Romy and Michele would prefer to go to the casino.
September 15, 2005 9:51 AM Subscribe
Planning a high school reunion: seeking opinions from those who've done it, and from those who've attended.
This is a 15-year high school reunion. (1) It seems that Thanksgiving weekend is the date standard, so as to catch people who moved away who are back in the area -- is this a reasonable assumption after 15 years, that people still go to their parents' house at Thanksgiving? (2) How far is it reasonable to ask people to travel from the town that the high school is in? In this case, it was a regional high school, so many students traveled from out of town [30 mile radius] to attend. Many of us had no ties to the specific town the school was in. (3) The other planning volunteers for this event have been speaking about buffets, cash bars and DJs as though that too is a given. Are reunions just weddings with no bride and groom? What else can we do? Do we have to arrange something that is children-friendly, or can we assume that people with kids will get babysitters?
It might matter that this is an all-female high school, so it will be female alums attending with their spouses... not the kind of thing where you'd expect to hook up with that newly-divorced old flame.
This is a 15-year high school reunion. (1) It seems that Thanksgiving weekend is the date standard, so as to catch people who moved away who are back in the area -- is this a reasonable assumption after 15 years, that people still go to their parents' house at Thanksgiving? (2) How far is it reasonable to ask people to travel from the town that the high school is in? In this case, it was a regional high school, so many students traveled from out of town [30 mile radius] to attend. Many of us had no ties to the specific town the school was in. (3) The other planning volunteers for this event have been speaking about buffets, cash bars and DJs as though that too is a given. Are reunions just weddings with no bride and groom? What else can we do? Do we have to arrange something that is children-friendly, or can we assume that people with kids will get babysitters?
It might matter that this is an all-female high school, so it will be female alums attending with their spouses... not the kind of thing where you'd expect to hook up with that newly-divorced old flame.
1) it's been my experience that reunions tend to happen during the summer months ... of course, it's too late for that ... in any case, if half the people show up, you're doing very well ...
2) i think putting it within 30 miles is reasonable ... many may have to travel farther just to get there
3) i think a buffet and a cash bar are expected by people ... dj's, no ... as an alternative you could whip up a dvd with yearbook pictures with hit songs of the era ... at least that's what my all school reunion did
i think it's safe to assume people will get baby sitters
posted by pyramid termite at 10:02 AM on September 15, 2005
2) i think putting it within 30 miles is reasonable ... many may have to travel farther just to get there
3) i think a buffet and a cash bar are expected by people ... dj's, no ... as an alternative you could whip up a dvd with yearbook pictures with hit songs of the era ... at least that's what my all school reunion did
i think it's safe to assume people will get baby sitters
posted by pyramid termite at 10:02 AM on September 15, 2005
My 10 year reunion was the Friday night following last Thanksgiving. It was in the town where my high school was/is, but the school only served our town so that made sense.
There was a buffet and a bar (free, although of course tipping the bartender was expected), as well as a DJ. It cost, however, $75 a ticket to attend. And by the way, the invite promised a gift of some kind, a video photo album or something, which we never got - kind of a rip. I think a little gift like that is sort of standard. I remember my mom getting a t-shirt at the last reunion she went to.
No kids invited - which I think is good because it probably really would have separated the crowd into those-with-kids and those-without-kids. As it was, we all got to hang out together like we were in school again, and if someone wanted to whip out pictures of their kids, that was just fine.
posted by amro at 10:26 AM on September 15, 2005
There was a buffet and a bar (free, although of course tipping the bartender was expected), as well as a DJ. It cost, however, $75 a ticket to attend. And by the way, the invite promised a gift of some kind, a video photo album or something, which we never got - kind of a rip. I think a little gift like that is sort of standard. I remember my mom getting a t-shirt at the last reunion she went to.
No kids invited - which I think is good because it probably really would have separated the crowd into those-with-kids and those-without-kids. As it was, we all got to hang out together like we were in school again, and if someone wanted to whip out pictures of their kids, that was just fine.
posted by amro at 10:26 AM on September 15, 2005
This is timely, as I just attended my girlfriend's 10yr. class reunion last weekend. My girlfriend was one of the two that planned the whole she-bang, so I got the perspective of both the planner and the attendee.
Thanksgiving seems like a good idea in theory, but I wonder if it might backfire due to the fact that a good many people might be visiting their SO's families out of the area, have other plans, or avoid travelling for thanksgiving because of the cost. The summer months seem to be an expected timeframe, as even our September reunion seemed late to some.
