Family Reunion Planner

Who this is for

A family reunion planned on two pages. The event at the top, then each branch of the family with a contact, how many are coming and what they are bringing, the costs with estimate against actual, and the jobs with a name and a tick against each.

Whoever has agreed to organise the gathering — the cousin with the spreadsheet, the aunt who knows everyone's address — for anything from a lunch to a weekend with several branches travelling.

What this helps you track

• Each branch of the family, who speaks for it and whether they have replied
• How many are coming in total, added up from the branches
• What each branch is contributing — a dish, a display, a lift, money
• What the day will cost, estimated and actual, with the difference worked out
• The jobs, who has taken each one and which are done

How to use it

1. Fill in the event and the occasion, the date, the place and times, and who is organising it with a way to reach them on the day.
2. List the branches of the family — by grandparent, by surname, however the family divides itself — with the person you deal with for each.
3. As replies come in, tick replied and write the number coming. The total is worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add the column up.
4. List the costs with an estimate, and fill in the actual as things are paid. The difference and the totals are calculated. Whether costs are shared, and how, is for the family to agree; the contribution column records what was offered.
5. Write the jobs — food, name badges, the family tree display, photographs, the clearing up — and put a name against each. A job without a name is the one that does not happen.
6. Print the sheet for the day, or keep the browser version open and saved in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is this different from the community event plan?

It is organised by branch of the family rather than by role, because that is how a reunion is invited and how it turns up. If you need a running order or a risks table for a large event, the community event plan has those.

What counts as a branch?

Whatever the family uses: the children of one couple, a surname, a country. One line per branch with one contact keeps the replies manageable; individual names can go on a guest list if you want one.

Can it work out what each branch owes?

Not on its own; it totals the costs and the heads. Dividing one by the other, or sharing costs some other way, is a family decision; the contribution column is where to write down what each branch offered or agreed to.

What goes in the jobs table?

Everything somebody has to do before, during and after — booking, food, badges, the display of photographs and charts, the group photograph, the clearing up. Tick each one as it is done.