Good class reunion ideas start long before the evening itself: if you want to find everyone again for your school reunion, you need time, a list and two fellow organisers. On the night, most people mainly want to talk; a place where you can hear each other and one or two icebreaker games are enough. Here you will find how to plan, what goes in the invitation, which games work and what changes after 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.
Planning a class reunion: how to track everyone down
Find two or three people for the organising team, ideally from different groups back then. Together you know more people and more stories.
- The old class list is the starting point: from the leavers' magazine, the class photo or from memory.
- Snowball principle: every person you reach gets two or three names to look for.
- Social networks will turn up many; for the rest, parents who still live locally or the old sports club can help.
- One shared list with name, contact details and reply, so nobody gets contacted twice.
- A messenger group for everyone who has been found. The first old photos usually turn up there before the reunion.
Class reunion invitation: what to include
Send a “save the date” with the date about six months ahead and the proper invitation three months ahead. It should include the date, time and venue, what it costs and how to pay, the reply deadline, whether partners or teachers are invited and who to ask with questions. You can adapt this template and send it to the group or by email:
The right venue for a class reunion
Above all, the venue has to allow conversation. Loud music and long tables where you can only talk to your immediate neighbours slow the evening down. These work well:
- A function room at a pub or restaurant: little work, and everyone orders for themselves. Ask whether there is a minimum spend.
- Clubhouse or community hall: cheaper and more flexible, but you take care of food, drinks and clearing up.
- Your old school: ask the head for a short tour in the afternoon and move on afterwards. Hardly anything brings back as many memories as the old classroom.
- Beer garden in summer: relaxed and cheap, but only with a plan for rain.
Standing tables at the start mix people up; later, everyone wants to sit down. Plan for both.
Class reunion: ideas for the programme and games on the night
The programme should get people talking, not replace the talking. Pick two or three of these ideas:
Name badges with a photo from back then
Every name badge gets the face from the old class photo. That solves the “who were you again?” in seconds and gets people laughing straight away.
People bingo
A bingo card with squares like “still lives locally”, “has lived abroad” or “does something completely different from what they planned”. When you find someone who fits, they sign the square. That way everyone talks to everyone.
Who is this?
Collect childhood and class photos in advance and show them as a slideshow. Everyone guesses who is in the picture; the answer comes with a photo from today.
School days quiz
Which teacher had which catchphrase, where did the school trip go, who was class representative? Play in teams of people who had little to do with each other back then.
Letters to the next reunion
Everyone writes a few lines to themselves: what do I hope for in the next ten years? The organising team keeps the envelopes and hands them out at the next reunion.
A memory book for the whole class
With a Flashbook, every person answers questions on their phone before the reunion and uploads two photos, for example one from back then and one from today. Each gets their own double-page spread, plus a group photo, awards and pages for signatures and messages. The book holds 8 to 42 people, and the minimum order is 10 books. If you start early, you may have the books with you on the night. That is not guaranteed, because the books arrive 5 to 7 working days after the last answers and payments. More on our page about the class reunion memory book.
Class reunion ideas after 10, 20, 30 and 40 years
The longer ago you left school, the more what makes the evening shifts.
After 10 years. Many are still loosely in touch, are in training, at university or in their first job, and have moved away. A relaxed evening in a bar or beer garden fits, and budgets are often tight. A date around the holidays helps, because many people are back with their parents then.
After 20 years. By now, many have families. Ask whether a date during or outside the school holidays suits better, and start a little earlier in the evening. Some classes meet in the afternoon with children and in the evening without.
After 30 years. Some people are hard to find, and the search takes longer. Perhaps someone from the class has died; a short, quiet moment with a photo or a candle gives this space without overshadowing the evening. Now it is especially worth inviting former teachers.
After 40 years. Half a day or a whole day works better than a long night: a tour of the old school, lunch, a walk through town, coffee and cake. Choose a venue without many steps and with quiet corners.
Timetable and costs
With six to nine months' lead time, there is enough time for the search and a good venue.
- Nine months before: form the organising team, start the list, begin the search.
- Six months before: fix the date, book the venue, send the save the date.
- Three months before: send the invitation with costs and deadline, collect photos from back then.
- Four weeks before: send a reminder, give the venue the number of guests, prepare name badges and games.
- Afterwards: share the photos, settle the costs and set a date for the next reunion straight away.
The simplest option is for everyone to pay for what they eat and drink. If there is room hire, decorations or a buffet, collect a fixed amount in advance by bank transfer to one person on the organising team. Agree at the same time what happens if someone cancels at short notice.