saving $$
saving money
These ideas, from many sources, are for discounts or freebies that help cut reunion costs.
How some reunions save money!
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nne Petrous of New Baltimore, Michigan, describes her Harder Family Reunion as pretty simple, but everyone has a good time. They must, because they come back every year, Anne adds. One family member is an AMVET, so they get a nice discount on using the AMVET hall – inside and out – with a covered pavilion ($150 for the day). The hall has a small swing set for the kids to play on, and a horseshoe pit. A huge grill is used to barbecue chicken and cook burgers and hot dogs. Everyone brings a side dish or dessert to share. Most of the supplies and prizes are purchased at the Dollar Store. During the “family meeting” they add up all the costs, including postage, and everyone donates to cover the costs. It averages out to $5 for “singles” and $15 for “families.” One person is in charge of games, and last year, there were also games for the adults. Anne says that reunions don’t have to be expensive; “if ours was, we would not be having them. We all ‘chip in.’ Our family has had a yearly reunion for over 60 years! It also helps to have the reunion on the same day every year!” Sandra Davis of Round Rock, Texas, says the Echols-Henderson Family Reunion is a small group, but they have two and a half days of fun. They are campers and stay at Texas State Parks. Some have RVs, some have tents and some rent shelters. They max out the person-percampsite and bring and cook their own food. They play bingo each year to pay for next year’s prizes and, in general, watch their pennies. Which date works?
Whichdateworks.com is a simple way to help select your reunion dates. You list who should get the email and a calendar marked with dates you’re considering. Member responses select a date for your reunion! Everyone gets a chance to fill in dates that are good, bad and so-so, and the winner is picked democratically. It’s free, and no registration is required. 36 Reunions v reunionsmag.com
ALAFFFA Family Reunion Lisa Alzo of Ithaca, New York, says the ALAFFFA Family Reunion is pretty frugal and doesn’t have unnecessary expenses. They planned one big catered meal (two hot dishes, cold cuts and salads) in the middle of the afternoon instead of lunch and dinner. Family members bring cookies or snacks like fruit and veggies and dips. Activities are low-cost because one cousin, who is a teacher, is quite creative. The biggest expense is the venue, which they reserve a year in advance and requires an alcohol permit to serve beer.
Staying in touch
v Add Twitter to your reunion social networking. Assign a hashtag that pulls all reunion-related tweets together. Twitter will compile all your tweets containing the hashtag. Tell your members to add the hashtag to their tweets so everyone can see all your reunion tweets. v Blog your thoughts. Free sites such as wordpress.org and blogspot.com offer resources to get you up and writing in minutes. You don’t need to know any coding and your reunion can have its own blog. v TribalPages.com is a free, family tree hosting website that offers GEDCOM import, photo features, charting display and printout, family tree mapping and reports. Create and send custom newsletters and poster-size charts, which are excellent visuals to take to a family reunion. (Source: Weekly Buzz) v GroupMe is a free app for group texting and conference calling and works on almost any cell phone. Each app walks
you through the process and helps manage your groups. When you start a GroupMe, you get a unique phone number. When you send a text message to a GroupMe number, the message is sent instantly to everyone in the group, like an instant chat room. If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still start a group by texting START to GROUP (47687). v Call overseas for free. Freephone2phone. com gives you 10 minutes of free talk to landlines in 55 countries and cellphones in some. You listen to short ads, then connect. When booking
v Start your accommodation search at Reunionsmag.Hotelplanner.com to see all your possibilities at one time. It’s free for the looking, with many free services built in if you decide to book through the service. A free podcast, “Hotels are looking for your reunion,” at reunionsmag.com explains this reverse auction site.