Family Reunion Bingo

We had a reunion for my mother’s family last weekend - an all-weekend camp for some, a Saturday picnic for most. Either way, it was great, in spite of the 90-degree weather, or maybe because of it because we had so much fun attacking each other with water balloons and squirt guns.

Forty-four people represented three generations. We enjoyed tons of awesome homemade potluck food including an incredibly moist banana birthday cake, a fish pond and piñata for the kids, and lots of relaxation under giant trees at Soldiers and Sailors Park in Markesan,Wisconsin on the shore of Little Green Lake.

I love to see my family. After a reunion, I always feel like I didn’t talk enough to folks. Last year, my cousin suggested including a mixer game, so I created a family bingo “card” modeled on an ice breaker I remembered enjoying at a party long ago.

I wrote some generic clues (i.e. “Do you love the color red?” “Are you wearing colorful undies?” “Can you roll your tongue?”) and loaded the game with as many fun facts as I could think up about the rellies who had said they were coming to the gathering.

For instance, I knew my Uncle Jerry was turning 84 on the day of the picnic. There was a clue. I knew my niece Danielle was born and raised in Florida. There was another one. Lots of us like to dance, go fishing, and ride motorcycles. Quite a few served in the armed forces. And um, many Hoerigs have a last name starting with “H.” I figured everyone “fit” at least one clue.

I bought some little golf pencils and printed the game on 8 ½ x 11 inch index stock. Here’s how the cards looked:

HOERIG FAMILY BINGO 2012

 See if you can fill in every block in the Bingo grid. Walk around among family members and ask the questions in the blocks. When you find people who say “yes” to the questions, ask them to fill their names in the appropriate blocks & have them add one more fun fact about themselves. Challenge: Try to have a different person fill in every block. The prize is getting to know each other better! Have fun!

Do you play an instrument? Name Fun fact	Are you 84 today? Name Fun fact	Were you born & raised in Florida? Name Fun fact	Do you ride a motorcycle? Name Fun fact	Do you sing in a choir? Name Fun fact
Do you like tea but not coffee? Name Fun fact	Do you love the color red? Name Fun fact	Are you wearing colorful undies? Name Fun fact	Do you like to go fishing? Name Fun fact	Do you like to dance? Name Fun fact
Do you have a last name beginning with the letter “H”? Name Fun fact	Do you have more than 4 grandchildren? Name Fun fact	Were you or are you in the armed forces? Name Fun fact	Are you the parent of the youngest child here? Name Fun fact	Have you flown large remote-controlled model airplanes? Name Fun fact
Have you lived in another country? Name Fun Fact	Do you fight to win board games? Name Fun fact	Do you know how to square dance? Name Fun fact	Can you roll your tongue? Name Fun fact	Can you NOT roll your tongue? Name Fun fact

The extra section at the bottom of the grid came from the fact that I am a techno-novice & didn’t know how to use a grid correctly. (I was going to draw my own grid by hand until my husband showed me the grid feature under “Insert” in Word… Thanks, Mikey.)

Some folks participated in the family bingo; some didn’t – there was no pressure to join in. I picked up the cards at the end of the reunion, planning to use them for scratch paper. That’s when I noticed what NEW fun facts had been revealed (Several people shared different tidbits about themselves for different questioners). It's clear that tongues were firmly in cheeks for some of the fun facts.

I couldn’t read the handwriting for a few of the “reveals,” but here are some that were mostly legible (I’m not exposing any family skeletons here; but you’ll get an idea about what you might discover about your own family):

      -          Uncle Jerry likes fishing and golfing, and grew up on a farm.

-          Linda loves her new grandbaby Sammy (big surprise), dances once a week, and just got a condo.

-          Ken likes ping pong and rides a Triumph 1200 – “pure power.”

-          Brian S. has a motorized cooler and likes kazoos.

-          Anna is engaged and is an awesome bartender.

-        Claude loves golf and has a grandfather mandolin (not sure about that – handwriting hard to read).

-        Aunt Marlyce had eye surgery so no longer needs glasses, and she likes to dance.

-         Jeff plays drums in a band and at church, and has an old motorcycle.

-         Danielle likes chocolate and peanut butter, and she sunburns easily.

-         Greg rides 57 M/Cs (some kind of motorcycle I think).

-         Hayley was wearing colorful undies – WITH hearts. She loves colorful undies, and is closing on a house soon.

-         Mike H. sells Herbalife.

-        Jerry A. has more than four grandchildren in this state, and he loved being in the Armed Forces.

-         Debbie sings in a choir and a quartet at St. James church. She likes biking and alternative medicine.

-          Marc S. has gone fishing in four different countries, and he plays softball.

-          Brian is a good cook, and he likes to go biking.

-          Georgia likes to bike to work.

-          Charlie lives close to Hayley’s new house, and he was a varsity fencer.

-          Jenny is a “couponer,” and she has a six-month-old daughter.

-          Margie has more than four grandchildren in her home town.

-          Andy is a stay-at-home dad.

-          Patti says that in Dutch, “Hoerig” means “slutty.”

-          Gail (that’s me!) likes to go snorkeling.

-          Mike S., who likes tea but not coffee, has great taste.

I highly recommend Family Bingo for any family reunion. We’re sure to play the game again next year. Before then, I’m hoping my family members will whisper some little-known personal fun facts into my ear so I can once again front-load the Bingo card with pertinent clues.

Anna & David, third cousins (I think) who were born six days apart in June and weighed about the same at birth. They were one month old (David) and one month, six days old (Anna) at the reunion (I'll try to figure out how to rotate the picture!).

Third cousins enjoy an old-fashioned park ride - metal! fast!

Uncle Jerry, our patriarch, with a random bunch of first and second cousins

Happy 84th, Uncle Jerry! We love you.

 Gail Grenier is the author of Calling All Horses, Dog Woman, Don't Worry Baby, and Dessert First, all available on Amazon.com.