Family Reunions

One of my cousins and I were just talking about family reunions yesterday. We reminisced about how at one reunion in South Carolina a couple of decades ago, there were 300 of us present and many family units were not even there. Of course we've lost several family members. Every other September we have the reunions at different locations. The last one, which was a cruise, was somewhat of a bust because said cousin didn't make arrangements early enough, plus it was moved to July to avoid the hurricane season. 99.9% of our family members were unable to arrange to go on such short notice. I have to check with another cousin, one of our elders who started the reunions, to see if arrangements are being made. North Carolina was discussed as a possible location this year but due to COVID I don't know if it will be postponed.
 

No family reunions. I'm an only child of only children so no aunts, uncles or cousins. Just me, my children and grandchildren.

Nobody I know ever have big family reunions. Seems to me they're more of a tradition in the USA than in Europe?
 
Family reunions were huge when I was a young child. Ours, like most, were held in the park in summer with a big sign strung between two trees. Everybody brought food and it was a day long affair. As my grandparents and their relatives aged, reunions slowed down and eventually stopped. My parents generation didn't have them.
 
We still had family reunions prior to COVID. OF course, with everyone aging and families moving out of state for jobs, fewer and fewer people were showing up. Wife's family has a family picnic every year (not last year) with 50+ people showing up. Good times. We're both fortunate to have extended families that (mostly) get along.
 
We haven't had any family reunions since I was a kid. The grandparents on both sides are dead and they were the ones that had them. The rest of the family doesn't speak or gather so...kinda pointless. I don't miss them. All the grown ups did was fight. LOL
 
My huge California Pioneer family shrank over time until there's just me, my son, an older sister up north and the brat so there's no gathering. Luckily, my son's mother came from a large family and they are all very close.
 
Our family reunions/picnics were huge. After I quit attending in my teens, I lost track how long before they quit. My mother was the last of many siblings still living. One more reunion was arranged by one of my cousins because he was losing his battle with cancer. It was large but not on the scale of when I was a child. There’ve been no more since then.

Now families see each other at weddings & funerals. Since I don’t live near them, there‘re no reunions for me.

My comment to a cousin that we more often than not just do ‘no service’ in the west mortified him. He went to all of them. Since he passed away last fall, he’d have been upset that there was no event for him.

Families are so spread out now that there’s less or little emotional closeness.
 
Never been to one. My parents siblings were spread out all over the place and we never got together, even for weddings or funerals. Now, there's just myself, my mother and 1 brother left that I know of. I see my mother and brother every few years as circumstances permit. Not sure if that qualifies as a reunion or not?
 
Larger for me. We had no aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents around when younger. Now I’m married and have plenty of in-laws.
Note: noticed I answered this thread already last year.
 
Family reunions for me are far in the past.... All the family members that were at these reunions, created them, and brought all the fun to them, are all gone now.
I only get together with my three kids and their families when we can, but that isn't too often.
 
iu
 
Our kids and grandkids are all within easy driving distance, so we all get together at least 3 or 4 times a year. My Sister, and nearly all my cousins are in Denver, and it's been at least 10 years since we got together with all of them.
 
My mom's side has had a reunion over 60 years and I have attended all but one of them. My 1st cousins are grandparents now and I can see the generations at one place from 6/7 states.
 


Back
Top