Are You Ready for Christmas?

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Aunt Mo

Take this test to find out if you’re ready for Christmas A fun icebreaker game for your family Christmas party

If you have attended a Christmas party give yourself 1 point, if you hosted a holiday party give yourself 5 points. If you didn’t yell at anyone while you were setting up for the party give yourself 2 extra points.

Give yourself 1 point if you’ve started you Christmas cards, add 5 points if you’ve mailed them. If you sent your holiday greeting on Facebook deduct 2 points.

Give yourself 1 point if you’ve started Christmas shopping and 5 points if you’ve finished all of your Christmas shopping. If you had to pay 2-day or overnight shipping on an online order so it would get here on time deduct 2 points.

Give yourself 1 point if you’ve begun your Christmas baking, and 5 points if you’re all done. If you put sprinkles on something give yourself 2 extra points.

Give yourself 1 point if your gifts are all wrapped and 5 points if you wrapped them yourself. Deduct 2 points if you paid someone to wrap them.

If you have purchased your Christmas ham give yourself 1 point. If you have purchased a Christmas turkey give yourself 5 points. If you shot a Christmas goose, give yourself 2 points.

Give yourself 1 point for each item you’ve eaten in December: sugar plums, a roasted chestnut, Figgie pudding, Christmas goose or eggnog. (5 points possible)

If you are wearing something red or green give yourself 1 point. If you are wearing a Christmas sweater give yourself 5 points. If you are wearing Christmas underwear give yourself 2 extra points. (Must be willing to prove it.)

If you have sung “Jingle Bells” this Christmas give yourself 1 point, if you have gone caroling, give yourself 5 points, if you have performed in a Christmas play, program or concert give yourself an extra 2 points.

If you have watched the movie, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” give yourself 1 point, if you have watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” give yourself 5 points.

If your birthday is in December give yourself 1 point, if it is Christmas Day give yourself 5 points.

If you’ve seen Santa this year, give yourself 1 point. If you’ve sat on Santa’s knee give yourself 5 points. If you’ve kissed Santa give yourself 2 extra points.

If you’ve put Christmas decorations outside your home, give yourself 1 point. If you checked to see if they were working give yourself 5 points. Take 2 extra points if your lights were still working when you after put them up.

If you will have 10 or less people at your table for Christmas dinner give yourself 1 point, if you will have more than 10 people at your table for Christmas dinner take some headache medicine, put your feet up and give yourself 5 points.

25 points or more– Congratulations, you’re ready for Christmas! Christmas is definitely your thing. You love every minute of the holidays.

15- 24 points- You’re getting closer! Just a few more presents to buy and it’ll be time for some hot cocoa!

Less than 15 points– It’s not Christmas yet! RIGHT? Going shopping now…

Merry Christmas from www.familyreunionhelper.com

Aunt MO

“ I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.”
Bernard Manning

Twelve Days of Christmas Nativity

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Aunt Mo

On December 13th, there are officially 12 days left until Christmas! A fun and creative Christmas tradition I remember from my childhood is called "The Twelve Days of Christmas. It all starts on December 13^th and continues up until Christmas Eve, December 24^th. My favorite “12 Days of Christmas” is to leave one nativity piece each night and at the end of the 12 days the family will have a complete nativity scene.

First, chose a family or individual who would appreciate a little extra Christmas joy and each day, starting on the 13th, a leave a small gift for that person, anonymously.

The next step is to find a nice nativity scene, preferably with 12 pieces. Twelve piece nativities are pretty easy to find however, this year I was only able to find an 11 piece set so will also do a string of white lights, oval mirror to display or a star shaped ornament for their Christmas tree. I paid $19.00 for my nativity set.

Beginning 12 days before Christmas, deliver one piece of the nativity to your selected family. This Christmas tradition is especially fun if you are doing it with kids. Kids love to doorbell ditch and will quickly get into the Christmas spirit by taking part in The Twelve Days of Christmas. We try to do this after dark, or leave the nativity pieces on the porch when the family isn’t home. Important- don’t get caught! It’s much more fun to remain anonymous!

