Handprint Quilt

Posted on March 23, 2020 by Aunt Mo

An Idea to be Treasured

Image result for handprint png

I had never heard of a handprint quilt until one of my piano students asked me to add my handprint to her quilt. I love this idea and feel some regret for not creating a quilt for my own children when they were growing up.

My student’s quilt will include handprints from people that have made a difference in her life. I considered being asked to add my handprint an honor and it meant so much to me.

To collect my handprint, Kit and her Mom brought a large ink pad to my house which we used to make my print.

My print was added to my student’s book of handprints and will eventually be part of her quilt of memories.

For many of you, the thought of creating a handprint quilt may seem overwhelming and way out of reach, but I found a resource that can help with that. The quit pictured below is from an Etsy shop called PrettyCraftybyLinda. After collecting all of your handprints, Linda will create your quilt for around $300.00, depending on the size of course.

Custom made handprint quilt image 0

Making a handprint quilt could be a really wonderful part of your family reunion. You could collect the handprints at one reunion and auction the quilt off at the next reunion. A quilt full of grandchildren’s handprints would be a wonderful anniversary gift for grandma and grandpa. There are so many options, but what it really comes down to is a quilt full of memories to be treasured.

What is a Reunion Theme Package?

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Aunt Mo

At Familyreunionhelper.com we sell reunion theme packages. What’s a theme package you ask? Most of our digital downloads include 45 or more pages of invitations, name tags, water bottle labels, games,activities, templates and printables that compliment the theme you have chosen.

The following is an example of a name tag from our Heritage Reunion.

This cute invitation is from our Circus reunion. Just print it off and then fill in the blanks with your personalized reunion information.

Our Caveman reunion invitation is sure to get the kids excited about attending all the prehistoric fun.

Water bottle labels are a wonderful way to address your reunion theme and if everyone writes their name on the label, bottles don’t get mixed up or lost as easily.

Our theme packages also include pages and pages or games and activities that go along with the theme you’ve chosen. You can spend hours searching the web for your ideas but these have been tried and tested and we know they work. Here’s a page from our Superhero reunion.

Our reunion theme packages include tons of extras like these certificates from our Medieval Reunion and printable signs from our “No Place Like Home”, Oz inspired reunion.

Each of our reunion theme packages includes printable games and puzzles that go along with your theme. Like this Valentine’s game that is part of our “Home for the Holidays” reunion.

Our reunion themes also include food ideas that compliment your theme. Check out this recipe for “Parrot” (tastes a lot like chicken”)- it serves 100.

Barbeque Captain’s “Parrot”

Serves 100.

2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 ounces dehydrated onions
7 pounds 3 ounces catsup
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 pound 8 ounces brown sugar, packed
48 pounds chicken, cut-up

For barbecue sauce: Simmer chicken stock and onions over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add catsup, garlic powder, and brown sugar. Simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.

Rinse chicken in cold water. Drain well. Arrange 25 pieces of chicken on each sheet pan (18 x 26 x 1 inch). Brush 3/4 to 1 quart of barbecue sauce over chicken in each pan. Bake uncovered until tender, checking frequently. Cook in conventional oven at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Many of our themes have printable food tents like our Western Reunion food tent featured here.

We’ve tried to think of everything we could to make your reunion planning easier and less stressful. Check out Family Reunion Helper.com today and choose the reunion theme package that best suites your family. You can be sure that each package is jammed packed of ideas, game, activities and printables to get your creative juices flowing. Click on our logo below and follow the link.

Family Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Aunt Mo

Start a new Thanksgiving tradition this year with a family 5K.

I ran into an awesome young man at our local 5K fun run in July. It was his Turkey Trot shirt that caught my eye and I had a fun time talking to him about this fun family tradition.

Every Thanksgiving, this family hosts a 5K race for all visiting family members and friends. All that want to participate, bring their running or walking shoes and burn off all those weighty Thanksgiving dinner calories before the turkey even comes out of the oven.

What a fun idea to have t-shirts made for the big race- a fun memento of a fun day. I love any activity that gets family members up off their seats and moving and a family turkey trot certainly does that whether you trot or waddle across the finish line.