From my girlfirend's planning experience, it was exceptionally hard to get people to commit to buying reunion tickets until the very last minute. Some people even just showed up day of, without RSVP. This of course, made planning hard at any moment since they had very little idea of how much budget there would be to spend. I might recommend a discount to those who pay before a certain date, to encourage an early response and give you some budget to pull from. I'd also throw any bones to make it as easy as possible for the most people to come, by finding a location closest to the density of your expected guests.
I helped my girlfriend setup a website for their reunion, where they posted information as the event neared, offered an address where people could help locate missing classmates, and posted bios and photos that they solicited from their classmates. This generated some excitement as the event neared, and many people appreciated the effort.
This event was a 2-day affair. A Saturday evening event was adults only with a dinner buffet, and cash bar. This took place in a private lounge at a nice sports bar. We used the in-house A/V setup to play video yearbooks and VH1's "I love the 90s," while playing our own 90's soundtrack over the house speakers. The Sunday event was a family & kids BBQ at a nice pool facility where we had private use. I'd say 2-days was ideal, and people appreciate the opportunity to bring kids to a casual event. A Friday happy hour unoffically sprung up organized by some classmates. It first caused some worry because many local people were planning on attending the free happy hour but not the official event(s), but as planners, we attended and recruited many people to come the next night that might not have otherwise.
Speaking from what happened at my own 10 year reunion 3 years ago, we had only one evening planned, no kids. I think they put more cost into the 1-night and had a DJ instead of spreading it over 2 days.
Both of our reunions had silly prizes and such as icebreakers during dinner, like Classmate who changed most, changed least, travelled the furthest, etc.
Good luck with your reunion!
posted by FearTormento at 11:03 AM on September 15, 2005
Thanksgiving seems like a good idea in theory, but I wonder if it might backfire due to the fact that a good many people might be visiting their SO's families out of the area, have other plans, or avoid travelling for thanksgiving because of the cost. The summer months seem to be an expected timeframe, as even our September reunion seemed late to some.
From my girlfirend's planning experience, it was exceptionally hard to get people to commit to buying reunion tickets until the very last minute. Some people even just showed up day of, without RSVP. This of course, made planning hard at any moment since they had very little idea of how much budget there would be to spend. I might recommend a discount to those who pay before a certain date, to encourage an early response and give you some budget to pull from. I'd also throw any bones to make it as easy as possible for the most people to come, by finding a location closest to the density of your expected guests.
I helped my girlfriend setup a website for their reunion, where they posted information as the event neared, offered an address where people could help locate missing classmates, and posted bios and photos that they solicited from their classmates. This generated some excitement as the event neared, and many people appreciated the effort.
This event was a 2-day affair. A Saturday evening event was adults only with a dinner buffet, and cash bar. This took place in a private lounge at a nice sports bar. We used the in-house A/V setup to play video yearbooks and VH1's "I love the 90s," while playing our own 90's soundtrack over the house speakers. The Sunday event was a family & kids BBQ at a nice pool facility where we had private use. I'd say 2-days was ideal, and people appreciate the opportunity to bring kids to a casual event. A Friday happy hour unoffically sprung up organized by some classmates. It first caused some worry because many local people were planning on attending the free happy hour but not the official event(s), but as planners, we attended and recruited many people to come the next night that might not have otherwise.
Speaking from what happened at my own 10 year reunion 3 years ago, we had only one evening planned, no kids. I think they put more cost into the 1-night and had a DJ instead of spreading it over 2 days.
Both of our reunions had silly prizes and such as icebreakers during dinner, like Classmate who changed most, changed least, travelled the furthest, etc.
Good luck with your reunion!
posted by FearTormento at 11:03 AM on September 15, 2005
Summer's always been the season for reunions where I'm from (Colorado and Wyoming).
posted by scody at 11:04 AM on September 15, 2005
posted by scody at 11:04 AM on September 15, 2005
20-year reunion: two-night affair. The first night was at the local AAA baseball diamond, very family-oriented. We had a picnic in the picnic area and then saw the game, which we didn't, really, because we were all too busy talking. The picnic part was great, but sitting in the stands doesn't allow for much circulation, unless you change seats all the time, so I don't recommend that route.
The second night was at a Omni hotel, and was for grownups. There was a cash bar, a dj, and a dance floor, plus (and I think this is important) other rooms where it was quieter for those who wanted to talk. If you've got music, DO NOT force everyone to yell over it. This worked out well, because it allowed people to stay behind after the end of the evening and go out to other bars if they wanted to.
Actually, there was a 3rd day -- the following afternoon, about 20 of us met up at the actual high school for a tour to see how much it had changed, which was considerably.
