When you plan a family reunion, consider that spending quality, in-person time with your friends and family can benefit your health. According to one study, a lack of strong personal relationships increased the risk of premature death by 50%.
One great way to get together with your favorite people (and benefit your health in the process) is by planning a family reunion. Coming to Wisconsin for your getaway is one of the best places to do it!
Unsure about how to get started? We’ve got your back. Keep reading to learn how to plan a family reunion in Wisconsin that the whole family will love.
Plan A Family Reunion By First Getting Ideas From Everyone
One of the hardest parts of planning a family reunion vacation is choosing the location. Since you’ve already settled on Wisconsin, you’re already one step ahead! However, you should still get some feedback from your family on what they’d like to get out of the vacation.
If you have a small family, you can create an email thread to get feedback from everyone about activities. Or, if you have a larger family, you might find that it’s easier to manage everyone’s responses by creating a free online survey for everyone to fill out. Be sure to ask about things like:
- Which dates work best for you?
- Which activities are most important to you?
- Which activities do you have no interest in doing?
- How long do you want the vacation to last?
- How much are you comfortable spending?
- Would you rather stay in the same rental house together or in separate hotel rooms?
- What are you looking to get out of this trip?
It will likely be impossible to please everyone, but if you get an idea of what’s most important to everyone, it will be easier to plan a trip that works for the whole family.
Delegate Tasks
Learning how to organize a family reunion is not for the faint of heart and it’s too much for one person to do on their own. It’s best to delegate roles to certain people so that everyone knows who to ask questions about money, activities, etc.
For example, you might delegate the following roles to specific family members:
- Finance manager, who’s responsible for collecting deposits from everyone
- Entertainment coordinator, who’s responsible for planning and booking activities
- Logistics coordinator, who’s responsible for making reservations, creating an itinerary, and answering basic questions like where to park
You can let people choose their roles, so they can pick something that suits their skill set.
Create One Shared Place for Information
Even with delegating tasks, managing all of the trip planning will quickly become overwhelming. Try creating one central document with information that anyone in the family can access at any time.
You can do this by creating a free, shared Google Doc so that when anyone has questions, they can look there first.
Choose Dates
Next, you’ll need to choose dates that work for everyone. The farther in advance you can book your trip, the better, as there will be more available when choosing accommodations and prices will likely be lower.
Trying to work around everyone’s work and social calendars can be difficult, so you might want to consider planning the trip over a holiday instead. If you do this, keep in mind that prices may be higher and it may be harder to book a place to stay and activities during the trip, since more people tend to travel over holidays.
Set a Budget
Talking about money can be uncomfortable, but it’s best to have this conversation early in the planning process. Find out how much each family member is comfortable spending on the trip and plan accordingly.
It’s best to plan for some free activities once you start building your itinerary so that everyone will have options to accommodate their budget.
Book Your Accommodations
Once you know when you want to travel and how much everyone can afford, you should book your accommodations. Here at Adeline’s House of Cool, we offer six cozy and comfortable rooms that the whole family will enjoy. We also offer plenty of entertainment on-site, like a 20-foot hot tub, an outdoor fire pit, pool table, and antique slot machine.
Set on a stunning piece of property, we’ve got the perfect place for you to enjoy Wisconsin’s beauty all year long.
Plan Activities
By surveying everyone at the beginning of the planning process, you should have a good idea of what types of activities your family wants to do over the course of the trip.
It’s best to create a mixture of different activities, so there’s something for everyone. For example, you might plan a hike one day, to get everyone moving, followed by a relaxing dinner and show later that night.
Don’t forget to build in some free time as well when you’re planning activities. The whole point is to spend time with your family, and sometimes the best way to do that is just sitting around the fire, drinking beer, and reminiscing about fun memories.
Plan a Menu
If you plan to eat all of your meals out while on your trip, the costs can quickly add up. Instead, plan to have a few meals out as well as food options at home. You can designate certain family members to be in charge of certain foods to make things easier.
For example, you could have one family member responsible for each of these things:
- Drinks and cups
- Plates and cutlery
- Quick snacks like granola bars and nuts
- Breakfast foods
- Small lunch items like deli meat and peanut butter for sandwiches
This prevents one person from being responsible for the majority of the food costs.
Now You’re Ready to Plan a Family Reunion
After reading this guide on how to plan a family reunion, it’s time to get started. After all, Wisconsin is waiting for you!
If you’re ready to plan the perfect trip to Wisconsin, look no further than Adeline’s House of Cool, here in Green Lake County. You can book your trip on our website up to 12 months in advance, so check out our availability and start planning today.