High School Reunion - Allen,TX

Adult goody bags........I've heard it all
Goody bags are full of junk, my kids throw theirs away
Do as others suggested, spend it on a photographer or something that won't get thrown away.

Don't waste money on gifts for attendees. Put the money towards the reunion party. No welcome bags, no gifts... no need. They're purely a waste of the money that people will be spending on tickets to attend. Put the money towards good food, the bar, good music, a photo booth... you know, the ambiance.

Gifts are really not needed or expected really. Or a welcome bag. Make it easy on yourself.

What I would recommend you do is go over your budget with a fine tooth comb, there are a lot of unexpected costs that will be incurred. Put any "extra" money into a photographer or videotographer. A classmate at ours last year videotaped the 4 separate events, Friday night meet and greet at a pizza place, Saturday morning tour of our high school (a LOT had changed in 40 years), the Saturday BBQ, and the Saturday night concert (some guys we went to school with formed a band many moons ago and perform at various venues.) He did this on his own, editing and all, came up with a DVD he gave for free, just charged a couple of dollars for postage/cost of mailing envelopes. This was the highlight of our reunion (well, along with our old principal being there) because even those who weren't able to attend were able to see old friends, and those of us who were can relive the fun, a GREAT thing to have.

Another thing we did was a reunion t-shirt. 5 of us worked together until it was unanimous and selected a design with our mascot, the color of the shirt (one of our school colors), worked out a price, and took orders. (People paid on Saturday of the reunion.) We also had the foresight to order extra shirts in the most popular sizes, and sold all the extras at the BBQ. The t-shirt is also a great memory of the reunion.

If you haven't set up a Facebook page, "_____________ HS, City, State, Class of 1993" do one now. We found a lot of classmates this way and still stay in touch. Bounce ideas off the members and see what they'd like. The DVD was the overwhelming choice for our class, and maybe you already have someone to do it. Figure cost of mailing envelopes and postage along with hiring someone to do it if needed to figure costs.

For the hotel to give out upon check-in have a list of nearby restaurants, and a phone contact list, we used that extensively. No welcome bag needed.

Have fun :)

How many people are you expecting and what's your budget? I know our reunion tickets just barely covered the cost of the venue, meal and DJ, there wasn't any money for gifts or extras.
Whatever you do don't go shopping until all the money has been turned in and you get your portion allocated to you. We had only about a third of our class buy tickets for ours (ten year) so we had to open it up to other classes just to keep the event afloat.
It was fun of course but REALLY stressful for the people planning it :-(
ETA: rather than gifts/bags I would spend the money on a professional photographer who puts everything online available for viewing and purchase!

I would rather have a professional photographer... not only for a "posed" portrait, but for candids as well.

Can you get ahold of the yearbook and take some of the candid shots and "recreate them" with the same people? You know, EXACT same pose 20 years later?

My personal opinion is that "inexpensive" gifts are cheap gifts and it's typically just stuff I know have to lug home and throw away. If you do photographs and give people a digital CD THAT NIGHT it takes up very little space, is convenient and they can do what they want to with the pictures.

You could also have a photobooth and props (we had one at our wedding and people LOVED it) and give people the picture in a little plastic bookmark frame.

I would not do hotel welcome bags, unless you have items that are "locally" important... that you think people would miss who live out of town (for example I grew up near a peach orchard....everyone LOVED the peach orchard / peach festival etc), so I might have appreciated a couple peaches from that orchard when I checked in to my hotel........
Once again.... if you give them water, it will be warm etc.

You could also look into "shuttles" from the reunion to the hotels. This way people don't have to worry about drinking and driving. They can just have a good time.

What's the budget per person? We had 600+ in my graduating class, my husband had 1000+!
Mugs are ALWAYS O. cheap option if budget is tight. (You can get a cheap import for $1/ea.)
For the bag? Include a schedule if events for the day/weekend, local guidebook for the area (ask your Chamber of Commerce), hotel amenities, schedules, class directory, etc. Oh-another cheap (flat) giveaway item? Mouse pad.
That said, aside from a dinner favor (maybe mug/candy) I've never seen gifts at a reunion. Nice touch to have a takeaway if you have $ in the budget!

I see you are in Allen.. Where is the venue for your reunion?

I'm with the others on forgoing the goodie bag and having a photo booth, etc at the party and a good photographer who will put photos online for everyone to have the option to purchase.

I've used Bill Cody's Productions in Plano for DJ services, etc and he has a lot of options for parties.

For rentals, we use Ducky Bob's at reasonable rates.

Will the venue cater or is that separate?

Just make sure you go over the budget in detail so you know exactly what you have to spend and you don't end up spending out of your pocket, unless you want to.

A.:

What is your budget for these welcome bags and gifts?

For our 20th HS reunion, the costs paid for the food/location/venue, golfing event, pictures, etc.

they had enough money in the budget to get a key chain made that was our High School Mascot/Year we graduated.

I would also ask other people from your high school to help you with everything. If you have a big class (we had over 400), it can be overwhelming. don't try and do it all yourself.

We had our reunion last summer at a local pub. The room was small and crowded. The food was bar food.

You don't mention if the date, time and location are already set.

Reunion favors - maybe get some stuff from the school? Car stickers, pens, t-shirts to raffle.

Gifts for the hotel - don't really see the need. Maybe a nice printed list of food places, eat-in and delivery, with phone #'s and hours.

For my cousin's wedding, each hotel guest got a small bag with a small water, some crackers, a small candy bar, and some mints. They were kept at the check-in desk and marked for the wedding. So that as we checked in, we were given the bags.

I think a gift is totally unnecessary. A welcome bag just seems completely over the top to me. If you must give a gift however, how about a customized candy bar with your school name and year on the wrapper.

A., look how we LOVE helping you on this!

I am not one to highlight my age--I am a Dance Teacher and younger Dance Teachers all want my job! So, I would not use ANYTHING with 1979 written on it! (t shirt, book bag, mug etc.). Others may not want to broadcast their ages either.

Therefore, use the money on giving each grad a free bar drink ticket. I always feel as if I WON when I get a free drink ticket.

Are most of the attendees staying at the same hotel or are they spread out all over town? If they are all in the same hotel, and you want to leave them welcome baskets, you might consider the following: a trip to the dollar store to get some type of container or bag, a local map and info on local dining places, directions to the nearest grocery and drug store. You should include a welcome note from the host committee and a schedule of activities that are planned! Some snacks (peanut butter crackers, nuts, or mints. Are there any alumni with local businesses? Perhaps they would order promotional items to donate like sunscreen or chapstick, bottles of water, folding hand fan, pen or notepad. Are there any hometown favorites that you all loved as kids? That might be another idea too!
I think I would have a Photo Booth in lieu of a take home gift and put together a CD of high school pictures and current photos! That might be fun for some of the folks that were unable to attend. Have fun!

You can make pink shaped heart soaps, add a texas shaped mold soap in blue to place on top of the pink soap. (heart of texas) place on a texas coasters (from Kohls) to use as a (soap dish) and wrap in cellophane with red, white and blue ribbons. I also gave Texas shaped photo holders from Kohls. I gave these small favor gifts to my friends in Calif.

There is this cute shop on etsy bubblesandcompany.etsy.com She does these cute ball key chains she could do them in school colors . cute also her friend does these nail file holders that could be done in school colors . Cute .Check it out
B.