Do you have family reunions?

[mountainsoft]

When I was growing up, I don't recall either side of my family ever having a family reunion. We would visit individual aunts and uncles periodically, but never an organized group gathering.

My wife's family has two family reunions every year, one for each side of the family. To make matters worse, they always plan them in the middle of summer, just when everyone is making summer vacation plans. So it's always annoying to me to have to work our plans around the reunions. Not to mention the stress of figuring out who's going to host it, where it's gonna be held, what foods everyone is bringing, etc.

I never see the point anyway. We've usually seen the people we're interested in talking to at holidays or birthdays, so the reunion just seems redundant. Not to mention no one in the family ever reaches out to us any other time of the year, and our life wouldn't change any if we never had contact again.

Admittedly, I don't like group gatherings, and dread these yearly reunions. I skip them most years, but my wife insists on going.

 

[Car-Guy]

No! Very close family members we'll see a few times a year but there are only a few of them.

We only see some extended family members at funerals. Funny, I see fewer and fewer at each funeral.

 

[easysurfer]

When younger and when my mom was still alive used to have family gatherings. She was the matriarch of family. Now people have families of their own.

When comes to family gatherings, my approach is have it at a restaurant so if folks attend, great, it not, that's okay too. No harm, no foul and nobody is slaving hosting. Oh and with family, my teleconferencing (sure saves on travel headaches) is always open.

 

[Calico]

Nope.

There were reasons I moved away from my family members 50 years ago, and the same reasons are valid today.

 

[MichaelB]

My dad's side of the family had one reunion, which most went to. DW got to meet that side of the family. It was fun.

My mum’s side there were no reunions but my cousin and I spent most summers together, alternating with them or us. For me that was a yearly family reunion.

We had a family reunion with our children and their families. DW and I paid for it, using the money we originally set aside to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We took a 7 day cruise and it was a blast.

Like Car-Guy, we are seeing other family now at weddings and (mostly) funerals.

 

[aja8888]

Yes, Estes Park Y of the Rockies

When my wife was alive, she organized one (she had a big family) in 1999 or so at the "Y" of the Rockies (Estes Park. - Big reunion facility)

There were about 60 - 80 people (adults and children) that came for the week-long reunion. It was a blast. People came from all over the country.

I made a CD of many of the photos from the families. Mailed them out and never heard a word back!

 

[mountainsoft]

The few times I attend the reunions I am bored out of my mind, and always uncomfortable in a group of people I really don't even know. I'll forget who they are on the drive back home anyway.

In the days of Facebook, I don't see the point of meeting in person. It's easy enough to keeps tabs on anyone you want to. Then again, my wife will call her mom and talk for an hour to let her know we're coming to visit, only to repeat everything once we get there. It's usually about stuff they've seen on Facebook anyway.

I thought the reunions might end once my wife's grandmother passed, but they still seem to have them. Maybe once her mom is gone we can finally stop having them. Fingers crossed, hoping and praying!

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Growing up in the 60s & 70s we had a large family reunion every summer (always the Sunday after Fathers Day). We would have a 100-200 people attend and it was held at a community park with a large pavilion and swimming pool. It was for the Descendants of John and Mary Doe, on my mother’s mother’s side of the family. I remember going every year and playing in the park/pool with my cousins.

Fast forward to today and we still have the reunion. We missed it in 2020 due to Covid, but it has been held every year for a long time. The 2023 reunion was our 99th year. We only have about 25-30 people attend now and over half of that is my immediate family. My 85 year old Mother is now the matriarch of the family and she loves this tradition even if it is nothing like the glory days. It is a pot luck lunch with way too much food.

Every year we elect officers, hold a “business meeting”, report on the treasury balance, and pass the hat to raise money if funds are too low to cover the expenses.

For the last 5 years, I have been unanimously elected President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. No one else is willing to do it, but it only involves a few hours of work every year. Back in the day, the family took these roles a lot more seriously, but always with a little humor during the nomination process.

In all honesty, I think the tradition will die when my mother passes away. I plan to relocate somewhere else. I doubt anyone will choose to carry it on.

For now, however, I will pull together our centennial reunion in June 2024.

 

[Aerides]

Nope. Very small family as we're immigrants to the US, and most of those we left have long passed.

But M&D, and DS and her family are local, so we do holidays together.

 

[MissMolly]

Growing up we had one every year with my mom's side of the family. This was in addition to Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, weddings, funerals... But one by one my parents and all the aunts and uncles have passed away. Now every 2 or 3 my cousins and my siblings on this side of the country and I still get together for a reunion. We just had one 3 weeks ago. We are the old folks now. Our kids, their kids and their kids' kids' kids (my one cousin just became a great-grandfather) come also. It is great to get together with them once in awhile. There won't be many more of these.

 

[N02L84ER]

We had family reunions growing up. As a child with dozens of first cousins, it was a blast. They were held in a park or the gymnasium of our grade school. After I went away to college, I quit attending except once per decade or so. Then they seemed to stop. The patriarchal side of the family had a 100 years of farm ownership reunion a few years ago. I skipped it, only found out it was occurring because of my uncle's funeral that I attended. My Mom's side restarted having a reunion every summer hosted in 1 of 3 locations a few years ago. I have only attended once. My brother is trying to get a family reunion setup for next summer but it is only for mom and dad's decedents. If everyone shows up it will be over 50 people.

