4 Fun Favors for Your Family Reunion This Summer
One wonderful thing about the ever-growing interconnectedness of our world is how easy it is to keep up with family. Many of us have family spread out over the country?—sometimes over the world. Even with local family members, it can be tough to coordinate plans. And while social media, group text chats, and email chains make it much simpler to stay up to date, nothing quite beats the feeling of getting together.
Family reunions are the perfect way to make new memories, both sweet and hilariously chaotic, and spend a day or even a weekend together. Summer is a popular season for these large family gatherings. It’s the perfect time to get everyone out for a weekend at the shore, a backyard BBQ or park picnic, or to book a vacation rental that aligns with summer school breaks for the kids and slightly more flexible work schedules for many of us adults.
With the sun shining, the invites sent, the menus planned, and any accommodations arranged, all that’s left is picking a fun favor to make the event even more memorable. Below are four ideas that are guaranteed to be a hit at your upcoming family reunion.
Matching T-Shirts
Did you even have a family reunion if you don’t leave with a commemorative tee? Matching t-shirts are the perfect favor for the event, and they’re quite easy to coordinate. First, pick a color that you think the whole family will love, like a neutral gray or blue or a fun summery yellow shade. Next, find one in everyone’s size (this is an easy “ask” to send out via email or on a text thread), and make sure you order the right amount for the adults, plus however many kids’ tops & tees you’ll need for the kiddos.
Lastly, pick a monogram or personalization and add it to the tees when you order them. You may opt for different family initials, a fun hybrid of last names, or the date and the location of the event. If you hand these out before the day wraps up, or perhaps on the first day of a multiple-day reunion, these will also make for some iconic photo ops.
Monogrammed Tote Bags
As you might have already guessed, personalized or monogrammed gifts are going to be the name of the game when it comes to picking out family reunion favors. Personalized canvas tote bags are another great option, as these also make for extra practical gifts in general. To pull this off, simply choose a neutral print or style, and add the appropriate family initials, set of last names, or any other special signifier for your clan or the event.
While this option might cater a bit more to the older kids or the adults than to the younger kiddos, you can sweeten the deal by adding some kid-friendly flair to the smaller kids’ totes. Opt for a louder print for the younger crew and add some candy or a small stuffed animal to their totes. The parents of any children in attendance will also love to have these totes handy for park visits or family beach visits later in the season.
Personalized Beach Towels
Next up is a fun favor option that’s also perfect for the season: monogrammed beach towels. With personalized beach towels from the event, family members are sure to remember the reunion every time they lay theirs out by the pool, bring them along on the next tropical vacation, or dry off with them after a dip in the ocean.
Just like the tote bags, these make for gifts that are as special as they are practical and are super on-theme if you’re gathering at a beach house or the lakeshore. Plus, the kids will love these for post-bubble bath coziness all year-long. Choose one neutral print or pattern for the whole family or opt for a subtler print for the adults and a more kid-friendly print for the younger family members (although, we all likely have that one fun grandpa, zany aunt, or sibling who’s still a kid at heart?—so don’t hesitate to go for a more vibrant print for the whole crew!).
Family Ornaments
While you’re grilling out, packing up your beach tote bag, or wrangling up the little cousins for yet another sunscreen application, the holiday season likely seems very far away. That said, we couldn’t leave personalized Christmas ornaments off of this list.
That’s because these make for extra-special gifts that’ll help the whole family feel connected when the winter season comes along. This is an especially great favor if your family is fairly spread out and unable to gather for Christmas. If Christmas isn’t a thing for your family, don’t fret! You can also opt for whatever winter holidays your family celebrates and choose a personalized favor that fits with that holiday or theme instead. As long as it’s a celebratory gift that’ll remind your family of your summer reunion during the chillier holidays, it’ll be a guaranteed hit.
Whether you go for a customized holiday-themed gift, matching t-shirts, monogrammed totes, or personalized beach towels, we’re sure these gifts will be total crowd-pleasers!