One of the best ways for your relatives to catch up and get to know each other better is by playing games. Some require more planning and set up time while others require nothing at all. Some activities require that you announce the game before the reunion because family members may need to bring something with them. You can ask your relatives to bring pictures of themselves, baby pictures and photos of relatives from older generations, so you can play ‘Guess Who?’ games and see if there are any family resemblances. You can also use pictures to create a family scrapbook or memory book. Another great activity is to ask each family to bring an item that represents them to be placed in a time capsule and once all together choose where it should be buried and a date, such as at our 25th reunion, when the capsule should be opened.

A good warm up to get everyone comfortable is an "Ice Breaker". Here are a few you can play:

• I got my name because...
  Each person reveals who they were named after.


• Truth or Dare, without the dare
  Have everyone answer a specific question, such as; how would you describe yourself in one word? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? What is your most embarrassing moment?


• Find a perfect match
  Have everyone fill out a questionnaire; what year were you born? what color eyes do you have? can you roll your tongue? what is your favorite movie? Then go around and find another relative who has the same answer as you for each question.