There is no time like the present to start new, or celebrate long-standing family traditions. From cooking to storytelling, traditions come in many forms yet hold tremendous personal significance. Smucker’s® offers a few simple ways to build new, lasting memories with your loved ones:

• Schedule a family baking day: Help ensure that your tried and true family recipes will continue on for many generations. Invite loved ones to meet at a central place and each bring a favorite recipe with all of the ingredients and cook together. Best of all, everyone goes home with a goodie bag of the baked treats!
• Build an online ‘fam site’: Get everyone involved in building and contributing to a family web page or blog that highlights recent get-togethers, news, photos and favorite recipes. The site provides a way to connect with and keep long-distance relatives up-to-date and involved year-round.
• Host annual reunions: Gather close and distant family members for an enjoyable day of reminiscing, sharing photos, cooking and eating together. Use this time to gather and swap favorite family recipes and stories. Take a look at Smucker’s tips for planning and hosting a family reunion.
• Create themed family meal nights: Identify one night each week to transport the family to another part of the world – without having to leave the dining room. From France to Italy to Greece to Thailand, there are countless meal options waiting to be explored. Help set the mood by playing authentic music, hanging decorations, and learning some foreign phrases. Bon appétit!
• Declare a monthly ‘family day’: Set aside the first Saturday or Sunday of every month to spend time together. Whether it is a low-key day at home, or taking a trip to the local zoo, ‘family day’ lets everyone unwind and create lasting memories.
• Make movie magic: Hold monthly movie nights for friends and family and catch up on the latest blockbusters or old classics. Pull together a delicious meal, ice cream sundaes or movie snacks, and schedule intermissions to discuss the movie.
• Initiate mealtime conversations: Ask each family member or guest to write down five questions and place them all into one bowl or hat. Everyone can take turns asking and answering questions like What makes a family? or Where is your favorite place? Log onto www.poweroffamilymeals.com for a list of conversation starters and let the fun begin!

Family Reunion Tips

Whether you’re preparing for a large reunion for family members around the world, or an intimate gathering for those nearby, follow these helpful tips to ensure your next gathering creates memories that last a lifetime:

• Form a planning committee: Taking on an entire reunion is a big task for one person. Reach out to a few relatives to form a planning committee and assign tasks.
• Put together an invitation and address list: Determine whether you want a small gathering or to include distant relatives. Appoint one person from each family branch to assemble contact information.
• Gauge interest and availability: Consult with a few relatives and get feedback on dates, locations and possible reunion theme. Keep in mind travel distance and consider extending the reunion festivities to span a few days. If relatives from around the world will be included, plans should be made months or even years in advance.
• Create a budget: Determine how much money is needed for food, travel, entertainment and if other family members will share the cost.
• Declare a monthly ‘family day’: Set aside the first Saturday or Sunday of every month to spend time together. Whether it is a low-key day at home, or taking a trip to the local zoo, ‘family day’ lets everyone unwind and create lasting memories.
• Find a location: Is there a place with special significance to the family or is a family member willing to open up their home?
• Pick a theme: Consider jazzing up the day with a theme. Think Hawaiian shirts and leis, or cowboy boots and line dances. Themes could also be built around special memories or favorite family photos.
• Plan the menu: Gather favorite family recipes and ask guests to bring those dishes. Plus, cooking or baking together during the reunion is a great way for everyone to get to know each other.
• Declare a signature dish: Choose one family favorite recipe as the ‘official reunion dish,’ and pass out recipe cards as mementos. Select a new dish each year to help build a family recipe collection.
• Organize activities: Plan activities that will allow distant family members to get acquainted.
• Arrange for seating and rainy day accommodations: If you’re hosting the reunion at a family member’s home, consider chair and table rentals, as well as a tent for outdoor activities. Also consider needs for relatives in wheelchairs or with other requirements.
• Capture the day: Identify one or two family members to serve as reunion photographers. Post the photos and videos to a photo sharing website, or create a digital scrapbook for family members to download and print.