Top Tips For Planning A Family Reunion

With the COVID 19 pandemic closing borders and causing a lockdown in countries around the world, many of us haven’t seen our extended family members outside of a zoom call for months or even years. With hope rising that the pandemic will be ending soon, many are planning a large family get together to reconnect after so long apart. Here at One Warwick Park Hotel we take pride in our beautifully decorated bedrooms and function rooms. Whether you are looking for accommodation near your family reunion location, or a venue for your family gathering, we will be happy to discuss what our venue can do for you.

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Our world is now more connected than ever, with family and friends living in multiple countries around the world. This is wonderful normally, with family members absorbing local cultures and lifestyles. However, over the past year, with a global lockdown on international travel due to the COVID 19 pandemic, planning family meet ups has become ever tougher to organise. With the ever changing restrictions, previously making sure your plans are as flexible as possible was a must. With many big families coming to meet up for the first time in over a year, ideally having the precise date of the reunion six months or more ahead of time will make logistics a lot easier. If your extended family have a lot of young children or have to travel a long way to reach the venue, then giving them as much time to prepare will help your event run a lot smoother.

Are you celebrating an event?

Many family reunions coincide with a specific event, such as a wedding anniversary, or a significant birthday. If you are planning a large party or reunion to celebrate a 50^th birthday for instance, consider having a long weekend as a family before the actual party. This allows your family to spend time together and make the long trip to meet up worth the journey.

Create a group chat

Making sure that everyone in your family is organised and happy with your reunion arrangements can feel like herding cats. Having a group chat with everyone involved ensures that each family member feels included in the planning process and are able to bring up any ideas or concerns they may have. Group chats can be used to share links from relevant websites, photos of the hotel menu and much more. Having all the relevant parties just a click away makes planning an event much easier.

Location

Are you sick and tired of attempting to fit the entire clan into your house? Booking a group of rooms in a hotel is a fantastic way to ensure a more comfortable stay for the whole family. Booking a group of rooms in the same hotel allows you to organise meals and activities with relative ease. Many hotels have facilities such as spas and restaurants attached to the hotel that can be booked ahead of your visit. The staff at the hotel will likely know the local area well and will be able to recommend local landmarks and activities for you to visit. Researching the area, you are holding the reunion in and looking up various activities that would be suitable for the whole family, enables you to book them ahead of time and plan out a more accurate itinerary. One Warwick Park Hotel has multiple function rooms suitable for a family reunion. If you are interested in booking with One Warwick Park Hotel for your family reunion, the specifics of your requirements can be discussed with our lovely staff if you contact us here.

Activities

If you are staying in a venue with your family members for an extended period of time, then planning ahead and selecting some activities for everyone to participate in can be a great ice breaker. Here are some ideas for activities for your family reunion:

• A trivia quiz is a fantastic way to involve the whole family.  Of course, any subject can be used, but make sure everyone can participate.
• Booking a game of laser tag for the family is an excellent way to tire out the kids. Running through the woods will certainly help all the participants work up an appetite!
• Pictionary and charades are team activities that are fun for all ages, having family teams can certainly liven things up.
• Team games like football or tag are a fantastic way to enjoy the outdoors.
• Talk to the hotel staff about any good hikes in the local area – taking a circular route and stopping for a pub lunch once the walk is finished is a lovely way to spend your morning.
• If your family are happy spending a large amount of time outdoors, then a bicycle ride around the local area will be a fantastic way to spend the day!

Plan the menu

When staying in a hotel for your reunion, make sure you look into which meals are served and when. Missing out on a gorgeous breakfast because you came down an hour after the breakfast menu is closed is never a good way to start your day. If there any family members with specific dietary requirements such as a vegan diet or a peanut allergy ensuring the hotel is informed before you arrive so they can take precautions when preparing your meals, will prevent any accidents. If you have a large family all staying in the same hotel, calling the hotel and discussing your family’s meal requirements for each day will help ensure you are not disappointed. Questions such as whether there is a table that will fit the whole family together, or will a collection of tables have to be used, should be answered ahead of time. If there are any local restaurants you want to visit, make sure to book a table before the reunion and map out when and where each meal takes place. If you are interested in holding a family reunion with One Warwick Park Hotel, then please contact us here. Our friendly and professional staff will be happy to take the time to explore all the options available to you.