Fun T-shirt Idea for Your Family Reunion

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Aunt Mo

A brand new idea for family reunion t-shirts!

One of my students wore this shirt to class one day and of course when I saw it I started thinking “family reunion”. If your family isn’t too big this could be a fun idea for your next family reunion.

Ask family members to draw a simple picture of themselves. The most difficult part of this
project will be getting the drawings returned to you. If you have enough time you may want to get the drawings at your family Christmas party and then you would have them for your summer reunion.

My “go to” t-shirt company is

http://www.cheaperthanshirt.com/

Kdee, their designer,( Kdeewood.au@gmail.com ) is so good to work with and can arrange your drawings on your shirt so they look great.

If you don’t have room on your shirt for people to draw their whole body you can just do “heads”.

Image result for stick figure head family

Thanks to Mrs.Rinker and her kindergarten kids for this fun new idea for family reunion t-shirts.

The Latest Trend in Family Reunion T-shirts

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Aunt Mo

I LOVE family reunion T-shirts! They are the ultimate “party favor” or “souvenir” that family members can take home with them after the reunion fun is over. Reunion T-shirts are a reminder of the good times had at that years family reunion.

There’s a new reunion T-shirt trend going around and I think it’s great! We used to take family pictures at our reunion like the one below (we used paper plates with numbers on it).

Image result for family reunion birth order shirts

But now, families are having fun applying this idea to t-shirts. Each family has a different color, and each t-shirt gets a number on the back representing the order you joined the family (through marriage or birth).

You can have each generation be a color and the in laws all have their own color as well. Then, every person is either numbered according to birth order (by generation) or by when they married into the family.

If there are people at the reunion who aren’t yet married into the family, you can give them a shirt with a question mark on it as in, who will be the next lucky member of the family?”

When it comes to figuring out what number everyone is your most valuable resource will be the matriarch of the family. Make a list of each family member and when they became part of the family. You may want to ask your family to email you their birthdates and anniversary to make sure your list is accurate. Email the completed list to your family so they can double check your numbers.

A common design for the front of the shirts is a fun idea. You may want to have a t-shirt company print the common design on the front of each shirt and then apply the numbers yourself, especially if you are doing multiple colors.

Of course, you’ll want to take a family picture. Take a picture with everyone facing forward and then do a second photo of the back of the shirts. I just love this latest trend in family reunion t-shirts. If you decide to do this at your reunion, send us a photo and we’ll feature your family on our website.

Human Piñata Chase

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Aunt Mo

This fun variation of the traditional piñata may very well become the highlight for the kids at your next family reunion or party.

One of the highlights of our 2016 reunion was the human piñata chase held for all the children. It’s an interesting and fun twist on the traditional piñata game.

To prepare the human piñatas hot glue onto the front and back of a t-shirt. You will need one shirt for every piñata. Use old or cheap shirts because they will be destroyed in the chase. Use small snack sized candies, fruit snacks and small cookie snacks with a full sized candy bar thrown in for good measure.

You can also glue money on the piñata shirts if you put it in a zip lock bag. Pencils and small toys can also be glued to the shirts.

To play, divide children into age groups. Ask for someone to be the piñatas. You may do 1 piñata at a time (1 piñata for each age group) or let all of your piñatas be chased at the same time but put a time limit for each age group. Give the human piñatas a head start then send the kids out to collect their treats. When they get close enough kids grab hold of the prize and pull it off. Some can be hard to pull off but that is just part of the fun.

Five Things I Will Never Do Again at a Family Reunion

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Aunt Mo

1. I will never make a fish print t shirt.

Fish print t shirts- it seemed like a great idea- and it fit our theme perfectly but in the end it was an epic fail. To make the shirts you generously paint one side of the fish with fabric paint. Then you place the T-shirt front side down on the painted fish and pat in place.

When you lift the t shirt off the fish you have the imprint of the fish, scales and all, on the shirt.