We had no prizes or anything like that. Didn't miss 'em.
posted by JanetLand at 11:12 AM on September 15, 2005
The second night was at a Omni hotel, and was for grownups. There was a cash bar, a dj, and a dance floor, plus (and I think this is important) other rooms where it was quieter for those who wanted to talk. If you've got music, DO NOT force everyone to yell over it. This worked out well, because it allowed people to stay behind after the end of the evening and go out to other bars if they wanted to.
Actually, there was a 3rd day -- the following afternoon, about 20 of us met up at the actual high school for a tour to see how much it had changed, which was considerably.
We had no prizes or anything like that. Didn't miss 'em.
posted by JanetLand at 11:12 AM on September 15, 2005
This seems totally obvious, but it didn't happen at my 10- and 20-year reunions, so I guess it's worth mentioning: play music from your high-school era. Both reunions I went to were pretty much as others have described. Both were actually quite fun. The music was kept at a level that allowed both dancing and conversation, which was great. But at neither event was the music from our high-school days. I still think that was a pretty obvious oversight.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:02 PM on September 15, 2005
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:02 PM on September 15, 2005
Our 20 year reunion 2 years ago was put together by professional reunion organizers. I recommend this -- if and only if you want a cookie-cutter reunion that is just like everyone else's and costs an arm and a leg besides.
I was in charge of putting together music from our high school years for the dj to play. They took my input and proceeded to ignore it and play the same crap they play for everyone -- very little 80s music. The dj, in fact, appeared to be a high school girl who was annoyed to be there, and sat reading while playing generic "party music" on random mix.
Some folks were disappointed that the official reunion was one night only, and somewhat pricey and formal, so they put together an informal pre-reunion party the night before at a local nightclub. But the contract the organizers made the reunion committee sign required them to excommunicate, basically, any committee member who dared attend an "unauthorized" party. If committee members attended the pre-reunion party, they would not be allowed to attend the main reunion.
I had managed to avoid signing the contract even though I was on the committee (there was a lot on that contract I found offensive), and I went to the pre-reunion because no professional reunion organizers are going to tell me when I can or cannot go to a bar to meet my old friends. And many people attended the pre-party and not the main reunion, because the main reunion was too expensive -- but of course, it was expensive to pay the organizers, and it was at an expensive site because the organizers pay kick backs to certain sites, and those are the only sites they let us choose from...
At any rate, though, I was somewhat bitter about the whole thing. Next reunion, I think, I'd prefer to be way more informal, way less regimented, and way more FUN. Avoid the professional reunion planners like the plague.
posted by litlnemo at 2:35 PM on September 15, 2005
I was in charge of putting together music from our high school years for the dj to play. They took my input and proceeded to ignore it and play the same crap they play for everyone -- very little 80s music. The dj, in fact, appeared to be a high school girl who was annoyed to be there, and sat reading while playing generic "party music" on random mix.
Some folks were disappointed that the official reunion was one night only, and somewhat pricey and formal, so they put together an informal pre-reunion party the night before at a local nightclub. But the contract the organizers made the reunion committee sign required them to excommunicate, basically, any committee member who dared attend an "unauthorized" party. If committee members attended the pre-reunion party, they would not be allowed to attend the main reunion.
I had managed to avoid signing the contract even though I was on the committee (there was a lot on that contract I found offensive), and I went to the pre-reunion because no professional reunion organizers are going to tell me when I can or cannot go to a bar to meet my old friends. And many people attended the pre-party and not the main reunion, because the main reunion was too expensive -- but of course, it was expensive to pay the organizers, and it was at an expensive site because the organizers pay kick backs to certain sites, and those are the only sites they let us choose from...
At any rate, though, I was somewhat bitter about the whole thing. Next reunion, I think, I'd prefer to be way more informal, way less regimented, and way more FUN. Avoid the professional reunion planners like the plague.
posted by litlnemo at 2:35 PM on September 15, 2005
To answer the questions more specifically:
1) As others said, Thanksgiving is generally considered quite late for a reunion. But it's better than no reunion. Still, if it's this year... that's not enough advance warning.
2) Generally I think it's good to keep the reunion near the high school, even if people don't live there any more. It allows for nostalgic visits to the school, for one thing.
3) Usually the evening event is an adult thing, and there is an afternoon event, like a picnic, where kids are welcome.
posted by litlnemo at 2:38 PM on September 15, 2005
1) As others said, Thanksgiving is generally considered quite late for a reunion. But it's better than no reunion. Still, if it's this year... that's not enough advance warning.
2) Generally I think it's good to keep the reunion near the high school, even if people don't live there any more. It allows for nostalgic visits to the school, for one thing.
3) Usually the evening event is an adult thing, and there is an afternoon event, like a picnic, where kids are welcome.
posted by litlnemo at 2:38 PM on September 15, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by LadyBonita at 10:02 AM on September 15, 2005