Did you have a family reunion over the summer? Or is it still on your “to do” list? Perhaps you had a family reunion and it was so much fun you are ready to do it again!
As the color comes into the leaves and the days get cooler, it is a great time for a fall family reunion. Here are 5 fun family reunion activities to make your autumn get-together a success.
1. Pumpkin Bowling
2. Scavenger Hunt
3. Human Knot
4. Guess Who Game
5. Cemetery Photo Race
Family Reunion Pumpkin Bowling
Pumpkin bowling is a fun game that can be enjoyed by anyone from age 2 to 99.
For the bowling ball, select a small to medium-sized pumpkin and remove the stem. Use
white acrylic paint and a permanent black marker to add a silly face.
Two-liter bottles work well as the bowling pins. Fill them with water to about one-third for
stability.
Stand back, roll the pumpkin toward the bottles, and watch the laughter and fun begin!
Family Reunion Scavenger Hunt
Have you ever wished the beginning of a family reunion didn’t feel quite so awkward? It can feel this way if you haven’t seen each other for a long time or for those who have married into the family.
Family Reunion Scavenger Hunts are a great way to break-the-ice and get to know extended family members better.
To play, each family member is given a copy of this free printable and a pen.
Mingle with other family members asking them if they match a specific characteristic on the chart and if they do, ask them to initial it. Do you know if anyone in your family can yodel or wiggle their ears? Who played in the autumn leaves or speaks two languages?
After 20 minutes, present a prize to the one who has the most squares signed. Read the chart aloud and ask all who fit the characteristic to stand up.
Download: Family Reunion Scavenger Hunt Free Printable
Family Reunion Human Knot
The Family Reunion Human Knot game is a great way for extended family members to get to know each other’s names, build unity through team-work, and laugh together.
The ideal number of participants is 8-12. If your group is larger than 20 split into two groups and race each other.
Start by standing in a circle with your hands by your sides. Each person in the circle takes a turn to say their own name. Everyone in the circle repeats their name back three times in
a group chant.
Next, join hands with two different people, matching right hands to right hands and left hands to left hands. Do not hold hands with the two people standing right next to you. This
should form a giant human knot. Now take turns bending, twisting, and moving to untangle yourselves. You may need to step over joined hands or duck under arms to untangle the knot. If you want to give someone else an idea of how to move, you must first say their name. If you forget someone’s name you may ask another family member. When your human knot is untangled you will be standing in a circle holding hands.
Grandpa, Grandma, or another spokesperson may explain that – just as in the human knot game – when family members join together things may sometimes get muddled up. But, as family members stick together to work things out they will become more unified, get to know one another better, and may even end up laughing about it. Encourage them to remember this family reunion game as they try to work out real-life family problems.
Family Reunion Guess Who Game
Get to know people at your family reunion with this fun guessing game. Give everyone a copy of this free printable and a pen. Allow 10 minutes to answer the questions. Gather the papers and read the answers aloud without revealing who wrote them. Everyone votes on who they think answered each set of questions. Family Reunion Guess Who Game Free Printable
Family Reunion Cemetery Photo Race
This family reunion activity is not only great fun but it is meaningful as well. It will help others to find their ancestors as the photos are made available for genealogical research.
Family members race to see who can take the most photos in an hour to win a prize. Pair off. One person takes photos in one row of headstones and their partner in the next row. Leap-frog over your partner’s row when you complete your own.
How To Play:
- Download the BillionGraves app to your smartphone from your app store.
- Create an account on the app or at BillionGraves.com.
- Open the BillionGraves app as soon as you arrive at the cemetery since the GPS feature will work best if the app has about 5 minutes to connect before you begin taking photos, especially if you are taking photos in a remote area.
- At the cemetery, check the bottom of your screen to see if the name of the cemetery matches your current location. If the wrong cemetery name is listed, tap on it, and then select the correct cemetery name.
- From the main screen of the app, tap on “Take Pictures” to begin taking photos in your local cemetery. The GPS coordinates will be recorded automatically.
- Go up and down the rows, taking pictures of each gravestone until you have completed an entire section or the entire cemetery. Keep moving at a quick pace. If you take 1 photo every 15 seconds you will have taken almost 250 photos in an hour!
- If you are working with another person, leap-frog over each other’s rows until you have completed a section.
- When you are finished, connect to Wi-Fi and tap on the “X” in the corner of your screen.
- When the orange button that says “upload” appears, tap on it to submit your gravestone photos.
- Repeat! 🙂
- Click HERE to watch a video about how to take photos with the BillionGraves app.
Photo-taking Tips:
- If your shadow casts over the gravestone, stand off to the side.
- Clear away grass clippings and weeds.
- Hold living plants aside while you take the photo.
- Be sure all names, dates, and other important information are in the frame.
- Link images of every side of the headstone that has information by using the link icon
in the corner of the screen. - Those without smartphones can help others by clearing debris away from the
headstones. - When you are done for the day, upload your photos by tapping on the icon labeled “Photos” button on the main screen of the app. Then tap on the button labeled “Upload”. Uploading can be done at the cemetery using data or after you return home using a Wi-
fi connection. - For more information and tutorials go to billiongraves.com
We wish you a successful and fun fall family reunion!
Cathy Wallace
