Planning the Class Reunion

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Posted by Amanda

Even though technology makes people have better contact with each other over the years, class reunions are still a fun event. You can actually see someone in person and not just look at their pictures on Facebook or MySpace. And when you get together for a class reunion, you can share stories about the good ol’ days all night long and not worry about who else might see it on a social media sight – what happens at the class reunion stays at the class reunion! So how about you get busy planning that reunion so that everyone can have some fun this time?

A class reunion is not too hard to plan, especially if you are adept at planning parties. There are a few steps to follow to ensure you have a great party, but otherwise, it's all up to the guests to show up and start having fun. And the first thing they need to do in order to show up is to have a date, time and location. A catering hall is the best place for a reunion because it can be your all in one place to party. They can hold a lot of people, they can serve the food and they can also provide drinks – whether you are having alcoholic ones or not.

Once you have the date and the venue picked, it's time to get working on the menu. Will you be hosting a dinner and then a dance? Do you only want to serve a meal and a reception, but have no dance? There are a lot of ways you can make the night fun, and centering it around a meal is a great way to get everyone back in to the groove of being with each other and starting to talk about the past and the future. When you are having a dinner and then dancing after, an ideal time to start is 6:00 or 7:00. That way, there is enough time to serve the food, eat and clear off the dinner area and still have a few hours to dance and chat the night away. When you are only having appetizers, then the start time can be later and the food tables can be set up and arranged so they are stocked all night long and people can graze on the food as they see fit.

Now, when you are considering the entertainment, consider your audience. Are you on your 10th or 15th reunion or is this the 25th? The farther away you are from your graduation date, the more talking and catching up people will want to do. Make sure to allow for lots of talk time or an area that is free from noise where talking can happen all night long. When a DJ or a band plays, there might not be apt time for talking inside of the room, so have them take ample breaks where people can catch up or make a few conversation rooms outside of the main hall area. A conversation area only needs a few chairs and maybe a table to be a cozy spot where some old friends can catch up.

When you are gathering addresses of people to send invitations to, send out a little profile sheet with the invitations. Make it a fun questionnaire that they can fill out that lists all of their accomplishments that they want to share with the rest of their former classmates. That way, even if a person isn’t coming to the reunion, they can still share in the fun of catching up, even if people have to read about it. When you have all of the profiles, group them in a book so that it can be bound up like a yearbook. Also make it available in a file so those who didn't attend can receive the electronic version of the update on every one.

If your classmates were a rowdy bunch, then you might need some other activity besides dancing to keep them entertained during the night. Setting up an Olympic style game time is a fun way to allow people to show off their skills or see if they have the skills that they used to. These games could be simple wheelbarrow races, three legged races, beer pong (of course you didn't do this while underage), tossing a football, baseball or whatever sport was big in your school. Having a matching game of names and old pictures is always fun too. See if you can remember everyone's name and what they looked like twenty, thirty or even more years ago!

Another fun way to mark the event is to come up with a cheer. Did you class have a special cheer in high school? Can you even remember it now, years later? Never fear, if you can't, then come up with a new one. Make it a competition on who can come up with a cheer or a chant for your group and remember it until the next time you have a reunion!

Lastly, when people are exiting the reunion, give them a sheet to fill out with an email or other contact information so you don't have to track everyone down when it comes times again. Keep this info in a database so you can transfer it to the next person in charge or else print it out quickly the next time invitations need to go out.

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