Make your reunion an Olympic spectacle

By Stacy Downs
Knight Ridder News Service

Gannett News Service THE CHECKLIST At least a month before: Send invitations. Two weeks before: Get T-shirts. Round up supplies for games. The day before: Prepare food. Clean home and yard. The big day: Set out equipment. Deck the house in Olympic black, blue, green, red, white and yellow. Arrange refreshments and food. Light torches.

The timing is just right for an Olympic-inspired festival in your back yard — the 2004 Games kickoff in Athens in August. Borrow the international pageantry of the event to create an unforgettable gathering.

As the starting point for your planning, look to the Olympic flag: Black, blue, green, red and yellow rings are joined on a white background. The bold colors can be used for invitations and decorations. And T-shirts, of course — you can't have a proper family reunion without them.

Send invitations at least a month before the reunion, earlier if guests are out-of-towners. Ask them to mail or e-mail copies of photographs and interesting facts about each member. This will help you compile an Olympic-style "International (insert family name) Guidebook" to give guests when they arrive.

To save time and money creating the keepsakes, make copies to insert into binders with plastic sleeves (about $2 at office-supply stores), and include lots of recipes.

Speaking of food, ask your guests to bring at least one of their favorite dishes to the reunion. Everyone will get to try new food, which means less work for you in the kitchen.

Remind guests to dress casually, because they'll be outdoors to play in a friendly Olympic-like competition.

The cost of T-shirts can be included in the invitations. T-shirts cost about $5 at discount stores before personalization. You can design logos on your computer and use iron-on transfer paper to print the shirts. A 10-sheet packet costs about $15 at hobby stores, and you can get as many as 10 designs per sheet. Professionally printed T-shirts can cost as much as $10 each.

Decorate globally. All Nations Flag Co. (www.anfco.com) sells small flags from more than 200 countries and principalities for $2.75 each. "People stick them into containers and vases for parties," says owner Greg Wald.

Collette Keenan, co-owner of Beco Flowers in Kansas City, Mo., says it would be fun to have "family trees" as table centerpieces. Find inexpensive ficus trees at home-improvement stores and give them an Olympic twist.

"You could buy gold vellum and make cutouts like Olympic medals," Keenan says. "You can put the family name and photographs on them and hang them as ornaments from the trees. Then send them home with people."

On the day of the reunion, get activities going right away to break the ice. Set up team competition of at least four nonstrenuous, nonembarrassing events. Good ones include shuffleboard, horseshoes, video games, darts and foosball.

To form teams, draw numbers from a hat. Have people choose again if they're on the same team as an immediate family member. Also, try to make sure each team is multigenerational. Remember to have dramatic Olympic music on the boombox as events are under way. The "Chariots of Fire" theme song is always a favorite.

Winners get "gold medals," which you can make or buy from a novelty store. Remember to give everyone else ribbons or candy. Everyone deserves—and loves—a prize. If two teams get the same score, hold a tie-breaking event. Create a panel of judges to hold up signs with scores.

As the sky grows dark, light tiki torches to commemorate the Olympic-like celebration.