# Family Reunions



## Mr. Ed (May 22, 2020)

Are family reunions smaller than when were kid? Many years ago, my parents drove to LaGrange Ga every Christmas no matter where we lived at the time. When is or when was your designated family reunion date?


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## applecruncher (May 22, 2020)

They're smaller because fewer relatives are still alive.
Many who are living are in poor health.

We haven't had a family reunion for many decades.


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## Marie5656 (May 22, 2020)

*Definately smaller. Not fewer family members, but more spread out that when we were young. Some of my cousins put together a reunion about 15 years ago. It worked out well.  Furthest cousin came in from Hawaii to New York State*


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## hollydolly (May 22, 2020)

Marie5656 said:


> *Definately smaller. Not fewer family members, but more spread out that when we were young. Some of my cousins put together a reunion about 15 years ago. It worked out well.  Furthest cousin came in from Hawaii to New York State*


 definitely more spread out, and with Zoom now, even less reason for family members who are further afield to make the effort or time  to visit in person... it has it's benefits but zoom also has its drawbacks


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## Aneeda72 (May 22, 2020)

My parents cut ties and rarely saw their families, no reunions ever.


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## Aunt Bea (May 22, 2020)

When I was a kid our family reunion drew well over 100 people each year.

IMO attending the family reunion was more of a duty/responsibility/obligation years ago.  

The people that kept that notion alive have all passed on.  

Today people seem to have opted for spending more time with immediate family and friends as opposed to relatives that they one see once or twice a year.

IMO it's not right or wrong just different.


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## Aneeda72 (May 22, 2020)

Everyone know days is afraid someone will want something from them.  Sigh.  I would have loved to know my cousins.  I have a great many.  Don’t know any.


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## Sassycakes (May 22, 2020)

*We had large family reunions on my Mom's side of the family which was very large.We had them in the 80's and the 90's. When my Dad passed away in 1994 and 2 of my mothers sisters passed in the same year we stopped having the reunions.It was too hard to go on having them without the ones that were no longer with us.*


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## Em in Ohio (May 22, 2020)

applecruncher said:


> They're smaller because fewer relatives are still alive.
> Many who are living are in poor health.
> 
> We haven't had a family reunion for many decades.


It's the same situation in my life.  I am now the 'family elder' and only have one cousin left.  When my aunts and uncles were alive, we would have huge gatherings, where everyone brought a dish to share, helped set up and clean up.  These were all-day affairs and so much fun.  I miss them.


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## peppermint (May 22, 2020)

My brother had a cousin reunion...1 year ago....We aren't doing it this year....
Anyway, I didn't remember most of the cousins, cause I was one of the oldest there...
My oldest cousin was in a wheel chair...All she did was eat...I think she is not right...
She didn't remember anyone's names....When I tried to tell her who I was...She called me
Sister!!!!   That's gonna be me in a year or two.....Moma Mia!!!


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## Manatee (May 24, 2020)

Our kids grew up here in Florida and both are now in the furthest corner of the country.

Nearest relative is 91 year old sister who is 140 miles away on the Atlantic coast.


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 24, 2020)

We never had reunions but many family gatherings to celebrate a holiday or birthdays,so much so that my grandpa had to double the size of our picnic table.
These days so many have passed away or are sickly and feeble. A snack tray would be more than enough.


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## Pinky (May 24, 2020)

Our gatherings are under 20 people, and isn't an annual or semi-annual event. Usually, it's after a wedding, when everyone's in town .. or when someone's visiting from the west coast.


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## MarciKS (May 24, 2020)

We quit doing family reunions years ago. Mostly because the family fought. It was kinda humorous to us kids to watch the grown ups argue. Then we got packed up and taken home. Haven't had another since. Once we got together to see my dad's mom in the home but, I don't consider that a fam. reunion.


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## Aunt Marg (May 24, 2020)

Mr. Ed said:


> Are family reunions smaller than when were kid? Many years ago, my parents drove to LaGrange Ga every Christmas no matter where we lived at the time. When is or when was your designated family reunion date?


Absolutely, positively, larger get-togethers when I was a kid compared to now.

I see two fundamentals at play regarding, the first being, so many of my older relatives are gone now (passed away), and the second being, compared to back in the day (1960's and 70's), family dynamics have changed exponentially. The closeness that so many of us remember from our pasts, no longer exits today, hence smaller get-togethers and even no get-togethers.


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## Pinky (May 24, 2020)

Our family gatherings are lacking children. Gatherings of days-gone-by were filled with children. My daughter and all her cousins do not have children - and I don't see that this will change, considering their ages.


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## Em in Ohio (May 24, 2020)

Pinky said:


> Our family gatherings are lacking children. Gatherings of days-gone-by were filled with children. My daughter and all her cousins do not have children - and I don't see that this will change, considering their ages.


Hi Pinky - I'm guessing that the younger adults are choosing not to have children?  I think that I recently read something about declining birth rates world-wide.  I'll have to look back into it.  My nine year old neighbor boy told me two days ago that he isn't going to have kids!


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## Aunt Marg (May 24, 2020)

Em in Ohio said:


> Hi Pinky - I'm guessing that the younger adults are choosing not to have children?  I think that I recently read something about declining birth rates world-wide.  I'll have to look back into it.  *My nine year old neighbor boy told me two days ago that he isn't going to have kids*!


I believe we'll see a lot more of it.


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## Gary O' (May 24, 2020)

Mr. Ed said:


> When is or when was your designated family reunion date?


The next funeral


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## Keesha (May 24, 2020)

There was no extended family to unite with when we were kids. No grandparents, aunts, uncles  or cousins. Now there’s extended family but we don’t see each other much. 

