It’s summer and the kids are out of school – now there’s time for reunions!
Just the other day, we had a client come into Harvest Print that needed to plan her family reunion. She came to us looking for a banner and left with way more than that! A lot of customers don’t realize that we can do just about anything when it comes to printing and promotional item design. There are so many items that we could create to make your next family reunion memorable! Tablecloths with your family logo and colors on them, yard signs to direct family members to the right place, and booklets with your family’s photos or stories, to name a few.
Every family celebrates their reunions differently. Some reconnect during all major holidays, some meet every year, and some reunite only once every five years. Personally, my family meets every three years. Whatever your family tradition might be, it’s a special opportunity to reconnect with the most important people in your life; your family! Hosting a family reunion is quite a bit of work, and there are numerous ways to make your reunion unique and memorable. Here are five ways to make that happen!
1. Make a Family Logo
If your family doesn’t have a logo, it’s the perfect time to make one! Creating a logo for your family is a great bonding activity and a fun way to bring everyone closer together. A family logo is usually a combination of text and visual imagery. The image is typically something your family considers significant, and it’s usually paired with a phrase you all consider meaningful.
Something to keep in mind when designing your logo, is that it’s easy to make it too busy or overly complicated; the best logos are simple and minimalistic. Whether you are up for creating your own logo or are interested in professional help, here are some tips for creating the perfect one!
Keep it Simple
Simple logos are the ones people can recognize immediately. The simplest logos are the most memorable!
Make it Scalable
A great logo should look good at any size. Your family logo should scale up to look clear and defined on something as large as a banner but also scale back to look excellent on something as small as a business card. A logo should be simple and clear enough to look amazing at any size.
Make it Memorable
A logo should be memorable. The design for your family logo should provoke good memories and remind you of your family, but don’t forget to keep the design simple!
Make Sure it’s Versatile
A family logo should look great not only printed out, but also on the web. Whether it’s printed out, put on a website, or thrown on a koozie, your logo needs to be designed to look great on everything!
Make it Relevant
A good logo should be relevant. For a family logo, it should have something to do with your family. The words could be your family motto with a unique design (maybe an animal special to your family’s history). Whatever you choose to do, make sure the design makes sense.
2. Make a Banner
A banner is a perfect tool to showcase your logo and family name. They’re lightweight, easy to travel with, and inexpensive. Traditionally, a banner is made from vinyl so they’re easy to hang on a wall or thread through a banner stand. They could also be hung from the ceiling! Either way, a banner is the perfect way to decorate a room to highlight the area you’re celebrating in. Your family logo blown up on a huge banner is an exciting way to get your reunion started off right!
3. Goody Bags Galore
A goody bag is an extremely thoughtful way to welcome all guests to your reunion. There are a variety of ways to create the perfect goody bag, but here’s what we suggest:
Get Nice Bags – There are an endless variety of bags that can be used for a family reunion. However, the two most popular bags for an event like this is a lightweight drawstring bag and a small tote bag. The best thing about the small tote bag is that you have a lot of design options:
Size: can be small, medium, or large
Texture: has the option to be a laminated printed bag or a woven bag
Shape: can be circular, rectangular, square, spherical, or even in the shape of a boat
Cooler: has an insulated option on the inside
If you are hosting your reunion at a beach or resort hotel, a bag is a wonderful gift to hand out for your family to carry their various beach items in. If your family is as forgetful as mine, they tend to leave behind the little things; such as Chapstick, hats, sunscreen, water bottles, or pens and notepads. That’s where you step in and save the day with your awesome goody bag! Have your printer put your family logo on all those little items to make your reunion even more special. Even when the trip is over, all those items can be used by family members again and again.
4. Print Your Agenda
Is your family always the one with a plan? Play off that and print out a booklet for everyone with your planned events and activities written out on them. You could list out your planned/optional activities for the entire trip, so everyone knows where to be. You could even get creative and include family recipes, pictures, or stories that are near and dear to your family’s heart.
If you’re not up for making a booklet, another option would be to list your planned activities on foam core board. This board sits on an easel and would be great to place in a large common space where everyone could see it. That way, hopefully everyone would end up in the right place at the right time…
5. Make a Newsletter
Keep the fun going by designating one or two family members to create and send out a post-reunion newsletter. Collect all the pictures, special stories, and updated family information that was exchanged at the reunion and send it out to all family members. A newsletter is a great way to get people excited about the next reunion, and it’s also a fantastic way to reach those members of the family that were not able to attend the reunion that year.
Family reunions are important in order to stay connected with the ones you love. Change it up a bit, do something a little extra this year, and get with your printing company to create something memorable!