Family Reunion Registration Form: What to Ask
A family reunion registration form should ask who is coming from each household, any allergies, which days they will be there, and their meal and T-shirt choices, and it should take payment per person in the same step. Use ticket types when you sell extras like shirts and meals; a plain RSVP with a per-person fee is enough when one adult price and one kids' price cover everything.
Below are the exact questions, a worked budget for 60 relatives, and dates counted back from a July reunion.
What should a family reunion registration form ask?
Ask only what changes a food order, a shirt order, a seat count or how you reach someone. Everything else can go on the event page. The name and email come with every reply; these are the questions to add.
| Ask | Answer type | Why you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Allergies or foods to avoid, for anyone in your party | Short answer | The caterer's list |
| Name of each person in your party | Guest names | Name tags, and a ticket in each name |
| Which branch of the family are you from? | Multiple choice | Team games and mixing up tables |
| Which days will you be there? | Checkboxes | Headcount for each day |
| Your mailing address | Mailing address | The family directory and next year's save the date |
Every plan includes 1 custom question, so on a free event ask about allergies. More questions, and Guest names, need a paid event, from $8 one time. Volunteers don't belong on this form: a free sign-up sheet on the same event handles who brings games, who runs the grill and who needs a ride, and each person gets a confirmation and a day-before reminder.
Do you need tickets, or is an RSVP with a fee enough?
A plain RSVP with a per-person fee is enough when there is one adult price and one kids' price, with nothing else to choose. It suits a one-day picnic where everyone eats the same meal. You need Tickets as soon as you sell a shirt, an optional meal or a third price.
| RSVP with a per-person fee | Tickets | |
|---|---|---|
| Prices | One adult rate and one child rate | Any number of ticket types, with stock and sale dates |
| Shirts and meals | Not for sale, though you can ask a question | Paid extras, each with its own stock |
| How relatives pay | Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or Venmo, PayPal, Cash App or Zelle on a paid event | Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay |
| Fee on a family of four paying $110 | $7.10 by card, as one payment; $0 by app, paid to you directly | $8.60, as 6% + 50¢ on each of four tickets |
| Plan limit | 20 RSVPs on a free event | Paid tickets don't count; free tickets do |
The family of four is two adults at $35 and two kids at $20. By card, one payment of $110 costs $6.60 + $0.50 = $7.10. As tickets, two adults at $2.60 and two kids at $1.70 come to $8.60. If your treasurer is happy to take Venmo, see how to collect payments with RSVPs. With more than 20 households, an RSVP needs a paid plan anyway, while paid tickets don't count against the limit.
How do you charge per person with a kids' price?
Make each age group its own ticket type, and make the youngest free. For this reunion, the types are Adult at $35, Child 6–12 at $20, and Under 6 at $0. Each person gets their own QR ticket, and each household shows as one order on your list.
- Raise "most per order." It starts at 10 tickets, and a grandparent paying for a whole branch may need more. An order can hold up to 50 items.
- Know that free tickets count. Paid tickets don't use your plan's RSVP limit, but free ones do, and a free event allows 20.
- Keep a hardship option. A 100%-off promo code, limited to one order, lets you cover a relative quietly. It applies to every ticket in that order, not to extras.
How should you sell meals and T-shirts?
Sell each one as a paid extra, and give every shirt size its own extra. An extra has one price and one stock count, with no way to ask for a size inside it, so separate rows are what tell you how many of each to print. Here the list is Adult S, M, L, XL and 2XL, Kid S, M and L, and a Sunday brunch. With the three ticket types, that's 12 of the 20 types an event can have.
- Include the main meal in the ticket. An extra always costs money, so an included meal belongs in the ticket price. Use extras for what only some relatives want.
- End sales on a date. Set the shirt extras to stop selling when the printer needs your order.
- Warn people to order together. An extra is bought with a ticket, and an order can't be only extras. Someone who forgets a shirt can't come back for it alone, so say that near the top of the page.
What does a family reunion budget look like?
