We are fresh from a family reunion I planned with the help of my sisters. This is the first time someone from my generation has been in charge of planning, so the pressure was on. I am happy to report that the whole thing was a success! So today, I’d love to share with you 4 family reunion games your relatives will love!
We divided our group into four teams as evenly as we could. A handy trick is to start with the oldest in the group and work your way downwards. A bonus tip – assign these teams certain cooking and clean-up duties to make sure everyone pitches in!
Number One: Family Trivia
Family trivia is a great way to bring up interesting facts, funny stories and wonderful memories from yesteryear! Trivia is something I always enjoy adding to our dinner parties (you can read more of our favourite dinner party tips here).
I created twenty questions, alternating between a family-based trivia question and a regular family-friendly trivia question. This way, newer additions to the family who weren’t as familiar with all of the classic stories could still help participate.
What you’ll need:
- Between 10-20 customised questions (don’t go over 20, especially if you have a group that likes to debate)!
- One or two people to read the questions out and keep score
- Put 30 seconds to 1 minute on the clock for each question
- Whiteboards or pieces of paper (to keep everyone honest!)
Number Two: Cornhole Toss
This is an easy game that needs minimal items and setup. This is designed to get everyone out of their seats, while still allowing the die-hards a little extra playing time.
How To Play:
Round 1:
- Each player gets 4 chances to get the bean bag into the hole (add more if teams are uneven)
- After everyone has gone, elect your best thrower to move on to the next round
Round 2:
- Each player makes up a trick shot all other players will need to copy
- Continue until all four team representatives have had a turn making a trick shot
- Each player gets 3 chances for each trick shot
Scoring:
Round 1:
- 1 point each time the bean bag goes into the hole
Round 2:
- 5 points each time the bean bag goes into the hole
Number Three: Waterballon Toss
This is especially great on a hot day! We didn’t get the Bunch O Balloons, which is the only thing I would do differently about this game.
Set Up:
- Divide into your teams and elect two people to as your first pair
How To Play:
- All 4 teams start tossing simultaneously about 3 feet apart.
- Each successful catch means the pair steps back one step.
- When a balloon bursts or is dropped, that pair is out for the round.
- The round ends when only one pair remains un-popped or after a set time (e.g., 5 minutes).
- After Round 1, switch pairs (for example, Player 5 joins, or swap partners).
- Complete for 3 Rounds total, or however many you need so everyone gets a chance
Scoring:
- Elect a person to keep score each round for your team
- Whenever the person who started with the water balloon catches the water balloon, their team gets a point
- The last pair standing gets 5 bonus points for their team
- Deduct 1 point for each balloon that is not picked up
Number Four: Family Awards
This was an absolute favourite!
Beforehand, prep a few questions (similar to what you would see in a high school yearbook) and have the pages printed out for people to cast their votes.
Count the votes and present your awards in a fun award ceremony after dinner. We had chocolate bars and customized stickers as prizes. The stickers were made using Canva and printed by Papaya Stickers. They were a really fun keepsake, and I did make sure to make enough so everyone got at least one.
What are your favourite family reunion games?
