"It's so nice to see all the folks you love together,
Sitting and talking about, all the things that's been going down,
It's been a long, long time, since we had the chance to get together,
Nobody knows, the next time we see each other, may be years, and years from now." - The O'Jays: A Family Reunion

With it being summer time, I have been hearing a lot about family reunions. The makeup of our families can be complex, frustrating, happy, wise, confusing, bonding, estranged, loving, and just out right wrong! However, it seems that no matter the troubles that our families go through, there is a speck of time that we come together to mingle, and travel down memory lane. Many of our family reunions are almost mirror images of each other: dancing, music, home cooked food, family members you can hardly remember or just simply don't know, t-shirts with the families last names on it, hotel parties, group outings, and so forth. Being of Nubian heritage especially makes those moments of family time special...our elders have gone through a lot, and when you see Great Grand mama and Grandpa sitting their with blue rings around their eyes and little babes wobbling around them, it just does something for the soul when it's all done right, so I would like to dedicate this article to the Family Reunions of the Nubian Family.

Hope you enjoy this little playlist that is dedicated to The Family Reunion!

Creative Twists to Your Family Reunions: Most of our reunions are filled with outings or get togethers at the local park, shopping, and sight seeing, yet how many times have you left a family reunion and felt empty? How many of us have had family reunions where it would appear that everyone is having a good time, yet when it is time to depart, you feel like you wish you knew more? Well, this is only a few, but here are some creative ideas to do at your next family reunion that takes the families talents and interests to the next level:

Workshops: Learn Something From The Wise: Most of our families are filled with talented people, especially our grandmothers and mothers and aunts an uncles who can do some serious cooking and baking, or how about those in the family who truly have their head on straight and can offer some sound financial/budgeting advice, or maybe you have those who are known as the mentors, wise elders, religious leaders, and so on in the family. Many times we come together . But what exactly do we leave with?

So, think about putting together mini workshops that are taught by family members. For example, if Grandma is known for her spectacular cakes, then have her teach a baking class to the young girls or other women in the family, or if Uncle so and so is into health, then have him teach a mini class on health or holistics. If Auntie is great at arts & Crafts, let her teach a jewelry making class. If your Cousin is an accountant or financial planner, have her give a mini class on budgeting. If Great Grandma has a green thumb, let her give a mini class on gardening by making little container gardens that you can take with you. If someone is great at sewing, have her give a sewing class where you make a simple garment like a skirt or headband, or tote, or pillow. I think you get the idea. Plan it all out and have the family members sign up for the classes ahead of time just as you would with a real workshop and have them bring or pay for the materials if needed.

Family Packs: This one is sort of an extension or an alternative to the above. This is where instead of having the workshops you put together a family gift bag that is filled with tips, quotes, business cards from those who own their own business, recipes from family members(or even a little mini cookbook), and lots of other family memorabilia like t-shirts, calendars, pictures, etc. You can put all of your items in one of those plastic gift favor bags or even go all out and have your family name/design printed on the bags. This is an awesome thing to be able to leave the reunion with!

Giving Is Essential: Try to raise money from your family members and make a donation to a charity that may have caused the death of a recently deceased family member, like cancer, or diabetes.

Family Interviews: have someone make up a questionnaire with fun questions like: favorite recipe/food, most memorable moment, life tips, favorite color, favorite quote, and so on. Basically you will interview as many family members as you can and then you will collect them all by a certain date and put them all together in one book that you can title and get spiral binded at Kinkos. You can then sell them at your reunion for a minimal cost or include it in the cost of the reunion itself. You could also include these in the family gift bags that are mentioned above.

Extended Family Reunions: For When You Just Don't Fit In: LOL yall, but we all know that sometimes we just don't fit in with our immediate family members. Especially for those of us that live a natural bohemian, cultural/eclectic/pagan/ritualistic/vegan/I bury my placenta/ and no I don't eat meat type of person. It can be a real challenge to the nervous system to attend the traditional family reunions. So I suggest you throw a “Friend Reunion”. Basically you throw a party with your friends in which you have something in common with. You can still do the same events, only you can have more familiar events like sisters giving the little girls henna, bellydancing, vegan, live, and vegetarian dishes, vegan baking classes, etc. Just throw a mini celebration day, weekend, or heck if you can a week, with your friends, and be creative with it!

Like I said, these are just a few ideas, but it is all meant to jump start the act of thinking out of the box when it comes to our family reunions. The dancing, and food is fun, but is is not enough, and really can be a waste of precious time. It is essential that we learn something when so many of our ancestors are in one place & it's essential to learn and ask questions while they are around; and most importantly to write it all down and live by the wisdom that you collect.

We Are Family! I've Got All My YMIB Sisters & Me!