Family reunion bingo

Family reunion bingo tips

• Pair each young child with an older cousin or a grandparent and give them one card to share. The child spots the hot dog, the kite and the bubble wand; the older partner reads the labels. Relatives who rarely talk end up spending the afternoon together.
• Make the old photo album and the family tree poster count only when a player finds a relative in them and says the name out loud. Kids learn who great-aunt Ruth is, and the older relatives get to tell the story behind the picture.
• For grandma's recipe card, ask grandma to set the card next to the dish on the buffet. Players mark the square once they find it and ask her one question about the recipe, a good excuse to get it written down for the next generation.
• Schedule the three-legged race and the sack race instead of waiting for them to happen. Post a start time on the cooler, pair racers by height, and tie legs with a soft scarf or fabric strip. Watching counts as much as running, so grandparents can mark the square from a lawn chair.
• Leave the group photo for last and use it as the finish line. Once everyone is lined up, the person with the most marked squares gets first pick of the cherry pie or the last ice cream cone.

Best for

Ages

3 to 90, with little kids paired with an older reader

Group size

8 to 60 relatives, playing solo or in mixed-age pairs

Duration

Two to three hours, spread across the whole picnic