 

[Act2]

Nope. But my whole family would fit in a phone booth. If you could find a phone booth.

 

[MC Rider]

I remember 1 or 2 when I was a kid. None since.
I don't bother with school reunions either. Those would seem to be worse.

 

[Retire2023]

My Dad's family has had a reunion every year since 1947. My parents hosted 35 of those years, which meant we kids did all the work getting ready each year. Finally in 2017, Dad said that was the last year we would host. He died a few months later. Since then, the reunion has been held at a park or at the church my so many greats ago started. It's been much smaller since COVID and I'm really glad not to have to do the organizing anymore!

 

[COcheesehead]

Yes and we have for years. We enjoy them.

 

[aaronc879]

When I was a kid we had family reunions almost every year involving my Grandfather's Mom's family. Since my Grandfather passed 20 years ago we haven't done any family reunions. I would like to at least with my Aunts and cousins but it never happens. Ever since my Grandmother on my Mom's side passed we haven't had any big get-togethers, it is just my immediate family and other immediate families that get together for the most part. Thanksgiving and Christmas for me is down to just 4-6 people. I have two Aunts that are single with no kids and my Brother and I(mid 40's) are single with no kids so family is not very big.

 

[pb4uski]

On DWs side they have an annual golf tournament. First round on Saturday followed by a family reunion party on Saturday night and final round on Sunday. Great tradition. Reigning champ is responsible for organizing the next years tournament. 60th edition will be hosted by the 2023 champ in 2024.

The family reunion on Saturday night is a more recent feature, only the last 30 years or so.

 

[Sue J]

When DH's parents were alive there was usually some event every year or two when we would all go to their house outside of Denver.

Since his parents are gone now it's been less frequent but all the siblings gather in our area (not half way between but more central) every year or so. DH is the oldest of 5 siblings. Among the 5 siblings there are 7 grandchildren and now 4 great grandchildren.

Some are still in the Denver area, we are in Ohio and some are in New Jersey. One young family lives outside of Frankfort, Germany.

The next gathering is happening in April, 2024 as we live within the path of totality for the total solar eclipse. DHs brother loves to cook and host gatherings so we let him have the run of the kitchen and let him do his thing. We all get along really well and have a good time. Plenty of food and lots of leftovers.

On my side I see my sister all the time. We have cousins all over the country. The oldest is 77 and the youngest is 63. We were all very close when we were kids. My sister keeps in touch via Facebook with a few of them. It would be fun to have a reunion. It should happen while we are all still able to travel and not when we start having funerals.

 

[pjm-7]

Nope. I recall mom's family had one back in the 1960's and that was it. I'm not aware of any of my cousins that are still around, I assume there might be some. Dad was a street kid of an undocumented dad so there was nothing/nobody to have a reunion with. Also, tend to avoid class reunions.

 

[marko]

My entire living blood family consists of my brother and myself. There is no one else left; we're the end of the line. .We have a family reunion every day when we go out for breakfast..

 

[Mark1]

On my DD side, we have a reunion every other year at my sister's house on the 3rd Saturday of July. About 50-60 folks attend. I always ask my aunt (95 years old now) lots of question about my DD (died in 1996) and the old family farm, etc. This summer I learned that my childhood bedroom was not used by anyone when my dad and his siblings grew up. It was the room where they stored the seed corn.

 

[jollystomper]

With 6 siblings and 18 children on my side of the family (along with in-laws and), we have not had "official' family reunions on my side. However, due to the spread of our kids and their cousins ages, we had at least one high school graduation/college graduation/wedding every year from 1996 through 2013, and those served as informal reunions as in many cases they were multi-day affairs. We are still close enough that, despite various political and spiritual paths taken, we enjoy being with each other.

The last time all of us siblings (deemed "the magnificent 7" by one of my nieces) and our children were together for happy occasion our mothers 85 birthday celebration in early 2013, and then we were sadly together was at her funeral in late 2014. With 3 weddings planned for 2020, one of which at a location that was very central for everyone, that looked like a good year for a family get together - but along came the pandemic and those plans were dashed.

Two of my sisters have been discussing a family reunion for next year. We'll see what happens. Our generation of the family ranges in age from 74 to 57, and our children's generation range in age from 49 to 18, everyone says the timing for next year is good, but the execution has to be figured out.

We have so many cousins (mom was also from a large family, dad was an orphan but grew up in a foster home where he considered the other kids his family) spread across multiple countries that is difficult to try to include all of them. Plus there are cousins we have never met.

On DW's side it would be more of a challenge, as there was a lot more dysfunction and to this day there are various family members avoiding each other. I was not around when those seeds were planted, but the things that went on at bother her fathers and her brothers funeral really surprised me. So I doubt her side will ever have a reunions.

 

[Trailwalker]

My DW's family has a big reunion each summer. Most years I find an excuse to be somewhere else. I'm not always successful.

 

[DrRoy]

My family, no. There have been a couple for DW.

 

[Alan]

My wife helps organize a siblings weekend each Fall, has done so for the last 10 years or so. No children, just her brother, 2 sisters and their spouses. We just had a full week together earlier this month. Her siblings live in Scotland, Cheshire and Surrey and we have always got on together really well so it also a fun occasion and we rent a big place in the countryside somewhere.

I have one sister who lives less than a mile away, the other 35 miles away and a brother in Australia so my big family get togethers are infrequent.