Let the two halves of the family find each other.
Booking a reunion in the Swannanoa Valley, with some relatives coming from Asheville and others staying near Black Mountain? Give me the address where everyone is eating. For a drop-in supper, I’d make the magic available as people arrive rather than announce a showtime and discover that the guest of honor is still out buying ice.
Set one table between the places where adults naturally settle, but out of the path to the food. I can invite two cousins to follow the same card, give each a perfectly good reason to disagree, and send them back to dinner with a story. Someone who walks in ten minutes later can join the next round without asking for a recap. There’s no need to move the folks who just found a comfortable chair.
Choose one moment that belongs to everybody.
If the reunion doubles as a milestone birthday, save a hand for the guest of honor after the family picture. Let them choose a card, name a relative to watch my hands, or enjoy the ridiculous business from their seat. Tell me beforehand which of those three invitations they’d welcome. An unexpected birthday cake is a surprise; an unexpected public audition is something else entirely.
For a mixed-age reunion, arrange a separate adults-only room or a later session. Send the adult guest count, when the family photo is planned, and whether the room opens onto another room or a porch. That last detail helps me place the table where people can see without anyone blocking the doorway.