmart has a great selection of water toys, slip-n-slides, water balloons, bubbles, frisbies, kites, super-soakers, etc. You could get a large beach tote for each family group and fill it with all sorts of toys for the backyard/park and include a slip-in-side for each family (something the older kids would like as well). You could include some dollar store items to fill it out without looking "cheap". Good luck and have fun!!!

Maybe bring t-shirts and paints and let all the kids make a family reunion shirt to take home.

I was going to suggest a water slide thing that you can buy from Wal-Mart.....the one where you hook up the hose and they run and slide on their tummies! Kids love it, and it's easy to put up and take down.......of course they would need suits for that......

Squirt or nerf guns are good as well.......Or marshmellow guns.....with marshmellows........kids love those. .....balls of any kind.........T-Shirts are good if you know about what size they wear.

I'm sure whatever you choose, the kids will think you are the greatest and if it keeps the kids occupied for a bit, so will the parents!

Happy hunting and have a great time.

Squirt guns or nerf balls- something the kids can all play with outside would be my suggestion. Have fun!

We had a huge family reunion last year. The ages ranged from 80 to newborns.
They had bean bag toss, badminton, yes...bubbles for the little ones.
Are you thinking of "gifts" or things to keep the kids occupied?
Bug catchers, blow up beach balls, those little velcro toss games, whiffle ball.....
The kids didn't use half of the stuff that was brought for them to play with, they were just having fun running around and eating.
I think it's a wonderful gesture to bring things for the kids and even if they don't play with them at the BBQ, they can take them home.

I hope you get some great ideas.
Have a blast!

Bubbles sounds good. If you are going to be there long enough for it to get dark, all the kids (and adults) will love glow sticks/bracelets. Our local Target in their 1$ section at the front of the store has a package of 15 glow bracelets. For $10 you'd have 150 glow bracelets and that should be plenty for everyone.

Best gift you can give the parents is time to enjoy talking to each other without kid interuptions. So, all these ideas for stuff to keep the kids busy outside are perfect. For my bbq last weekend, we broke out the water sprinkler, water guns, water balloons, and kiddie pools. Everybody had a great time and we got a lot of fun pictures out of it.

What about renting a bounce house or water slide? www.herecomesfun.com/pcf

Given your edit...my response doesn't apply :) have fun at the reunion!

Ask the hosts of the BBQ if you could help bring entertainment. A kiddie pool and some beach balls or an inexpensive racquetball set could be fun for the whole family and easy to set up and tear down. But ask first, in case they already have entertainment planned.

Along w/ water toys (as suggested below)and all the other fun outdoor toys suggested, if the BBQ will go on into the evening then sparklers, glowsticks and glow necklaces would be fun. Kids (ok, I confess, and me :)) love things that glow.

Also a croquet set is always fun for all ages (as are horseshoes)...I loved playing that at family BBQs when I was a kid. :)

Why not plan a savenger hunt for goodies? Kind of like an easter egg hunt only... not. This way, the kids are all playing together and they're kept busy while the grown ups catch up. You can come up with a list of clues, and hide stuff like candy, cash, $5 gift cards, gum, and yeah, dollar store stuff too (you think a 4 year old doesn't like dollar store bubbles?!) If the older kids find the stuff more appropriate for the younger kids, they can swap. Have a great time!

bubbles are a pain in the butt at our house. Don't get me wrong the kids do get them but then they want to blow them all around the food. sigh...... I would suggest a couple boxes of popcicles and maybe some sidewalk chalk, coloring books, markers that kind of thing is good to keep kids entertained.

I have a 7 yr. old and 11 yr. old and for easter we did a treasure hunt with a bunch of Spring/summer stuff. Yes, there were the bubbles but also water toys, balls, sports stuff, frisbees etc. They are still playing with it months later. They have those sports sets at Target with badmitten, volleyball etc. The adults would enjoy too. I would say anything that you can play with outside in groups is the way to go. Also, I never come to an event like this empty handed and just because they said don't bring anything I doubt they would be upset that you thought of the kids. I would hope that during a weekend family reunion BBQ the little ones would get a little "dirty/messy/wet and muddy" anyway! Have fun!

Just get each of them a $30 gift card to Wal-mart or something if you feel like you HAVE to bring something.

Also, some bubble things aren't cheap dollarstore items. Target and walmart both carry the big bubble items like the wands and containers you use to make really BIG bubbles.

Or maybe you could bring jump-ropes for the kids or something.