By Justin Lavelle—
Class reunions can be a blast. It’s the perfect time to reconnect with old friends and catch up on what has happened since the last time you saw each other. If you’re the team that is hosting the event, you may feel a bit overwhelmed with where to start. We have gathered some ideas to help get the ball rolling so you have a successful event and if you’re planning on attending, we have some tips on how to make the most of your reunion.
- Finding classmates–One of the biggest tasks in organizing a reunion is locating and inviting former classmates. The further away you are from your graduation date, the more challenging it can be. Sites like PeopleLooker, are an excellent resource for locating lost classmates., making it simple to locate addresses, emails, phone numbers and social media profiles to extend invitations. Next, create a website for people to register and social media pages to promote the reunion and start creating buzz. Post pictures to create nostalgia surrounding the time you graduated. Encourage people to reach out and invite other former classmates they are in touch with to attend.
- Name tags not optional—Consider using photos from the senior yearbook on each attendee’s name tag and add maiden names. People’s looks change over time so this can be a great way for people to make a faster reconnection. As they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words. Create a video presentation with memorable events from your high school years, this might also include news events that occurred during your high school decade. This will get people talking and reminiscing about old times and the fun they had together. Providing ice breakers will help the group not limit themselves to their high school clicks.
- High School identities–Don’t show up with preconceived ideas about classmates who will be attending. While reminiscing about high school nick names and personalities can make for fun conversation, keep in mind that everyone has gone on with life since then. Travels, family, careers all drive personal growth and help people become multi dimensional. Get to know the other dimensions that you didn’t know in high school. Be open minded and listen to people’s stories. Break out of your regular click and make the rounds. Say hello to everyone, especially classmates you didn’t know well in school. You never know who you will end up having something in common with. Time changes us and people aren’t necessarily who they were in high school.
- Breaking the ice–Of course, there will be some classmates you may still be in touch with, but there will also be many that you have not spoken to in 10 years or more. It can be intimidating to start a conversation with someone who feels like a virtual stranger, but it’s really not that tough. Easy icebreaking topics include talking about family/kids, career, hobbies, sports, where they live, etc. If you don’t want to make assumptions, ask a very general question such as “what have you been up to since the last reunion or since we were last in touch” or talking about a favorite school memory. Helpful prep might include perusing some of your classmates social media accounts before the reunion to get a glimpse of what their life looks like now. Take a genuine interest and you’ll be surprised at how quickly a conversation will come to life!
- Don’t over indulge in alcohol–Heavy drinking on such occasions is ill-advised and can make your old classmates uncomfortable. Keep your wits about you so you can engage in positive conversations with old friends. Who knows, you just might make valuable new connections.
- Stay connected after the reunion–Once everyone returns to the business of their personal lives after the reunion, it could be a challenge to stay in touch with others. Immediately after the reunion, make sure to connect with the classmates you spent time with at the event on social media. Also, post any fun images you took on the group page and tag your classmates so you can stay connected. Make sure to post fun messages and memories on your classmates’ social media pages for their birthdays and other celebrations. Reach out to your old friends to set up Skype and FaceTime chats to keep your friendships kindled. Also try checking the reunion page here and there each year for follow-up reunions and always plan to attend with your old friends to maintain your ties.
Reunions can rekindle old friendships and open the doors to new ones. You never know who will show up and how their story will have changed since the last time you encountered each other. It’s always good to go back to our roots and keep those connections alive. Websites like PeopleLooker make finding lost friendships possible, so if you don’t make it your next reunion, you can still reconnect with childhood friends.
Justin Lavelle is the Chief Communications Officer at PeopleLooker. PeopleLooker is the easy way to search for people. It gives you fast, affordable, and easy access to public records. Find out ages, marital status, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, criminal records, and so much more! All the records you need in one simple report.
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