Games for a great family reunion
Here are some fun family reunion games to enjoy together on special occasions.
Getting together as a family is an important moment that we sometimes wait for a long time. It’s important to make it a day to remember.
Not only are they fun for all ages, but they are a great way to generate lots of laughter and create lasting memories.
Planning games for the family reunion
Choosing games is important to ensure everyone has a great time! But how do you know which games are right for your family reunion? Here are some things to consider:
- The variety of games: You’ll want to have a good mix of active, solitary, group and relaxing games. This will keep the reunion running smoothly while ensuring that everyone gets a break from the activities that are going on!
- Age range: It is likely that your meeting guests will fall into a fairly broad age range. Be sure to provide activities for each age group, whether it’s interesting games for the younger ones or indoor board games for the older ones.
- Group Games: Family gatherings are all about spending time together as a family, so the more of you that do it, the better. So have a few games that everyone can play together, regardless of age!
- Venue Amenities: Find out what amenities the venue does or does not offer so you know the limits of what is and isn’t possible. Keep in mind the interior and exterior when thinking about the games and space you will need to use.
Games are an essential part of any family reunion, so make sure you choose ones that everyone will enjoy!
Tug of war
Tug-of-war is a wrestling game where two teams compete. This game is suitable for everyone, children and parents alike. Tug of War is the perfect game to liven up a family afternoon.
The goal of the game is to pull the other team, using force, to the limit to win the game. Which team will be the strongest?
In order to define the playing area, we recommend that you place the rope on the ground. First, tie a scarf in the middle of the rope. Then place two scarves on the ground 3 to 4 meters on either side of the middle of the rope. These scarves will represent the limits that each team must not exceed.
The teams formed can then place themselves on each side of the rope, behind their respective limits. For safety reasons, it is recommended to leave a minimum distance between each player, about one meter.
The game starts when the referee gives the start with a “go” or a “top”. Each team must pull with all its strength in order to attract the other team to its boundary scarf. When the scarf placed on the rope exceeds the limit scarf of a team, the other team wins the game.
Circle soccer game
When you have running games and other activities, this game is a great break! It requires a little less energy. Nevertheless, it’s fun because you can use every part of your body except your hands!
You only need a ball.
How to play: Sit in a circle. Make sure your hands are on the ground. You will not be using them in the game! Try to keep the ball in the air as long as possible by kicking it with any part of your body except your hands. The person who did not kick the ball and drop it leaves the circle.
Check out our treasure hunts to play with your family.
The Watermelon Challenge
This challenge is a fun game! It will be even more fun if all the participants like watermelon. The principle of the game is simple.
Prepare plates containing an equal amount of watermelon. At the start, the participants will have to eat the piece of watermelon as quickly as possible without using their hands. The person who finishes the watermelon first wins the challenge.
Names of things and cities
A timeless activity that only requires a paper, a pen and an active mind! Nowadays, it is easy to get caught up in laziness and idleness, to stimulate your neurons, we suggest you to awaken and focus your thoughts, usually occupied by the concerns of the moment, on the baccalaureate game. Concentration, but also a lot of fun, especially when the letter “z” is extracted rather than the “h”. This can also be a useful exercise for kids who need to keep practicing without going to school! You have to find words belonging to predefined categories and all beginning with the same letter of the alphabet chosen at random.
Family Quizz: original games for your family reunion
Send a questionnaire to all family members before the meeting so that you can gather information. This will help you develop a list of questions to ask during the meeting.
During the meeting, divide the group into several teams – the size and number of teams will depend on the size of your family.
The leader of the game will then have to ask questions of the family members in the same way as a trivial pursuit.
You can create categories such as:
- Love and Marriage
- Professional life
- Sports
- Art and history
- Middle names
And here are some examples of anecdotal questions:
- In what year did Grandpa and Grandma get married?
- In what year did Nathan graduate from high school?
- In this group, who wanted to be an astronaut?
- How many years did mom play the piano?
Each correct answer gives 1 point and the right to answer a new question. Make a scoreboard. When a person doesn’t say the right answer, then he doesn’t score and it’s up to the next player to answer.
Check out our detective mystery games to play with your family.
Missing object
The game leader makes 2 or more teams depending on the number of players. The participants leave the room. During this time, the game leader switches or removes 5 objects from the room. When the players return, they must write down the changes on their sheet. The team that finds the 5 missing objects first wins.