You may want to attach a nativity scripture to each nativity piece. You can find a free download of suitable scriptures at www.familyreunionhelper.com.

Deliver one piece of the nativity each night for 12 nights– the last one being baby Jesus on the Christmas Eve, December 24th.

Aunt MO

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

Slide Box Ornament for Your Christmas Tree

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Aunt Mo

For the last 50 years my family has recorded their favorite family memories on photographic slides that can only be viewed with a slide projector. As much as I love gathering the family together for a slide show I was thrilled when Uncle Steven came up with a brilliant idea for making slide ornaments for our Christmas tree.

Slide ornaments are easy and inexpensive to make. There is quite a bit of cutting, folding and taping involved but the most difficult part of making slide ornaments is choosing the slides you want to display on your tree.

It is fun to use slides from past Christmases, family reunions or especially embarrassing for children and fun for parents is to use pictures of children when they were small.

Because we were making over a hundred slides we had a print shop print our ornaments and they even scored the fold lines. You will want to use a higher end grade of card stock, one that has been coated in either or matte or gloss finish. We used the gloss finish. Both should be available at your local print or stationary store. You can download a free slide ornament pattern at familyreunionhelper.com

We had our name printed on our slide box but we found that made it a little restricting as we couldn’t use vertical slides in our ornaments without making our name look funny. I would recommend not using any words or graphics that will limit your options.

We used a good pair of scissors to cut out our ornaments and an X-acto knife and ruler to cut out an opening for the slide. Tape the slide to the inside of the box then fold and fasten together with doubled sided tape.

HINTS:

Display with white or clear lights. Your slides will be whatever color the light is.

You can punch the hole for the lights in the top or bottom of the box depending on how you want the ornament to hang.

Store slide ornaments in a shirt box for next year’s tree. They are are long lasting and make a fun family tradition during the Christmas season.

Aunt MO

“Remember that our blessings outnumber the lights on the Christmas tree.” Unknown

Gum Drop Turkey Favors

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Aunt Mo

I’ve searched all over the internet for gun drop turkeys as cool as the ones my brothers and I made when we were growing up, but it appears those turkeys were one of a kind creations from my Mom.

My Mom always put her four children in charge of making the 30- 50 gum drop turkey favors for our Thanksgiving family gathering. The turkeys were so simple to make that we required no supervision and popping a few raisins or candy corns in our mouth as we were creating them took the edge off our Thanksgiving hunger. In fact, making gum drop turkeys soon became a tradition at my house when I had children of my own.

Over the years I exchanged the raisins we used to use for Craisens and brown toothpicks for brightly colored ones. Hint- always use Braches candy corns- they are softer and don’t crumble as easily when you stick a toothpick in them. Large gum drops can be difficult to find, but after extensive searching, I was able to find some on the bottom shelf, hidden behind a garbage can, (no kidding) on the Wal-mart candy isle.

As I was writing this blog, my 32 year old son walked into the kitchen where I was taking pictures and said, “Gum drop turkeys, I remember making those!” Just proves that something doesn’t have to be expensive, complicated or elaborate to make a lasting family memory.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble!

Aunt MO

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

– Author unknown

Top Ten Reasons to Play Musical Pipe Chimes

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Aunt Mo

Making music with pipe chimes is an easy and inexpensive way to have fun with your family. My Mom saw pipe chimes more than thirty years ago and our family has been making music with conduit pipes ever since. Because pipe chimes are easy to make and easy to play, pipe chimes are perfect for family reunions, parties and church groups. Anyone can play pipe chimes- no musical experience necessary! So here are familyreunionhelper.com’s tongue in check top ten reasons to play pipe chimes!