Add up the shared costs, divide them by the people who eat, and set extras just above what they cost you. This example has 60 people: 40 adults, 14 children aged 6 to 12 and 6 under 6, with a catered Saturday picnic. The under-6 group doesn't get a catered plate.
| Cost | Working | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Park pavilion | Flat | $350 |
| Catering, adults | 40 × $20 | $800 |
| Catering, children | 14 × $12 | $168 |
| Games, plates, ice | Flat | $250 |
| T-shirts | 35 × $12 | $420 |
| Sunday brunch | 30 × $10 | $300 |
| Total | $2,288 |
Now the sale, with the platform and card processing fee of 6% + 50¢ on each paid item:
| Item | Price | Fee each | Buyer pays | Sold | Brings in | Total fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | $35 | $2.60 | $37.60 | 40 | $1,400 | $104.00 |
| Child 6–12 | $20 | $1.70 | $21.70 | 14 | $280 | $23.80 |
| Under 6 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 6 | $0 | $0 |
| T-shirt | $14 | $1.34 | $15.34 | 35 | $490 | $46.90 |
| Sunday brunch | $12 | $1.22 | $13.22 | 30 | $360 | $36.60 |
| Total | $2,530 | $211.30 |
If buyers pay the fee, you collect $2,530 and have $242 left after $2,288 in costs. If the reunion covers the fee, you have $2,530 − $211.30 − $2,288 = $30.70 left, which is too thin for one late cancellation. So let buyers pay it, or raise the adult price by a few dollars before you open. A household of two adults, two children and four shirts pays $75.20 + $43.40 + $61.36 = $179.96, and sees the full price with the fee in it before paying.
A cushion of $242 is about 10% of costs, which is a sensible minimum as a rule of thumb. Decide now where any leftover goes, such as next year's deposit, and say so on the page.
When should family reunion registration open and close?
Open registration about 16 weeks ahead and close it two weeks ahead, with shirts closing earlier. Here are dates counted back from a reunion on Saturday, July 17, 2027. Ask your own printer and caterer for their real deadlines, and move these to match.
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| November 2026 | Run a free date poll with two to four weekends, then book the pavilion |
| January 16, 2027 | Website live, with the schedule and hotels; relatives can plan travel |
| March 27 | Tickets open, 16 weeks out. Before this, the page offers "Notify me when tickets open" |
| June 12 | Shirt extras stop selling, 5 weeks out |
| July 3 | All sales end, 2 weeks out; final count to the caterer |
| July 17 | Scan tickets at the pavilion with the free door scanner on a phone |
Plan the cash too. If this is your first ticketed event, the money pays out 3 days after it, so a pavilion deposit and the caterer's bill must come from someone's pocket first. RSVP Fees by card wait the same way. A fee paid by Venmo or Zelle goes straight to the treasurer, which is one good reason to choose the plain RSVP. You can read more about how to sell tickets, tables and extras from your event page.
Does a family reunion need a website?
Yes if people are traveling or staying more than a day, and no for a single afternoon at a local park. Relatives flying in need the schedule, hotels and what to bring in one place, and every RSVPlinks event can become a website at no charge, with the form as its last section. Free event website templates give you a start.
- Schedule: Friday welcome, Saturday picnic, Sunday brunch, each with a time and place.
- Where to stay: the hotel, the group rate and the date it ends.
- What to wear: for example, "Shirts for the group photo at 2:00 on Saturday."
- Questions: parking, shade, strollers, and who to call on the day.
- Photos: 6 of your own on a free event, or 40 on a paid one.
After the event, the site becomes a thank-you page with the photos first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a family reunion cost per person?
Divide your shared costs by the people eating, then add a cushion of about 10% as a rule of thumb. In this example, $1,568 of shared costs across 54 people who eat averages about $29, which becomes $35 for adults and $20 for children. Your figure depends mostly on whether you cater and what the venue costs.
Should kids pay for a family reunion?
A common approach is to charge children less, or nothing when they're very young, based on what they eat. Here children 6 to 12 pay $20, which is more than their $12 plate because it shares the pavilion and game costs. Children under 6 are free, and don't get a catered plate.
Can relatives pay by Venmo or check?
Venmo works with a plain RSVP and a per-person fee on a paid event, paid to you directly with no cut. Tickets take only card, Apple Pay and Google Pay. If an older relative mails a check, have the treasurer send a 100%-off promo code for that household's tickets.
What if someone registers and can't come?
That follows the refund policy you chose, which buyers see before paying. A refund returns everything but the fee, which is never refunded, and puts the tickets back on sale. Once the caterer has your final count, choose a date after which you stop refunding, and state it on the page.
How do I create a family reunion registration form?
Create an event, set How guests respond to Tickets before anyone replies, then add your ticket types and extras and connect a free Stripe account. Or keep RSVP and turn on a per-person fee if one price fits. Create your reunion page and share the link with each household.