Charades
Prepare small papers in advance on which you will have written words (object, animal, person, job) that the child or adult will have to make his partners guess without saying a word. Form 1 or 2 teams depending on the number of children present: one by one, the members of the family will stand up, draw a piece of paper and will have to use gestures, without using words, to make the other people in their team guess what is written on the paper. For each word guessed, the team scores 1 point. The team with the most points wins the game. This very famous game allows to learn to express oneself with the body and is always the source of great laughter.
Body sculpture
Balance will be the key word in this game, for this activity, you will have to imitate a person, an animal or an object, all while remaining in balance. To increase the level of difficulty, you can balance on one foot or by raising both arms.
Guess this food
You will need different foods, such as strawberries, cheese, pickles, chocolate, candy, etc. and headbands.
How to play:The leader will manage the game. Participants are kept in a separate room until it is their turn. One by one, participants are blindfolded and brought to a table with each food. They try each product and guess what it is. The person who guesses the most correctly wins. If there is a tie, take an extra round with 3 more difficult foods to guess.
Summer Olympics : sports games for your family reunion
What you’ll need: Frisbees, softballs, tape measures, flag markers, stopwatches, etc. Also consider medals for the winners.
Set up a big event by having a Family Summer Olympics with separate events for men, women and children to keep things fair! Include games like discus throw, shot put, long jump, 3-legged race, obstacle course… You can even make up your own games to include!
Speed Jigsaw Puzzles
Make teams of 3 or 4 people evenly matched.
Make sure all puzzles are of equal difficulty, same brand and same number of pieces.
Each team chooses a jigsaw puzzle. They will have to do the puzzle as quickly as possible. The first team to complete it wins the game.
Check out our escape room kits to play with your family
Family Talent Show: fun games for your family reunion
Have each family member present one of their talents to the whole group. Even people who think they have no talents should be able to come up with something.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Singing a song
- Doing a staged reading
- Reciting a poem from memory
- Performing a skit with one or more family members
- Juggling
- Playing an instrument
- Dancing (alone or with a partner)
Quick tip: this is one of the best family reunion activities to record with a video camera and watch at future reunions.
Guess the song
How about playing guess the song? A game that requires you to concentrate on recognizing a song, using the different sounds and instruments used, all from home. You have two alternatives: search for the instrumental of the songs on Youtube, or play them yourself, which could complicate the success of the game, but it would certainly make it more fun. And for your kids, choose the cartoon credits or the soundtracks of their favorite animated movies, they will feel involved and, above all, have fun!
Pictionary
You have to make your team guess words or expressions by drawing them. An hourglass limits the time allowed to try to draw people, places, animals, objects or actions. The team that reaches the end of the course, having won the most challenges, wins the game.
Goal of the game: Guess enough words to reach the finish line. The first team to reach the final square and find a final word wins the game.
Trivial Pursuit
This general knowledge game will give you a great time and you might even learn something! There are many different versions, so pick one that your family will enjoy or even one that fits the theme of your family reunion! Players or teams answer questions to move around the board. The first to complete each of the six categories wins the game!
Scrabble
The goal of the game of Scrabble is to get the most points by creating words with letters drawn at random. By placing these on the Scrabble board, the player gets points according to the value of the letters and the squares on which the word appears.
To start, each player will draw 7 letters at random from the bag. With these, each player will try to create one or more words. The first player must place the first word in the center of the board, on the star. This word must be at least 2 letters long. The second player must use this word to place his word and so on…
Monopoly: traditional games for your family reunion
Players take turns moving around the board, buying, renting and selling houses in an effort to become the richest player. The game ends when everyone else has gone bankrupt.
The neither yes nor no game
A formal prohibition to answer with yes or no, that’s a very complicated task! In this game, players take turns asking each other closed and open-ended questions without saying “yes” or “no”. This game will allow your child to force himself to use a varied vocabulary.
The post-it game for your family reunion
This is surely one of the best games for a family reunion or a successful evening. Each participant writes the name of a character on a post-it note and sticks it on the forehead of the person next to him. Then, each person has to guess the name of the character written on his forehead by asking a series of questions to which the others can answer yes or no. In case of no, the hand is passed to another participant and so on.
Here is a list of games to organize with your family to live and share unforgettable moments. There are of course many others… All that remains is to select them according to your location, the number of participants, the season and all the factors to take into account in order to adapt your choices to the members present.