Top Ten Reasons to Learn to Play Pipe Chimes

10. A pipe chime doubles as a game piece in an over- sized Clue game.

9. American Idol now lets you use an instrument.

8. Studies show that the resonating tones of pipe chimes stimulates hair follicles which encourages hair growth.

7. Chuck Norris plays pipe chimes.

6. Pipe chime playing is good for your hands. I probably have stronger hands/fingers than most people I know. And have you ever noticed the hands of a pianist? Beautiful, long, tapered fingers. Chances are that if you’ve ever admired someone’s hands, they play the piano… or pipe chimes.

5. Playing pipe chimes helps you burn calories. A 155 pound person burns 281 calories in an hour of pipe chime playing.

4. You can join the AFPOPCP – The association for the preservation of pipe chime playing.

3. People will automatically assume you’re a genius. Really, I’ve heard this a lot. People uttering "He/she plays the pipe chimes" in the same tone reserved for "He/she has an IQ of 180." You just can’t help but admire someone that plays an instrument.

2. Colleges like musical instruments on applications–it’s never too early to boost your kid’s qualifications! Hundreds of college scholarships for Pipe Chime playing go unclaimed each year.

And the number one reason to play pipe chimes…

1. Self-defense!

But seriously… Pipe chimes are perfect for your family reunion or family get- together. With our easy to follow instructions and thirteen fun chimes songs, there’s no reason to miss out on the musical fun of conduit pipe chimes! We don’t sell pipe chimes but on our site you can find complete instructions for making your own music pipe chimes and printable music at familyreunionhelper.com

Aunt MO

Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is success -Henry Ford

Funny Food and Games for Your Family Party

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Aunt Mo

My family didn’t go trick or treating when I was a kid, we attended school carnivals and had fun celebrations at home. Uncle Steven’s family perfected trick or treating and got it down to a science. Somehow, when Uncle Steven and I married we took the traditions of both families and through trial and error came up with our own family traditions. So here’s a few of our favorite food and games for this spooky time of year. The first is a recipe my daughter, Megan, found and it is so yummy she has been banned from making it again this year- these eyeballs are just so good we can’t stop eating them!

Spooky Peanut Butter Eyeballs

Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tablespoons butter, softened

½ – 1 pound white chocolate candy coating

Small bag of M & M’s or Skittles

Tube of red decorator frosting

1. Blend peanut butter and butter until creamy. Add sugar. Continue beating until it comes together and is about as thick as thick cookie dough. When well blended shape into 1 inch balls and put in the fridge on waxed paper to chill until firm. (30 minutes)

2. Melt the white candy coating in the microwave. Microwave in 60 second intervals stirring at the end of every minute until candy is smooth and creamy. Dip peanut butter balls in the candy coating and place back on your waxed paper. Immediately press a candy on top to make an iris. Place back into the fridge until set.

3. Using the tube of red decorator frosting make red squiggly blood vessels.

HINT: Since taking these photos we have found that to clean your eyes up a bit, use a paring knife to cut the excess candy coating from the eyeball- it will give your eyeball a cleaner look.

Bouncing Eyeballs Take a ping pong ball and decorate with markers to look like blood shot eyes. Then get a plastic pumpkin or party cups. Now give each child an eyeball and place the plastic pumpkin or cup at the bottom of stairs or across the floor. Have each player toss or bounce the eyeball down the stairs or across the room. The goal is to see if their eyeball bounces into the pumpkin. You can give a prize to those that get it in the pumpkin. Also for young kids, you may want to place paper cups together and have each cup worth a prize.

Mummy Pizzas

My favorite hair stylist, Stephanie, shared this recipe while she was doing my hair on Saturday. Of course, my daughter and I had to come right home and try it! To make pizzas look like mummies just lay strips of cheese pulled from a cheese stick across the muffin for the mummy’s wrappings. This was the hardest part of this recipe for us. Arranging the cheese “just right” takes a little talent- you want the cheese to look like “wrapping” not a picket fence or a white window blind.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bagels

Pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce

Black olives, sliced

Pepperoni

String cheese

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 350º F.

1. For each mummy, spread a tablespoon of pizza sauce onto each bagel half.

2. Set olive slices in place for eyes. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese melts.

3. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bagel is toasty.

