July is National Family Reunion Month, and summertime is a great time of year for families to gather and visit.

If you’re planning the reunion or just planning to be there, Auntie, here are some tips for you to consider:

1. Go High Tech. If you’re helping to organize the family reunion, dazzle your relatives and use Yapp to create your own family app for free. Send it out to family members to keep everyone updated about additions and changes to the schedule. You can use it on both iOS and Android devices.

The planning committee can share documents and plans via the cloud, using apps such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

Apps You Can Use: Yapp, Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote

2. Location, Location. Do a little recon and research to find out what’s located around the reunion site. It is good know where the nearest pharmacy, grocery store, clothing store, coffee place and emergency room are located.  

Apps You Can Use: TripAdvisor, Gas Buddy, Around Me and Jetpac City

3. Packing. Write down what you need to pack for your trip so you don’t forget the cool family reunion t-shirt. Include sunscreen, a large hat, and other warm weather gear.

Apps You Can Use: Packing Pal

4. Food and Stuff. Is everyone bringing a dish? Or are individual families within the clan in charge of providing certain items? For one of our regular family reunions, each branch is assigned a different category: meat, drinks, side dishes, desserts, etc. If you live far away from the reunion site, you will need to bring an item you can easily purchase or contribute some cash.

If you need to bring your own containers, pick up some colorful and cheap serving dishes at a dollar store. If you need to pack a cooler, use the ice packs to keep your items cold. Avoid food that may spoil quickly especially if your reunion is held outside. Keep the bugs away with paper towels or nifty food tents.

Apps You Can Use: StillTasty, Grocery G, Grocery IQ, apps from a local grocery or retail store

5. Capturing Moments. With today’s smartphones, anyone can become a photographer and videographer. Make sure someone takes photos of the reunion. If there are no photographers in the family, consider hiring one for a couple of hours to capture quality photos.  

Also, if you have old family photos, bring digital copies on your phone or tablet or paper printouts and see if anyone knows who they are.  

Family reunions are great times to capture great stories. Use your video camera to record the stories and upload them for everyone to see.  

Apps You Can Use: Instagram, Vine, Dragon Go!, PicFrame, Flickr, Shutterfly, Facebook

6. Keep in Touch. Keep in touch after the reunion. Make sure everyone updates their contact information with a central contact before leaving the family reunion. Email or mail a complete list to all of the participants.

Even better? Add their photos to the list so people can remember who’s who.

Apps You Can Use: Facebook, CamCard, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter

With a little organization, you can relax and enjoy your time with family.

Photo: epenland via Flickr cc
Published: July 7, 2014