It’s official- the Stewart family reunion will be held at Box  Elder Campground! Why is that great news? Well, as far as I’m concerned, finding the location to hold a family reunion is the most difficult part of the planning. Give me responsibility for the food, the games and the decorating but PLEASE don’t make me find a place to hold the family reunion.  That’s just too hard.  That’s why when we find a good family reunion location we keep going there until circumstances change and we have to move on.

Lately, our favorite reunion location has been Hanson Park. It is the dream location. It has a large grassy area for camping and playing games, ball diamond for softball, restrooms, kitchen with large grills and a full size fridge, covered bowery, basketball, swings and lots of parking. The only problem with Hanson Park is that it wasn’t available this year – you snooze you lose. . .

So where to hold your family reunion?  Here’s my list:

Campground, Park, College dormitory, Condominium, Resort, Cruise, Theme Park, Reservoir, Beach, Bed and Breakfast, Grandma’s yard, Hotel, Ranch, Water Park, Hot Springs Resort or an Ancestral Site such as a town where your ancestors’ homesteaded or where they were born or died.  Have I left any place out?

When looking for a family reunion location consider the distance family members will have to travel to the reunion.  Can family members get to your reunion without having to take a lot of vacation from work?  There are some wonderful resort locations near us but the cost is prohibitive.  Consider affordability– will some of your family members be unable to attend the reunion because of the cost?   Determine what features the proposed reunion site offers.  If  you want to have a water reunion then plan your reunion at a water park.  When choosing your location, be sure to ask about facilities such as parking, restrooms and, for outdoor reunions, alternatives in case of rain. Most campgrounds limit how many vehicles you can park at the site. Even group sites will have a limit. One of the campgrounds we have used for our family reunions will allow 100 people in the group camping site but only allows parking for 10 total automobiles. Doesn’t seem to make sense, does it?

Some things the Stewarts consider when selecting a family reunion location is that it is close enough to Grandma and Grandpa’s house so that Grandpa (age 85) can sleep in his own bed. We also want our reunion location to be close enough to motels so that families that don’t care for camping can rent a room for the reunion and we HAVE to have access to restrooms but hot showers and electricity are not necessary.

There have been some years that I thought, “Oh, well, guess we won’t be having a family reunion this year.” But every year we keep  at it and something eventually works out. We have held our family reunion at parks, campgrounds, on the beach, at a condominium, in a backyard, bed and breakfast, at a hot springs resort and Grandma’s front yard.  Each year everyone always says, “this has been the best reunion ever!” and although each site has different things to offer I would consider each of our reunions a success. I guess that just proves that although “where” you have your family reunion is important, “having” a family reunion is the most important thing of all!