For all the computer know-how that enables us for staying in touch with family, nothing can take the place of being together in person.  Being able to have everyone together at the same time would make for the maximum family retreat.  Being able to get everybody together at the same time, takes a lot of patience.  The bottom line is that it’s a great way to reconnect with relatives that you may have fallen out of touch with over time. A family retreat or family reunion also provides distant relatives a chance to meet one another for the very first time.  Most of all, it just takes a lot of due diligence and some serious planning if your going to take the guesswork out of planning a family retreat and keep your wits in the process.  Here are a few recommendations for steps to take when planning a family retreat.

 Step #1:  Figuring out who is family and who isn’t – Try to prepare as thorough a list as you possible can.  If it’s at all possible, try to have a couple of other family members help you with making up the invitation list.  Professional retreat and reunion planners always recommend deciding immediately who is involved and who gets invited.  Decide what size of a reunion this is going to be.  Is it going to be a smaller reunion, or are you going to try and find every 5^th and 6^th cousin in the family. 

Step #2:  Start building an address book – Normally, the recommended course of action is to sectionalize the family, so you know who’s on what side of the family unit, what their immediate family is, and so on.  Make sure that you have all the contact information including e-mail addresses as well as street addresses.  This will definitely help you stress less. 

Step #3:  Surveys can help you plan a better retreat – Sometimes sending out a survey is a great way to get everyone’s take on what they think would be the key ingredients to a great family retreat/reunion.  Ask budget questions like lodging expenses, meals, and travel costs.  Basically, you want to try and find what everyone thinks will make for a successful reunion.

Step #4:  Set up a date – Once you start seeing the results, and you have an idea what people want to do, get a feel for a date that will work the best for everyone concerned.  You’re not going to be able to satisfy the needs of everyone.  But you will find a date that will work for most. 

Step #5:  Decide on the location – Once you have all of the above taken care of, you’ll want to try and select a place that is convenient to as many of the family members as possible.  Just like in Step #4, you’re not going to hit 100% on this one, but picking the right place will probably satisfy the majority.