Mummy Wrap

Equipment Needed – One roll of toilet paper for every team. Split into teams of two and give each team a roll of toilet paper. Then one person tries to turn the other into a mummy. Everything has to be covered except the eyes. First team done wins.

Flaming Ghost Cake

Boo! This ghost will surprise and delight your family and friends when you turn off the lights and let his flaming ghost’s eyes flicker and dance. This fun and clever cake is quick and easy to make. I was given this recipe the first year Uncle Steven and I were married.

Ingredients:

Bake any flavor cake mix in a 9 X 13 pan. Grease and flour pan well so that you can dump it out onto f flat cookie sheet or foil wrapped cardboard. Cut cake into your favorite ghostly shape.

Frost with Grammie’s famous “Fluffy Frosting” recipe.

Grammie’s Fluffy Frosting

Grammie used this frosting in place of 7 minute frosting because you don’t have to cook it. Adding the HOT water is the secret.

Combine in a mixing bowl:

1 cold egg white (reserve egg shell halves)

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ cup of BOILING water

½ teaspoon vanilla

Whip on high speed for 10- 15 minutes. Frost cooled cake with fluffy frosting.

Place the 2 egg shell halves you reserved round sides down on the cake for the eyes. Place one sugar cube in each shell half. Make a mouth out of licorice string, chocolate chips or candies.

Just before serving, pour ½ teaspoon of lemon extract over each sugar cube. Light the eyes.

Ghosts in the Graveyard
Choose one person to be the "ghost".

Have everyone but the ghost stand at the home base while the ghost runs off to hide somewhere outside.

Chant slowly as a group, "One o’clock… two o’clock… three o’clock…" and so on, up to twelve o’clock. Then shout, "Midnight! I hope I don’t see the ghost tonight!" Alternatively, "Starlight, star bright, I hope to see a ghost tonight!"

Leave the home base and search for the ghost in the yard. The ghost’s job is to jump out, surprise, and tag a player. When anyone encounters the ghost they should yell, "Ghost in the graveyard!" and try to run away. When the ghost catches someone, they become a ghost too. Anyone who is able to run back to home base is safe.

Have all the people who were caught go and hide with (or close to) the original ghost. The people on the home base start again with the chant, "One o’clock… two o’clock…"

Continue the game like this until everyone is caught.

The last person caught becomes the ghost for the next round.

Extra Easy Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:

14 ounce can pumpkin mix or use pure pumpkin and add pumpkin pie spices

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix

Mini chocolate chips, optional

Cream cheese frosting, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Beat the pumpkin, eggs, together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the cake mix until well blended and creamy. Add chocolate chips if desired. Drop by spoonful’s on prepared baking sheets. Frost with cream cheese frosting.
Bake in preheated oven until tops are firm when lightly touched, 10- 12 minutes. Cool on racks.

“Crazy” is a relative term in my family!

Aunt MO

Right and Left Story for Your Family Reunion

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Aunt Mo

www.familyreunionhelper.com/

Assign each family member to bring a “white elephant” gift (wrapped or unwrapped) to your family reunion or party. Everyone sits in a circle. As you read the story, they pass (the gifts) left when you say left, and pass them right when you say right. When the story ends, everyone opens the gift they are LEFT with. I have capitalized the words RIGHT and LEFT in the story for easy identification. Be sure and read with lots of expression and pauses- the children in your family will have fun anticipating RIGHT or LEFT.

Family Reunion Right/Left Story

Let me tell you what happened to Uncle Harv and Aunt Ethel on the way to this reunion. Harv and Ethel decided to get an early start because they didn’t want to be LEFT out of all the fun. Since both of their cars were in the shop, they borrowed their neighbor’s two ton truck. (These are the neighbors to the RIGHT of them, not the LEFT.) Harv sat in the driver’s seat and Ethel sat RIGHT next to him. The kids all climbed in and took the space that was LEFT.

It’s a long way to this reunion from Harv and Ethel’s house and I guess Harv began to get a little sleepy. The truck began to serve to the LEFT and to the RIGHT and then to the LEFT again. Before Harv knew it, the truck had LEFT the road and was going RIGHT into the burrow pit.

