Surviving the In-Laws at a Family Reunion
Remember the man or woman at your last reunion who sat quietly in the corner, eyes glazed or buried in a book a bit too often? Is this person you?
Family reunions are great events, ways to touch base with old family members, visit with cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. And if it's your family, most likely people will be stealing your attention as you will be with them.
For spouses, day after day of socializing with in-laws, while not necessarily boring, can get old. Here are some helpful tips to keep the doldrums away, make yourself look like a bit of a star, and survive your mate's family reunion.
Have a spouse who might benefit from these tips? Pass them along. After all, if you both enjoy yourselves fully, the whole trip looks brighter.
- More is better - The more people at the reunion, the more likely you are to find someone with tastes and interests similar to yours.
- Cook a meal - This makes you the star for an evening and gets you out of doing the dishes.
- Develop carnival skills - Find a way to win kids a cool gift at an arcade (or similar location) and you'll be the talk of the reunion.
- Wine and song - Bring a set of CDs or an iPod programmed with tunes you know the whole group will love. Alcohol, groups and music make the time fly by.