Sharing the Workload

The involvement of numerous people is helpful when planning large family gatherings. It gives more participants a stake in its success. By taking a lot of the responsibility off your shoulders, they share the satisfaction of seeing the event happen.

Start by making a list of the committees you think will be required. Those might include invitations/publicity, site arrangements, transportation, food, entertainment and cleanup. Perhaps even a committee to help organize committees.

The fun part is matching the abilities and interests of your relatives with the functions of the committees.

• Do you have writers and artists in your family? Put them to work creating invitations...or maybe a design for your family gathering T-shirt.

• Will meals need to be cooked? Sign up your family's culinary wizards. (A little flattery can work wonders!) See Let's Eat.

• Have a relative who is an accountant? Make that person head of the Finances Committee.

• Need tents, tables and chairs hauled and set up? Your brother-in-law and his athletic teenage sons may be just the ticket.

• Of course, volunteers are always needed for the Cleanup Committee.