“You get RIGHT back on that highway!” Ethel screamed.

“I’m trying!” Harv yelled back as the truck bounced around. “I just hope I can keep this truck upRIGHT!”

Just then a house appeared RIGHT before their eyes and sure enough the truck ran RIGHT into the big, locked gate that stood RIGHT in front of it. Everyone began screaming and soon the people that lived in the house came running from all directions- from the RIGHT and from the LEFT. They were RIGHT neighborly though and invited us RIGHT into what was LEFT of their house to have breakfast with them. Although Harv and Ethel were anxious to get RIGHT back on the road, and Uncle Harv’s RIGHT knee felt a little stiff, they decided the nice thing to do was to eat breakfast with the family.

The family consisted of Ma and Pa Dowinkle and their eight kids. (Everyone in their family was LEFT handed- isn’t that odd?) Harv and Ethel LEFT their coats RIGHT by the front door. As we Harv and Ethel and their kids sat down at the huge kitchen table the Ma Dowinkle asked that they sit on their RIGHT side so that they wouldn’t bump elbows. Ethel sat RIGHT next to Ma Dowinkle and Harv sat RIGHT next to Pa Dowinkle. There was room for everyone RIGHT at the big table, in fact there was even some room LEFT- over.

Breakfast was so good that no one LEFT anything on their plate. After eating, Harv and Ethel gave all ten of the Dowinkles a big hug and LEFT.

“I’m driving the rest of the way to the reunion”, Ethel said, “Is that alRIGHT with you?” She asked the kids. The kids cheered and Ethel turned RIGHT out of the Dowinkle’s driveway and LEFT their new friends in a RIGHT big cloud of dust. She headed RIGHT for the freeway and before anyone knew it, they arrived at the family reunion RIGHT on time.

So, if you see Uncle Harv and Aunt Ethel at

the reunion be sure and ask them if they are feeling alRIGHT and give Uncle Harv a pat RIGHT on the back and Aunt Ethel a kiss RIGHT on the cheek and let them know how glad we are that they could come to the family reunion.

Well, that’s the end of the story- there isn’t any more LEFT- I know I’m RIGHT because it was my job to WRITE the RIGHT/LEFT story- and WRITE it I did. Isn’t that RIGHT?!?!

Aunt MO

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” Donald Trump

Catchy Smore Song Video

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Aunt Mo

I recently bookmarked a video on YouTube- it’s a very catchy song about the GREATEST campfire food in the world- S’mores! It’s sung by Buck Howdy (Buck Howdy was recently awarded the 2010 Grammy Award for the Best Spoken Word Music Album for Children) and you can watch the video by clicking here- S’more Song Video. If you like S’mores you’ll like this song!

My daughter and her friend made me a fire pit for my birthday this summer and we have tried a lot of S’more variations this summer. After a season of experimenting, I can honestly report that the best S’mores are the “Good Old Original” S’mores we’ve all been making for years- marshmallow, chocolate bar, graham crackers and a nice hot fire. Oh, and don’t forget friends and family because S’mores just aren’t any fun to eat if you are sitting by a campfire all alone.

I do have just one question about S’more ingredients- where did all the marshmallow varieties come from? Have you tasted chocolate and vanilla swirl marshmallows (my son, Nic’s favorite) or the caramel and vanilla swirl cousin to chocolate swirl? I bought a bag of strawberry flavored marshmallows last month which my daughter says are, “fine” and the toasted coconut marshmallows have became a favorite of our friends, the Andersons.

Uncle Steven prefers Minty Indoor S’mores to campfire S’mores. Indoor S’mores are easy to make and you don’t need to build a campfire to make them. Uncle Steven likes to use mint chocolate chips when making Indoor S’mores, but if you can’t find mint chips just use regular chips (semi-sweet or milk) and add a few drops of mint extract.

