Family Reunion Fun

We just got back from an amazing family reunion and I have to share with you an activity we did that seemed crazy at first, but ended up being one of my favorites.

Are you ready for this?

Are you sure?


Okay, here it is...synchronized swimming.  That's right, at our family reunion we had a synchronized swimming competition.  And it. was. awesome.

This wasn't my idea, so I can't claim any credit for it.  In fact, at first I wasn't very enthused by the idea.  But after watching the three teams perform their routines, I think this idea is a total winner!

Here is how we did it.  Teams were formed randomly, but with effort to get each team balanced with people from each generation.  The oldest team member was my Uncle Steve, who is 80, and the youngest team member was my cousins's son, Isaac, who is 4.  And of course, there were all sorts of ages in between.  We ended up with teams of 5 to 7 people.

Once the teams were formed, we had about an hour to come up with a routine and song and to practice said routine.  We practiced on land and in the water.  We also appointed two or three judges.

Here's what I think is great about this activity:

1.  It gets the generations working together.  So fun to see old and young coming up with ideas together.

2.  Anyone can participate.  My team kept our routine in the shallow end of the pool for our shorter participants, but one team had a participant wearing a life jacket.  So awesome.

3.  It is creative, but also completely silly.  Ridiculous, really.

4.  It made everyone laugh.  Really hard. For a long, long time.  

And just to prove my point, I give you this (very shaky from laughing) video (and please forgive my ridiculous giggling):

I think this idea could work with any number of gatherings, not only family reunions.  

What are some of the fun things you have done at family reunions?  I'd love to have more ideas for the next time we get together!