7 Creative Ways Tech Can Enhance Your Family Reunion

I have a few family reunions under my belt - 3 of which I hosted myself. The first one was about 18 years ago and although the internet and cell phones were available, tech stopped there. We displayed a poorly handwritten family tree on a poster board, had traditional photo albums, and played classic games such as egg toss and bocci ball.

Don’t get me wrong, we had a blast. But as technology evolves, more ideas arrive. You may still want to keep your family reunion tech-free. I get it, but by the time you finish this post, you might want to add a little tech yourself. Here are 7 activities that use technology to enhance your family reunion:

Insta Tree - Shake it like a Polaroid

When I recently delved into my never-ending photo boxes, I came across that period when everyone had an instant Kodak camera. You know, the groovie 70s. While the photo quality wasn't something to brag about, you have to admit it was convenient and fun.

Have you heard the saying that trends always come back around? It's true! Just ask my children. Vinyl records, bell-bottoms, Crocs, and Polaroid cameras are all popular again. I am not getting into the first 3 here - it’s the new instant cameras that can enhance events such as weddings and family reunions.

The new ones aren’t quite as chunky as the originals but they are much cuter and the photos are typically smaller, not to mention the pics come out a little cleaner. Popular brands such as Fuji, Polaroid, and Kodak are the industry leaders, each having its own unique design and features.

They operate relatively the same, however, the kids don’t get the same satisfaction from shaking the photos as we did. Of course, you can’t own an instant camera without all of the necessary accessories, such as filters, pocket albums, and stickers - so they say.

A great way to combine family reunion with technology is to use your instant camera to make an Insta Tree. Assign one of your family’s aspiring photographers to snap candid images of the family members and create a DIY tree. Starting with the eldest members, tack their pics to a board, or to be thematic, use an actual tree. Build the tree downward through the generations. 

Don’t worry about making your tree perfectly geometrical - make it whimsical. Also, make sure to write the names of everyone directly at the bottom of the photo so that everyone knows who is who. Finally, don't forget to take a picture of the actual tree, but this time on your phone so that you can easily save and share it with others.

Map Your Memories - A Google Maps Experience

Did you know Google Maps can do much more than map out your route? I could write an entire blog post on the many uses of Google Maps. However, for a family reunion, I have a much more clever idea. How about a virtual tour through history while also driving?

With Google My Maps you can create interactive maps marking specific points along the way. Google My Maps lets you create icons, add pictures, and draw lines. I recently created a map for one of my clients tracking her ancestor’s route from Europe to a small Virginia town.

Another way tech can enhance your family reunion is to create a map that includes the town where the reunion is taking place. This map can include markers and photos of important places, such as your old church, cemeteries, and houses.

You can even mark the travel route your ancestors took from their original town to their arrival here in the U.S and include meaningful places such as your father's first haircut at the old barbershop, the church where your grandparents were married, the lake where you caught your first fish or the park where you broke your foot falling off a slide. The possibilities are endless!

Phone Confessions - What’s on your phone?

This family reunion activity could be used with everyone including your grandparents, however, they may need a little help with this one.  Naturally, this is a game we couldn’t play 20 years ago but you can pretty much bet everyone will have a smartphone at your family reunion. Well, maybe not Grandma Pearl. Nevertheless, this is a great activity that will have every generation interacting and laughing together.

Here’s how to play:

Choose your team and mix it up with people of all ages evenly. Write up prompts such as who has the funniest pet photo or who has a Facebook or TicTok app. For the pet example, whoever has the funniest pet photo in the group is chosen for that prompt. Each group does the same thing then it is up to a non-playing judge to pick which person has the funniest one.

The winner gets a point for their group. For the app example, whichever group has the most members with that app gets a point for their group. Those are just a couple of ideas. Use your imagination to customize your own “What’s On Your Phone” game. Here are a few tips to make the most of your experience:

• Choose teams or play individually.

• Give hints based on the knowledge of your grandparents.

• Encourage participation. Enjoy the interaction, and laugh.

• Be gentle and patient. Your grandparents might not be as comfortable as you are with their phones.

• Avoid anything too personal or embarrassing.

Reunion Remix - A Family Reunion Karaoke Experience

You either love it or hate it, but there is no denying the fun and laughter a good karaoke brings to a party - minus the next-day hangover. Give your next family reunion a new spin on this classic nighttime party activity. This a great way to share music from different generations.

My daughter is quite adept at the most popular songs of the ages but I suspect grandma had some favorites even the biggest teenage music lover has never heard. And the same goes for the younger generation. Do you think Grandpa has Taylor Swift on his playlist?  

Recently, my teenager introduced me to Sing King, a YouTube channel that provides lyrics to sing along to your favorite tunes. They highly recommend it. This activity can be easily done using a phone or even better, a laptop. Here are some tips to ensure your family reunion karaoke party is a successful and fun-filled event.

• Record everyone singing.

• Have the young generation sing tunes picked by the older generation and the same the other way around.

• Keep songs family appropriate.

• Encourage dress up, maybe props like rock star wigs or top hats.

• Use a wireless mic if you have one.

• Give a medal or certificate to the best and worst singers.

Grandma Goes Viral - Family Reunion Photo Scanning

I must have at least a thousand pictures in my possession, perhaps even more but I truly have no urgency to count them. I do know they need to be scanned. Someday perhaps. 

