Family Reunion Gifts & Awards

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family image by Tatyana Gladskih from Fotolia.com

It's not every day you get the whole family together, so when you do, you might want to do a little something to commemorate the special occasion. Consider preparing some party favor gifts for everyone, and even an award ceremony to give each attending family member some personalized public attention.

Family Reunion Party Favors

You can give everyone a little thought to take home with them, while sticking to a budget. If you ask each adult attending the reunion to pitch in a couple dollars to help fund the party and the favors, that should cover the party favor expenses. Take these ideas into consideration:

  • Treat bags: Print  fun, personalized family reunion labels for bags of jelly beans, trail mix or other sweets for each attendee to snack on during the party, or take home with them afterward.
  • Bookmarks: Find a free template online for creating a personalized bookmark, and fill it with family photos, jokes or sayings. This is an easy and inexpensive way to give each attendee a fun and useful take-home gift.
  • Mint tins: Here's another one you can do at home. Pick up some label paper and print it with a personalized design including the date of your family reunion or a big group photo. Stick it to the tops of a bunch of mint tins, and there you go: cheap and tasty party favors.

Remember to put together a few more party favors than you think you'll need – you never know who might have forgotten to RSVP, who could bring a plus-one without a heads-up, or how many favors you might lose track of by the time of your party.

Family Award Ideas

Show each attendee some love with an award ceremony at your family reunion. Use this ceremony to give some personal recognition to each attendee at your party by praising some well-loved qualities, poking some fun or bringing up some hilarious memories. Consider the following family reunion award ideas:

  • The bottomless stomach award
  • The fashionista award
  • Karaoke king or queen award
  • Best dancer award
  • Most outgoing award
  • Most helpful award
  • Craziest kid award
  • Funkiest hair award
  • Best cook award
  • Most hospital award
  • Best hugs award
  • Biggest beard award
  • Most kids award
  • Most creative award
  • Best multi-tasker award
  • World traveler award
  • Biggest little helper award

Consider printing "official" certificates for each award recipient, and making each person come onstage to receive the certificate. This bit will be sure to get some laughs, warm some hearts and make your family reunion extra memorable.