On my husbands side is much different. We get together more often and there’s quite a few of us. I’m not a social butterfly but I do enjoy seeing everyone when we get together.


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## Lewkat (May 24, 2020)

We don't have them.


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## gamboolman (May 24, 2020)

Not much family left and way spread out.
We worked and lived oversea's the last 17 years and I am sad to say that we have not kept up with family.
It just kinda happened.
I do miss the huge family reunions and us kids being kids till we got into "trouble" for fighting or aggravating our Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc...
All the cooking the ladies would do and homemade Cranked ice cream.....
Progress....


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## Em in Ohio (May 25, 2020)

gamboolman said:


> Not much family left and way spread out.
> We worked and lived oversea's the last 17 years and I am sad to say that we have not kept up with family.
> It just kinda happened.
> I do miss the huge family reunions and us kids being kids till we got into "trouble" for fighting or aggravating our Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc...
> ...


Sad that you don't have reunions, but those of your youth sounded wonderful!  My aunts all baked the most amazing pastries... There was so much food and fun.  Your post made me feel really nostalgic for the 'good old days.'


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## Mr. Ed (May 25, 2020)

Aunt Marg said:


> I believe we'll see a lot more of it.
> Baby Boomer generation was born 1946-1964 during post-World War II. 76 Americans were born during this time. It was caused by young males returning home from following tours of duty overseas who began families.
> Why the birth rate has decreased in USA? Millennial's are having children later and fewer of them leading the lowest birthrate since 1987.
> 
> ...


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## Manatee (May 28, 2020)

Family scattered all over the country makes it tough.  We did have a gathering last year in celebration of our 60th anniversary.


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## OneEyedDiva (Apr 8, 2021)

One of my cousins and I were just talking about family reunions yesterday. We reminisced about how at one reunion in South Carolina a couple of decades ago, there were 300 of us present and many family units were not even there. Of course we've lost several family members.  Every other September we have the reunions at different locations. The last one, which was a cruise, was somewhat of a bust because said cousin didn't make arrangements early enough, plus it was moved to July to avoid the hurricane season. 99.9% of our family members were unable to arrange to go on such short notice. I have to check with another cousin, one of our elders who started the reunions, to see if arrangements are being made. North Carolina was discussed as a possible location this year but due to COVID I don't know if it will be postponed.


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## Glowworm (Apr 9, 2021)

No family reunions. I'm an only child of only children so no aunts, uncles or cousins. Just me, my children and grandchildren.

Nobody I know ever have big family reunions. Seems to me they're more of a tradition in the USA than in Europe?


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## old medic (Apr 9, 2021)

On Moms side, Both sides of her family have had reunions every year as long as I can remember.... some years drawing over 100 folks.


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## JonDouglas (Apr 14, 2021)

Family reunions were huge when I was a young child.  Ours, like most, were held in the park in summer with a big sign strung between two trees.  Everybody brought food and it was a day long affair.  As my grandparents and their relatives aged, reunions slowed down and eventually stopped.  My parents generation didn't have them.


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## retiredtraveler (Apr 14, 2021)

We still had family reunions prior to COVID. OF course, with everyone aging and families moving out of state for jobs, fewer and fewer people were showing up. Wife's family has a family picnic every year (not last year) with 50+ people showing up. Good times. We're both fortunate to have extended families that (mostly) get along.


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## MarciKS (Apr 14, 2021)

We haven't had any family reunions since I was a kid. The grandparents on both sides are dead and they were the ones that had them. The rest of the family doesn't speak or gather so...kinda pointless. I don't miss them. All the grown ups did was fight. LOL


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## SetWave (Apr 14, 2021)

My huge California Pioneer family shrank over time until there's just me, my  son, an older sister up north and the brat so there's no gathering. Luckily, my son's mother came from a large family and they are all very close.


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## Jules (Apr 14, 2021)

Our family reunions/picnics were huge.  After I quit attending in my teens, I lost track how long before they quit.  My mother was the last of many siblings still living.  One more reunion was arranged by one of my cousins because he was losing his battle with cancer.  It was large but not on the scale of when I was a child.  There’ve been no more since then.  

Now families see each other at weddings & funerals.  Since I don’t live near them, there‘re no reunions for me.  

My comment to a cousin that we more often than not just do ‘no service’ in the west mortified him.  He went to all of them.  Since he passed away last fall, he’d have been upset that there was no event for him. 

Families are so spread out now that there’s less or little emotional closeness.


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## MrPants (Apr 15, 2021)

Never been to one. My parents siblings were spread out all over the place and we never got together, even for weddings or funerals. Now, there's just myself, my mother and 1 brother left that I know of. I see my mother and brother every few years as circumstances permit. Not sure if that qualifies as a reunion or not?


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## Keesha (Apr 15, 2021)

Larger for me. We had no aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents around when younger.  Now I’m married and have plenty of in-laws.
Note: noticed I answered this thread already last year.


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## JustBonee (Apr 15, 2021)

Family reunions for me  are far in the past....   All the family members that were at these reunions,  created them,  and brought all the fun to them,  are all gone now.  
I only get together with my three kids and their families when we can,  but that isn't too often.


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## Meanderer (Jun 6, 2021)




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## Don M. (Jun 6, 2021)

Our kids and grandkids are all within easy driving distance, so we all get together at least 3 or 4 times a year.  My Sister, and nearly all my cousins are in Denver, and it's been at least 10 years since we got together with all of them.


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## funsearcher! (Jun 6, 2021)

My mom's side has had a reunion over 60 years and I have attended all but one of them. My 1st cousins are grandparents now and I can see the generations at one place from 6/7 states.


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