subject: How to Plan a Class Reunion [print this page] How to Plan a Class Reunion How to Plan a Class Reunion
High school reunions can be easily ruined but if they are properly planned they can be a lot of fun. Planning makes the difference between a good and a bad reunion party. Following are few of my personal tips that will help you organize an incredible reunion party.
The best sign of a successful reunion party is that when people are leaving your party they come up to you and say that they had a wonderful time and would sure to make it for the next reunion party you put together. How you plan your reunion will determine if your party will be such a success or not. Start off your planning efforts by first contacting the folks who are staying in the city in which the reunion will be held. It is quite likely that these people would already know each other as they live in the same city and have graduated from school in the same year. This team of people can organize the main ideas for the reunion.
Contact these people and call them for a discussion and also these people should bring with them the other friends they know who graduated the same year. Organizing this get together in this manner is very important as now you have the word out that you are looking to put together the reunion and everyone who lives locally would automatically become part of organizing it. Organize such meetings at a place such as a member's home which is centrally located or maybe even an eatery. Provide everyone at the get together a spreadsheet so that they can list out all their friends they are in touch with from the year of graduation. At the end of this exercise, you should have a long list of the people you want to invite to the reunion. To help everyone with this exercise, you can even put a small prize for the person who comes up with the most names.
It is imperative that put together the name along with the phone number and address so that these people can be easily reached, now all this information needs to be put together on a single list. Also there are sites such as Facebook.com that you can use to help you locate other people who you should invite to your reunion. Other means of getting contact details for people you are missing them is to get in touch with your institution from which they have graduated, they may have such information and be able to provide it to you.
Choosing the right date for the party is the next most important thing. Most people will require at least a few months advance notice, especially if someone is outstation guest, to organize their trip to the reunion, so it is best to set the date well in advance. Most reunion parties occur during labor day or memorial day weekends, as the weather is great during these time and it is easier to travel on long weekends, avoid family get together weekends such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.
Go ahead and courageously ask for donations, it is not easy to ask for money but this is very important. Cost for organizing the reunion can add up to thousands of dollars depending upon how lavish you want to make it and without the support of all the members it can never be done properly. Be upfront about the cost of the reunion, let each person know how much they will have to contribute, based on the total expenses for the reunion. Everyone should be paying for the reunion in advance, this way you will know exactly how many people are going to show up at the party. Having people pay in advance will help you determine exactly how many people will show up at the event.
You will feel very happy and good about yourself if you are able to put together a successful reunion party which everyone enjoys. You will remember the great time you will have at the reunion for several years to come and all your friends will be grateful to you for putting the party together.