I’ve seen cute shirts done this way but the only fish we could find were HUGE catfish- in most cases bigger than the shirt. Everyone worked hard to make the shirts successful but when only half of the fish fits on your shirt it’s kind of disappointing. This activity goes down as the worst one I’ve ever planned.

Never again will I plan an activity or craft without trying it out on my immediate family before using it at a family reunion.

2. I will never let a scientist be in charge of making gravy

At a huge family dinner I was in charge of I gave the responsibility for making the gravy to a scientist who had all the correct formulas for making gravy but couldn’t seem to get it to thicken up. It looked like brown water. I had 300 people sitting at tables waiting to be served and no gravy for their potatoes. Panic mode!

I finally enlisted the help of a school lunch cook who swooped in and easily thickened the gravy. It was kind of a touchy situation- I didn’t want to offend the scientist but I really needed to get that gravy thickened so I had to turn to the REAL expert.

This “never” item isn’t about gravy it’s more about assigning people responsibilities that they can be successful at completing. I learned to make sure I matched the right people with the right assignment!

3. I will never hold a reunion without having a plan for bad weather.

Look at this picture- these are not happy times. A rainy family reunion is not a happy family reunion.

We’ve been holding the Stewart family reunion for 30 years and have only had bad weather two times. So what am I complaining about- that’s a pretty good record. It’s great, unless it’s one of the times it rained for three days.

Rain and other bad weather can really put a damper on your family reunion. Our family were really great sports when it came to this family reunion in 2012 but a break from the rain would’ve been nice. Now when I schedule our reunion I also reserve a nearby church’s cultural hall where we can do activities, eat a meal and get out of the weather for awhile if needed. We also come prepared with large tarps and portable heaters- just in case.

Of course, if you hold your reunion at a hotel this won’t be as much of an issue- unless, you plan on attending a theme park or other outdoor activities. Talk to hotel officials in advance about the use of large conference halls for a bad weather day.

4. I will never reserve a reunion site without shade.

Several years ago, we had a difficult time finding a location for our family reunion. Someone beat us to the punch and we lost out on our normal reunion site. (That hasn’t happened since.) In desperation we reserved a campsite at a hot springs thinking that swimming would be great fun for everyone- it was. However; there was no shade whatsoever and it was HOT! We put up some tarps to give us some relief but the sun beat down on us relentlessly. Everyone was exhausted from swimming in the hot springs pools and then baking in the hot sun.

Since that reunion I have made it a policy to check out our family reunion sites personally. A couple of things I look for in a suitable site are: proximity to the bathrooms
        suitable sites for tents and trailers
        Enough parking (most campsites restrict the number of cars)
        cooking facilities & eating arrangements
        open space for games and activities
        and SHADE!

5. I will never contribute to a boring reunion.

This is a picture of the really awesome obstacle course we put together for a family reunion. Where’s Waldo? You won’t find Waldo or any other human in this picture because nobody wanted to do anything- BORING!

I was asked to plan activities for a large family. My family worked hard at hauling bales of hay, ladders and other props for a dynamite obstacle course. We also organized Frisbee golf and volleyball tournaments- BUT… nobody wanted to participate. Their reunion consisted of eating, visiting (which is important) and holding an auction. The most frustrating part of the reunion for me was when we finally got enough people together to play volleyball and the reunion organizers shut us down so they could start the auction. UGH!

When I attend a family reunion I want to get to know family members better- I want to play with them, laugh with them and get a little crazy with them, but if that’s not what’s important at your reunion don’t ask someone to plan activities.

I learned from this experience that I had better know who my “audience” is and plan activities (or no activities) depending on their family makeup and interests.

Family Reunion T Shirt

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Aunt Mo

One of my music students came to class wearing this fun reunion shirt and I just couldn’t help but share it with you. Such a fun and simple design. Notice the family name at the top and the date and place at the bottom of the shirt.

We’ve done a lot of reunion shirts over the years but when this cute little guy wore an old shirt his dad wore I was thrilled. Keeping old reunion t-shirts year after year means you always have something to wear to the family reunion!

Family Reunion Helper

Your number one source for family reunion organization

Category Archives: Family Reunion Shirts