Reunion

We have a reunion every other summer in nebraska. We have about 15 to 20 young cousins now ranging from birth to 18. Last year some one organized and "olympics" witn medals and everything. And another aunt organized a talent show. It was a blast. one of the 3 year olds tapped dance, she stole the show.

We must have twin families. On my side of the family, there are 12 kids between the ages of 12 and 3. Last summer at our family reunion we did a couple of things that were really cool. Each family was assigned a day for an "activity". My cousin is an only child and we were in hiking/bear country and on her day she did a first aid activity. She talked a little about safety and a little about first aid, then the kids were separated by age and asked to treat a particular problem. The littlest kids had to simply put a bandaid on a scratch while the older group (that I was in charge of) had to splint a broken bone...well we actuall ended up wrapping my brother up like a mummy but we did the object of the activity first. The kids seemed to like it and they had fun.

Another thing we did was make reunion scrap books. I got some simple card stock paper and foam sheets and made the books out from that. Then I got sticky letters and cut outs to decorate with and each day we printed pictures at the local Walmart and added them to the book. Then the kids could write what they remembered from the day or the other activites that we did. It is a good memory keeper.

The last thing we did that I thought was really cool was my aunt got coffee cans (#10 cans) and pvc pipes and filled the cans with cement and stuck the pipe in (about four feet). She brought those with her already completed, and she also made paper mache around ballons to make balls. Then the kids painted the balls and added faces, beaks, wings, ect. Then we cut holes in the top and bottom and put them on the pvc pipe. At first we couldnt imagine what we were doing but in the end, they were our family reunion totem poles! It was so cute when all was said and done, and each kid insisted on taking home their totem head.

Oh, I just remembered the last thing we did. My sister bought pony beads, feathers, and leather yarn and each kid while hiking found their own walking stick and then we wrapped the leather strips around the spot where their hands rested and attatched beads and feathers. The kids loved that as well because they got to make it unique!

During the day, all sorts of outdoor activies are fun but might want to have a back-up plan if the sun is scorching. Crafts like sticky foam things and beading are always fun. For food, letting them make their own pizzas, jello jigglers and fruit salad type things. Dont forget books if you want quiet time too. Not just coloring books but activity books with stickers and look-n-find type are good too. Maybe put the older ones in charge of making up a game. They are kids, they will have fun no matter what you do as long as your spending time together. Enjoy!

Another fun one that was done when I was younger: get a big box and fill it with sawdust. Then get some rolls of quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies, and put them in the sawdust. Then, the kids get a set amount of time to find whatever money they can. Whatever they find, they get to keep! Have fun at the reunion!

R.

For our family reunion last year we made marshmallow guns. You put together pieces of pvc pipe and just blow them out. You can make your gun anyway you want. Just get the pipe big enough for a little marshmallow to go through. This was alot of fun. Actually, I think the adults had more fun with it than the kids, but the only kids we had was a 3 and 2 year old.

This is the best idea. ;)
-First you need to gather a bunch of rocks (small ones, like the size of coins, (quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies). Probably a nice big bucket worth, and rinse them off.
-Buy a can of GOLD spray paint. Spray paint the rocks.
-Gather little pieces of fabric that you can use as a pouch for little ones to hold their "gold" in. (one for each child)You just punch some holes in the corners that you can weave a string in and out of to sinch it up with.
-visit the dollar store and pick up a smattering of little cheap toys, like packages of little cowboys and indians, bugs, little tea sets, things like that are appealing to the different genders/ages you'll be dealing with. Also pick up lots of little penny candies.
Then when you're at the reunion you can scatter the gold everywhere so while they're at the reunion they can pick it up and store it in their pouch. You can even bring a picture of some of the gold rusher's from california and tell them a little about the gold rush in 1949. At a specified time each day (or just one day of the reunion) you open up a "county store" and they can purchase a small toy or some penny candy with the gold they've found. If you do it every day you'll want to do lots of little prizes, and redistribute the gold at night after they've gone to bed.
Hope you enjoy- it's a bit of work to put it together before hand, but it is totally worth it!! :) email me if you have any questions. ____@____.com
PS: I totally loved the walking stick idea, you could incorperate that with the kids hunting for gold :)

Fingerpaint T-shirts. Have the younger ones play duck duck goose and ring around the posie. Have the older ones play red rover. Organize a movie night where the kids watch movies and have treats and popcorn. Play hide and seek on teams (pair up youngest and oldest). Kids love to explore new places...do an exploration hunt where you have a little list of things to find (pine cone, big leaf, purple flower, etc.).

Tye-dye t-shirts are a lot of fun and can take up to a whole day. Use permanent fabric pens to write The (your family name) reunion 2009 if you like or to add details, names, which is nice if there are a lot and you want to remember who is who, especially if you make shirts on one of the first days and a get to know you again activity. Ask everyone to bring a washed white shirt, get a bunch of 5 gallon buckets and some good dye. You really only need red, blue and yellow. They can all be used to make any secondary colors you might want.

When we'd get together my dad would make a scavenger hunt for us kids.