It never hurts to borrow a couple of tricks from weddings when planning your family reunion. Save the dates remind your attendees to mark their calendars off for the reunion. This helps them avoid potential conflicts, as well as allows them to schedule the necessary time off from work, school and other obligations.
What are Save-The-Dates?
Most commonly, save the dates are a simple card. This doesn’t mean that you have to be boring, and honestly, the more memorable it is the better.
A clever thing people have started to do is create custom family reunion save the date magnets. These serve multiple functions:
- They are handy for the refrigerator.
- They provide a constant reminder because everyone visits the fridge frequently during the day (and sometimes night).
- They serve as a souvenir to remember the event.
The main drawback is they are more costly to produce, but sites like Zazzle.com make it convenient. You can also speak with a local printer to see what kind of deals they can make for you as well.
When to send Save the Dates for a Family Reunion?
You really can’t give anyone too much notice, especially when many people plan vacations months ahead. So, the short answer is to send it as soon as possible. The longer answer will depend on:
- How many people are attending
- How far away family members are
- The time of year your reunion is occurring
If you have a lot of out-of-state family, then you may want to get save the dates sent between 6 months to 1 year, maybe even more. If you send your save-the-date announcements this far before, then I suggest you follow up with everyone every couple of months to keep it on their radar. People tend to forget.
If your family reunion is happening during a busy time of year, such as Christmas season, then getting the save the dates out a few months before is definitely advisable as the calendar will fill up quickly.
Saving Money on Save the Dates
You can send your family reunion save the date cards or magnets along with your official family reunion announcement. This will save you on added postage, but keep in mind that it’s better to get the announcement out first.
Another way to save is to only send the save the date to people who have confirmed they will attend. If you send the family reunion announcement first, then you can include a survey, or RSVP. Confirm who will be attending, then place the order for your save the date magnets or cards and mail them out. Obviously, this method will save the most money if you are sending magnets.