It's highly likely that someone will bring some old photos to the family reunion and that’s a good thing. There's nothing quite like seeing your grandparents, aunts, and uncles when they were young and looking their best. I've had the pleasure of stumbling upon some pictures of my grandmother from the 1920s. It brings me so much joy to imagine her as a flapper, dancing the Charleston at a speakeasy, and Uncle Earl sharing some moonshine with his buddies.

Thanks to technology, you can now capture your reunion memories and share them with others just by using your phone.

Assign a tech-savvy and steady-handed family member to scan photos. You can use photo scanning apps like Photoscan or Photomyne, or bring a portable scanner if you have one. They are quite small and easy to use. Or as I mentioned before, just snap a picture of the picture and send it away. My clients sometimes do it this way and it works just fine in a pinch.

If you have some photos you want to share with the photo owner and other guests, you can either send them directly or post them on social media. To make sharing easier and more enjoyable, you can create digital albums in Google Photos or Amazon Photos or make an actual book with Shutterfly.

Additionally, a slide show is an excellent way to present your photos to your family. Canva offers a range of slide templates that you can use. This is a fun activity for the young ones who grew up with Google Slides.

From AI to appetizers  -  A Family Reunion Menu with Gemini

Planning a menu for a family reunion can be both stressful and rewarding but sometimes things don't go as planned. When I planned our family reunion, I made some rookie mistakes, with the biggest one being the potluck approach. Although it seemed like a good idea in theory, it didn't work out well in practice.

The advantage to a potluck is that the host doesn’t have the responsibility of preparing the entire menu and family members can bring their family favorites like  Aunt Joe's potato salad and Uncle Bob’s mouthwatering BBQ ribs, By the way, the potato salad was to die for.

If you allow everyone to bring their own dish without any restrictions, you might end up with a situation like ours where we had 7 potato salads. It's funny to look back on now but at the time, we had very few options. Aunt Joe's potato salad was still the best though.

What could I have done differently? Perhaps I should have coordinated with the family members before the event and created a list of choices for the guests to pick from. We could have used invitation apps like Evite or Punchbowl or Sign-Up Genius to make this process easier. Additionally, we should always give the guests another option if they want to bring something that is not on the list.

Another more hands-off idea is to rely on AI  to plan your menu.  Believe it or not, it is quite reliable. I use Gemini from Google. You can use Chatgpt if you prefer. The more details you give the AI the better the outcome.  For example,  let’s say the reunion was taking place in North Carolina - if you give Gemini those details, it will spit out a menu with regional specialties such as pulled BBQ pork or Brunswick stew - sweet tea for the beverages, and a Sweet Potato Pie for dessert.

Don’t forget to mention how many people are coming too. You could even take it a step further and ask Gemini to create the actual recipes and grocery list. The AI tools actually do a pretty good job of creating well-designed recipes.  Gemini can also give you an image and link to a food blog where you can find the recipe there.

If you really want to avoid all the fuss, you can ask the AI tool to plan the entire reunion. I tested this and was quite impressed. Try it out for yourself - just remember to provide it with specific details such as location, theme, and family count.

Newsflash - A Newspaper Collage

At one point or another, we have all made a collage of some sort - probably in elementary school. We clipped pictures and text from magazines and newspapers and pasted them onto a poster board. It wasn't the prettiest thing, well at least mine wasn’t, but your parents and teacher loved it.

Think about upgrading the old paper collage to a digital one using online newspaper clippings. Search for your ancestor's name by location. Add clippings of ads from the same timeframe. Add pictures to give your collage a special touch. Be creative.

You can design your digital collage in applications like Canva or Picmonkey. Display it at the reunion along with your photo albums and a family tree that you can also design in Canva.

There are some websites available that contain archives of old newspaper articles that you can clip or take screenshots of. These articles might include obituaries, marriage announcements, or even police arrests. I have personally found a couple of interesting articles by searching for my family surname. Recently, I stumbled upon a snippet about a Halloween party that my Great-Great-Aunt had hosted for her friends and family. It reminded me of simpler times.

Here are a few sites where you can find those old newspapers:

Newspaper Archive - A massive archive boasting nearly 10 billion searchable names with content from 16,000 titles and 280 million pages. It covers newspapers from the US and other countries, with a strong focus on historical publications. Access to full articles requires a subscription, but they offer free previews and browsing.

Newspapers.com - I use this one for myself and my clients. The site offers a great feature where you can clip a portion of a newspaper article and share it on social media or through text. If you have an Ancestry account, you can also link it to the person's profile. Additionally, you can download the clipping and add it to your digital collage. The website is a paid service, but it's user-friendly and has a lot of useful features.

Chronicling America - This library of digitized historical newspapers is hosted by the Library of Congress and focuses on US publications from 1770 to 1963. It offers a user-friendly interface, advanced search options, and access to high-quality scans of millions of pages. It’s also free. I found quite a few of the same pages that were on Newspapers.com.

GenealogyBank - A subscription-based service focusing on US newspapers from the 18th century to the present. It boasts an extensive collection and advanced search tools for genealogy research.

So when you plan your next family reunion, add my tech ideas or create your own. Remember whether you use tech or not, make sure to interact with your guests and have a blast. Happy planning!

My name is Patrick Huff and I am the founder and genealogist here at Branch Out Genealogy.

Through engaging research and captivating storytelling, we empower you to explore the past, branching beyond ancestors to create personalized genealogy experiences that foster family bonds and build lasting legacies.