Creative Ideas for Class Reunions

High school class reunions are a fun way to reconnect with high school classmates 10, 20 or more years later. Times have changed, people have grown up, and yet when you see your old school buddies, you still see them as they were back in high school. But brainstorming to come up with creative ideas for class reunions takes work and creativity.

Assuming you have the means to do the basic important stuff of tracking down alumni and picking the date, getting a committee together, and planning a budget, the rest is creative fun. Here are some ways to choose creative ideas for class reunions.

A Reunion Web Page
Have a Web page where alumni can post a hello message, contact each other, send in pictures and RSVP for the reunion. Also allow those that get to the page to help you locate missing former classmates.

Theme
Have a theme or, at least, a dress code. For some reunions, reunion is a theme in itself. Having a semi-formal event with a nice dinner, music and slide show may be great for the main event. The night before can be an informal get reacquainted night at a favorite local hangout, and the day after can be a family picnic-best for the 20th reunion when classmates are parents. For others, a casual event with a beach, disco, Mardi Gras, fiesta or other festive theme can be great fun as well.

Once you have a theme, you can plan the decorations, party favors and food around that theme easily.

For creative memory-making activities, try these ideas:

• Ask alumni to email in pictures from high school days and make a slideshow with music to show at the event. Include some newspaper headlines from the time, and some of the area landmarks.
• Have a display table or board with copies of old school newspapers, sport trophies and high school memorabilia that's sure to get people talking and remembering.
• Have a way to remember classmates who have passed on. This can be part of a welcoming speech by the reunion planning committee chairperson, followed by a moment of silence.
• Music from the high school years is a must! A good DJ will play whatever you want. Dancing is fun and karaoke is optional.
• Nametags with pictures from high school are a great idea (for comparison purposes!)
• Allow classmates to put their business cards up on a poster board for others to look at during the evening. A "Professional Board" can be a great networking tool and a way to get to know who everyone became over the years.
• Have drinks and food to go along with the theme.
• Have centerpieces with high school themes.
• Mixer games are optional, as people will want to mingle and talk already.
• Consider inviting a person to talk who has made a significant contribution to bettering the world, and honor that person with an alumni award from the committee.
• Party favors are nice, if possible. Go along with the theme, and include a directory of everyone's basic info, including name, maiden name, marital status, number of kids, profession, email, Web page and address for people to stay in touch after the event.
• Have a photographer who will post pictures on the reunion Web site after the event.