Hello M.,
We always try to include activities/icebreakers to get family members mingling with each other. We try to make it fun. Many people seem to have an extrovert personality and won't mix/mingle unless you force them to. I dislike being apart of something where cliques are generated, and people just stick with the familiar -- which is usually their more immediate family members. Also, we try to incorporate a children's activity as well.

We mix those activities in with the semi-formal banquet. I've heard family members say that it is not worth them traveling hundreds of miles to just "sit in the heat, eat, and swap flies." So, that's why our reunions include a semi-formal event such as a banquet. We haven't done a picnic for quite sometime because many just do not like the summer heat in the South.

I just read your other post. May I ask what does that $182 fee entail?

Thanks,
Mel