For one family, areunion might be ayearly event to allow young cousins to bond despite living far apart. In another, reunionsmight be planned when an older relative is sick and wants to see everyonefor the last time. Other familieshold reunions to coincidewith specificevents, like weddinganniversaries or birthdays. Ultimately, afamily reunion should be achance for far-flung relativestoreconnectand to meet new family members, like babiesand new spouses. Itmight serve other purposes too; if relatives have issuesabout shared propertyorinheritancesorwantto settle some longstanding dispute, organizing areunion is asensible way to get everyone together.

It’ suseful for at leastone family member to step up and act as point person, coordinating the travel planning with all branchesofthe family. Figure out two details first: dates and location. It’ s chaotic to have dozens of people chiming in with suggestions, so the point person may want to come up with ashort list of locations and dates that might work and get the rest of the family to vote for their preferences.

If older relatives can’ t easily travel, everyonemight agreetohold the reunion in the town where those older relatives live. But if the options are unlimited, it’ s often easiest to focusona

type of location beforefinalizingplans. The point person might offer up a theme park, national park, major cityorbeach resort as options. Ifmost family members vote for abeach resort, the organizer can startresearching spots in places like Florida, California and the Bahamas and then take another votetopick the final location.

If many relatives from thesamegeographical area plan to fly to the reunion, consider group ticket options. Airlines commonly work with groups of 10 or morepeople who are travelingtogether, providingcompetitive rates and more customer service than solo travelers usually get. Look into trainoptions, too, especiallyifmultiple family members

live near atrainroute that leads to the destination city. Book seats on the same train and greet those familiar faces as theyboardthe train along the way. Start reuniting even before reaching the end of theline.

Keep in mind that cranky kids don’ t make agreat first impression on relatives they haven’ t seen lately. Pack plenty of snacks and give kids the promiseof somethingtolook forward to when they arrive, like anew toy or aspecial treat. Packphoto albums and DVDsoffamily movies— ortransfer them to atablet or laptop— and look through them together during the trip. It’ s botharefresher course on family history and afun way to pass the time. ●

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20 FALL 2018 |( 201) FAMILY