You’ll find some of our favorite S’more recipes and variations below but if you’re looking for S’more mouthwatering fun, be sure and watch the S’more song from Buck Howdy on YouTube. S’more Song Video

Good Old Original S’mores

Hershey’s chocolate bar

Marshmallows

Graham crackers

Place half of a milk Chocolate bar onto a graham cracker half. Carefully toast a marshmallow over a grill or campfire. After the marshmallow is toasted a nice golden brown, place it on top of the chocolate bar half. Sandwich it with a second cracker half and gently press it together.

Try these variations- Substitute Andes Mints (Aunt
Mo’s favorite), white chocolate bar, peanut butter cups or crunch bar for the chocolate bar. We’ve also used cinnamon graham crackers and chocolate covered graham cookies.

Tin Foil Pocket S’mores

Chocolate bar

Marshmallows

Graham crackers

Aluminum foil

Sandwich marshmallow and chocolate between 2 graham crackers. Wrap in tinfoil. Place on top of fire and let it melt together.

Cookie S’more

1 package chocolate covered graham or fudge striped cookies

1 package large marshmallows

Roast marshmallow over the campfire on a stick. When marshmallow is done, place it between the two cookies and it’s ready to eat. Although not my favorite S’more variation, Cookie S’mores are great when you are on a tight budget and don’t want to spend the money for chocolate bars.

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Microwave Oven S’mores

1 graham cracker split in half

1 large marshmallow

4 sections chocolate bar

Assemble the S’more in this order: one graham cracker half, chocolate bar, marshmallow, and then top with the second graham cracker half. Place into a microwavable dish. Microwave for about 45 seconds, depending on your individual microwave oven.

Minty Indoor S’mores

8 cups graham cracker cereal- I use Malt O Meal brand cereal

6 cups (10-ounce bag) miniature marshmallows – divided

1 bag mint chocolate chips

5 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup light corn syrup, (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Pour cereal into large bowl.
Heat 5 cups marshmallows, morsels, butter and corn syrup in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until well coated. Stir in remaining marshmallows. Press mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Cut into 24 bars.

Microwave Method: Microwave 5 cups marshmallows, chips, butter and corn syrup in large, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH power for 2 to 3 1/2 minutes, stirring every minute, until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal; stir until well coated. Stir in remaining marshmallows. Press mixture into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Cut into 24 bars.

When it comes to S’mores- everyone wants s’more!

Aunt MO

Family Parade Floats for Your Family Reunion

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Aunt Mo

My favorite parades are those in small communities. The parade in our town is only two blocks long and lasts about 20 minutes, but we always arrive early so we can get a front row seat. We don’t want to miss those great family floats!

When I was growing up we always had a Hooton family float. My Mom and her sister designed and made a float for all of Grammie and Gramps grandkids to ride on. I don’t remember a lot of the details but I do remember having fun on the float and I liked getting a free ticket to the movie theater and 25 cents to buy a treat which was the prize for having an award winning float.

Having a family float in a local parade can be a fun activity for your family reunion. It’s also a great way for Grandma and Grandpa to show off their posterity. Here’s some tips to having a great family reunion float.

#1. Be sure to register your float with the parade committee in advance. Find out the specifics about entering before you begin building your parade float. Some parades have restrictions about throwing candy or passing out flyers so find out the rules and safety requirements.

#2. Once you know the size requirements and approved vehicles for floats, you will need to find either a truck and trailer or flatbed that you can use to create your float. If you don’t have access to a truck and trailer let your family ride their bikes or walk in the parade. Children in the family can dress in their team uniforms, dance costumes or school shirts, decorate their bikes and ride in the parade.

Another option is to put everyone in matching family reunion shirts, make a banner with your family name on it, give everyone a helium balloon and wah la- you have a “walking” family reunion float. Like they say, sometimes- “less is more”.

#3. Make sure you have plenty of help to assemble your float. You will have to build your float in a few hours so you will need to be organized.

