Class Reunions
Class reunions provide great opportunities for old friends to become reacquainted and new friendships to be born. They allow classmates the chance to reminiscence on those golden moments from their youth. Whether it's the first gathering at your five year class reunion, or if it's your twenty-five year class reunion, we'll provide the right mix of music your generation has come to love. We'll play the music at an appropriate sound level so dancing is encouraged, yet doesn't interfere with classmate's conversations. If your classmates are more active and want to participate in dancing, games and contests, we'll be glad to help facilitate the energy and excitement. If your classmates are more content to sit back, listen to music and reminisce with old friends, and not dance or participate as much, that's fine too. Our disc jockeys are trained to read the crowd so we can provide you with the show that's right for your group.
Over the years, we have provided disc jockey entertainment for well over a hundred class reunions throughout New England. Our experience in class reunions will translate into a memorable time for you and your classmates. Planning a reunion is an involved task. It takes a great deal of time to locate all your old classmates who have scattered across the globe. Once everyone is assembled though, the hard work pays off. It is fun to reminisce about the old days and catch-up with one another. We have assembled the following tips to help in the planning of your class reunion.
Decorating for the class reunion doesn't need to be too involved. Remember that everyone is back to see each other, not some decorations. Have old pictures from the yearbook blown up to poster size. Mount them on cardboard or foam core and place them around the room. Many copy stores can blow-up black & white and color photos to 11"x17". Take old pictures (senior pictures from the yearbook work well) and photo copy them. Laminate them and use them for placemats. Decorate the room similar to the decorations used at the Senior Prom. Although decorating for the prom probably took a lot of time and energy, for the reunion, scale it down. If your theme was Stairway to Heaven, rent a set of stairs, cover them in white, and place snow batting or clouds at the base. Post a large sign with the theme "Stairway to Heaven". Decorate the tables with products from the past. If it is your 20th reunion, select items popular when you were in school. Buttons from political elections, magazines, books, records, you name it, it will get people talking of the good old days.
If your class voted on each other during the senior year, review the votes and see how everyone faired. Look at Most Likely to Succeed, Most likely to have 20 Kids, etc. If you sense this would hurt someone's feelings, leave certain votes out. The goal is to have fun, not to make someone feel self-conscious. Make charts of the places people have lived since school, the jobs they have held, or the number of children they have.
Look up old teachers and find out what they are doing. Have classmates guess what the teachers are doing now. How many years did they teach? How old are they now? Use different colored name tags for class members and spouses/guests to make it easy to tell who is who. For the spouses/guests, you might consider having their name on the name tag, along with "spouse of ________" or "guest of ____________" (fill in the blank with your classmate's name). Have extra "blank" name tags printed so you can use an indelible marker to write in the names of last-minute arrivals. As we get older, it gets hard to see small print. Make sure the names (especially the first name) on your name tags are big enough to be seen from a distance. Many name tags have the first name printed much larger than the last name. Use name tags with magnetic fasteners instead of safety pin fasteners or clip fastener. Put copies of senior pictures on the name tags.
Most reunions have someone show up after the meal is served, expecting to get in for free. On your registration form, make it clear that classmates are welcome to join you after the meal, but they will need to pay their share of the reunion costs. Determine that amount by subtracting most of the price of the meal from the normal ticket price. Make it clear in all your contacts with your classmates that there is a date that you will be ordering souvenirs, and that the budget does not allow any/many spare souvenirs. Spares will be first come, first serve to latecomers. They are welcome to pay late (and late fee), even at the door, but they may receive less goodies.
People interested in complaining, or offering constructive criticism after the reunion should first fill out an "I volunteer to help with the next reunion" form. Give people an opportunity to register (and pay) early, with a reduction in the registration price as an incentive. People who register during the "regular" registration period pay the "regular" fee, and people who register after the registration deadline get to pay a higher fee.
Several different sources estimate that from 10% to 25% of a class will attend a typical reunion, and many of those will wait until the very last minute to sign up. This last minute sign-up may cause problems with your banquet hall or caterer. One strategy is to increase everyone's fee by a small amount and then use the additional money to order several extra dinners when you submit your final count. Then if several people show up at the last minute, it is no problem to add them. You may want to charge an added premium for the last minute registration.
Make the actual registration process as simple and quick as possible. If your registration process includes an "about you" questionnaire, many people may set it aside until "later" instead of just writing a check and registering. If you're going to ask your classmates for additional information (like biographical information), consider doing a completely separate mailing so that if your biographical questionnaire gets set aside until "later," you've still got their name, address, phone number, the names of the people who will be attending, and their check.
When choosing the music for your reception, it is a good idea to include several songs from your high school era.