When you think of a family reunion, you likely think of a large family having the time of their lives in the great outdoors, chowing down on some good barbecue, singing songs together and doing many fun activities. While this is often the case, it doesn’t have to be! There are many alternative styles for family reunions, and one of them is to host a banquet.
What is a Family Reunion Banquet?
A family reunion banquet is a formal evening family gathering for a delicious meal and a good time! It is a more relaxed style for a family reunion, and everyone is encouraged to dress their best. The activities tend to lean more toward the sentimental, family-oriented side rather than running around competing in games. Rather than handing out family reunion t-shirts, one might receive a boutonniere, corsage, or more of a keepsake type of family reunion favor.
Banquet Program Planning
So, if you can’t run around and expel all of your energy, what exactly will you do for fun at a banquet? Since banquets are typically held indoors, you need to think indoors. Things such as speeches, poetry readings, slideshows, presentations, a formal dance, worship, musical performances, and sometimes even karaoke are all banquet favorites!
For every family reunion banquet, you need to have a family reunion banquet program. A program is a list of all of the activities and anything else that will be done during the banquet, often with assigned timeslots. A family reunion banquet program will help to ensure that the night runs smoothly and that everything planned is executed in good time.
A family reunion banquet should contain all of the following information:
- Date
- Time
- Location
- Who is hosting (Committee, master, etc)
- List all activities in order
- Cocktail hour
- Dinner time
With all of this being said, maybe you still need some direction. Although each and every program will be different from family to family and banquet to banquet, here is an example of a good layout for a program for your banquet.
Sample Family Reunion Banquet Program
Time:
Sunday, August 3, 2014
5:00pm-10:00pm
Location:
Golden Hall Ballroom
12232 Terra Cotta Ave
St. Lawrence, FL 33333
Evening Events:
5:00pm-6:30pm: Welcome, cocktail hour
6:30pm: Introduction of Planner
6:45pm: Induction of new family members (by marriage and birth)
7:00pm: Reading of scripture
7:15pm: Hymn from the family choir
7:30pm: Dinner begins
- Performance by David and the Family Orchestra
- Family history speech
8:30pm: Dessert is served
- Family picture slideshow
- “We are family” presentation
9:00pm: Karaoke
9:45pm: Closing messages
10:00pm: Banquet finale performance, exit
So, as you see, all of the activities are listed in the order in which they will be done, with a time slot in which it will be done. If you wish, you can make a program without specified times as long as everything is still listed in order; it’s all a matter of preference.
However you decide to make yours, just be sure that you make copies of it on nice paper, and place a copy of it at each table setting so each family member is well aware of the activities. Programs are important!