#4. Money is probably going to be an issue for your family reunion float. Floats do not have to cost a lot of money to be fun. There are inexpensive supplies that you can use to make a fun float. Colored butcher paper, paint, cardboard, straw bales and balloons can create a very nice float. Cut out props from the cardboard, try making them more three dimensional by using folds or tape and glue. Make them big, the bigger the better, because your float will be viewed from a distance. Paint these props colorfully and be sure to adequately secure the props to the vehicle or trailer. Balloons are a great filler as are colorful crepe paper streamers. Make skirting to cover the sides and wheels by wrapping and securing with tape and a staple gun a length of heavy butcher type paper around the deck of the bed.

#5. Last of all, be sure you have a safe driver for your float. Grandpa is a good option if he doesn’t already have an assignment. After you have put your family reunion float together with crepe paper, balloons and staples all that’s left is to add your family.

And to feed all those hungry parade goers be sure and check out “How Much Do I Need To Feed a Hundred under the “Plan a Reunion” drop down at family reunion helper.

Aunt MO

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”

Musical Round Songs for Your Family Reunion

Posted on August 22, 2010 by Aunt Mo

Family Reunion Helper

I love singing songs around the campfire and I’ve done it at family reunions, girls camps, scout camps and at workshops. There are so many fun and traditional songs that can be sung around a fire, but my favorite songs are rounds.

This is how a round works. The first group begins singing the song. The second group waits and begins singing the first phrase of the song just as the pervious group starts to sing the second phrase of the song. Each group continues singing the song from start to finish. The song ends with the group who started last singing the last phrase of the song alone. It is very common to have three or four groups all singing the same round.

To be successful at singing rounds in a large group setting you have to start with a simple song to warm everyone up. A good example of a simple round song that everyone probably already knows how to sing is “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

If your group masters “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” challenge them with the “Sophisticated Row Row Row Your Boat” song. Be sure and make copies of the words or a large sign so that singers don’t get hung up on the lyrics.

Propel Propel Propel your craft
Placidly over the liquid solution
ecstatically ecstatically ecstatically ecstatically
existence is merely an illusion.

Other easy rounds are “Are You Sleeping” and “Kookaburra”

Kookaburra (new version)

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Eating all the gum drops he can see
Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
Leave some there for me

Silly Version

Kookaburra sits on the electric wire,
Jumping up and down, with his pants on fire.
Ouch, Kookaburra, ouch! Kookaburra,
Hot your tail must be!

The most fail proof way I’ve found to get family reunion groups singing rounds accurately is to be sure there is a strong singer in each group that can help lead their group. You may even want to give your leaders copies of the songs you would like to sing in a round before your reunion so they can become familiar with the music.

Once you have warmed everyone up you can move on to more challenging songs. I have found that adults and children love round singing because they can make a beautiful sound without being too talented musically. There are several songs, when sung in a round, which bring out the most beautiful harmonies.

Oh, How Lovely is the Evening

There are a couple of songs that have actions that go along with the words to the song. “A Ram Sam Sam” is fun sing with actions and looks pretty impressive- especially if you’re the one standing in front of the group watching.

What if your family is an advanced group of round singers? Try this wonderful song that is a bit more complicated and then check out the following round/cannon resources. http://roundz.tripod.com/ or “Rounds for Children” from http://sheetmusicplus.com

Be sure and see the fun new family reunion games and family reunion planning helps at www.famillyreunionhelper.com/

Aunt MO

“The only thing better than singing, is more singing.”

Family Reunion Helper

Your number one source for family reunion organization

Author Archives: Aunt Mo

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Twelve Days of Christmas Nativity

Slide Box Ornament for Your Christmas Tree

Gum Drop Turkey Favors

Top Ten Reasons to Play Musical Pipe Chimes

Funny Food and Games for Your Family Party

Right and Left Story for Your Family Reunion

Catchy Smore Song Video

Family Parade Floats for Your Family Reunion

Musical Round Songs for Your Family Reunion

What if your family is an advanced group of round singers? Try this wonderful song that is a bit more complicated and then check out the following round/cannon resources. http://roundz.tripod.com/ or “Rounds for Children” from http://sheetmusicplus.com

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