How do you build a family tree for a family reunion? Collect each household’s names, birth years and parents when it RSVPs. At the reunion, interview the elders to fill the gaps and let everyone add to a large wall chart, color-coded by branch. Then put the tree online so relatives keep adding to it between reunions.
A reunion puts the people who know the family’s history in the same room as the people who want to learn it. That makes it the best time to build a family tree, and the worst time to start from a blank page. Gather the names in advance, and the weekend can go to the stories and corrections.
01 / WHY BOTHER
Why Build a Family Tree for a Family Reunion?
A tree answers the question every reunion raises: how are we related? It helps younger relatives place the elders, helps new spouses learn the branches, and records what the oldest generation knows while they can still tell it. It also gives you a ready-made guest list for the next reunion.
It is also a project for every age: children color branches, teenagers type names, grandparents settle who married whom. See our family reunion activities for other family-history projects.
Keep the goal small. Start with the oldest couple everyone remembers and run down to the newest baby. To go further back later, see how to start a family tree.
02 / BEFORE THE REUNION
How Do You Collect Family Tree Names Before the Reunion?
Ask for the details when relatives RSVP, because that is when they are already thinking about who is in their household. Request each person’s full name, birth year and parents, plus any relatives who have passed. Keep the form short. Ask for one household at a time, not the whole family history.
Add one line to your invitation: “We’re building the family tree this year. When you RSVP, please list everyone in your household with their birth year, and tell us whose child you are.”
| Ask for | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Full name, including maiden name | Links married relatives back to their own branch |
| Birth year (a guess is fine) | Puts people in the right generation |
| Parents’ names | The single link that places each person on the tree |
| Spouse or partner | Shows where in-laws and second marriages fit |
| Step, half or adopted ties | Keeps blended families from being left off |
| Relatives who have passed, with years | Fills the older generations and the memorial table |
| Email address | Lets you invite them to the shared tree later |
For relatives who prefer paper, the National Archives offers a free printable Family Group Sheet for one couple and their children. Mail it with a stamped return envelope.
About two months out, sketch what you have. The gaps show which elders to interview first. Add it to your planning timeline.
03 / AT THE REUNION
How Do You Interview the Elders at a Family Reunion?
Set up a quiet corner with two chairs and a phone to record, and schedule short interviews with each elder. Pair them with a grandchild who asks the questions. Use open questions about people and places, ask permission before recording, and bring your draft tree so they can correct it.
- Schedule it. Put “Story corner, 2–4 p.m.” on the weekend schedule so elders aren’t pulled away from lunch. Our guide to family reunion events shows where it fits in a three-day plan.
- Ask open questions. StoryCorps publishes a free list of Great Questions, with a section for grandparents. Its prompts include “Who were your favorite relatives?” and “Do you remember any of the stories your grandparents used to tell you?”
- Ask about the name. The Smithsonian’s Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide suggests asking what the family knows about its surname, whether it changed, and whether there are traditional first names or nicknames.
- Show the draft tree. “Who’s missing here?” works better than “Tell me about the family.”
- Ask before you record, and say who will hear it. If they decline, take notes.
Five tree questions to ask every elder
- What were your parents’ and grandparents’ full names?
- Where were they born, and about what year?
- How many brothers and sisters did you have, and who did each one marry?
- Are there relatives we’ve lost touch with? Who might know where they are?
- Is there a family Bible, letter or photo with names written in it?
StoryCorps says interviews recorded for its Great Listen become part of its archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
“The elders already carry the tree in their heads. Your job is to get it on paper before the reunion ends.”
04 / THE WALL CHART
How Do You Make a Family Tree Wall Chart for the Reunion?
Tape a long roll of butcher paper to a wall, draw the oldest couple at the top, and pre-fill the names you already collected. Leave space under every household. Put out markers and sticky notes so relatives can add, fix and connect names all weekend. Photograph it before you take it down.
- Pick the root. Start with the oldest couple that everyone at the reunion can trace a line up to.
- Draw one generation per row, with wide gaps. The youngest generations take the most room.
- Pre-fill in pencil, confirm in marker. RSVP names go in pencil until an elder confirms them.
- Use sticky notes for disputes. If two aunts disagree on a year, both answers go on a note.
- Mark guesses. Write “c. 1908” (c. stands for circa) so a best guess isn’t mistaken for a record.
Prefer a printed template? The National Archives offers free PDF charts, including an ancestral chart, a traditional tree and a modern genealogy tree. The National Genealogical Society offers free fillable pedigree charts and a family group sheet. If one relative already keeps a tree on FamilySearch, which is free, they can print a fan chart of up to seven generations as a PDF and have a print shop enlarge it.
Keep the Tree Where the Whole Family Can Find It
Build and share your family tree on AmazingReunion for free, with no cap on how many relatives you add.
Start Our Family Tree05 / BRANCH COLORS
How Do Branch Colors Make a Family Tree Easier to Read?
Give each child of the root couple a color, and use it for everyone descended from them. Repeat the color on the wall chart, name tags and table cards. Relatives can then spot their branch across the room, and cousins can see at a glance which side of the family someone comes from.
| Branch (example) | Color | Where to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Descendants of Aunt Ruth | Blue | Wall-chart line, name-tag dot, table card |
| Descendants of Uncle James | Green | Wall-chart line, name-tag dot, table card |
| Descendants of Aunt Mae | Orange | Wall-chart line, name-tag dot, table card |
| Descendants of Uncle Earl | Purple | Wall-chart line, name-tag dot, table card |
Colored dot stickers are the cheapest way to do it. Some families also order shirts in branch colors; see our family reunion T-shirt ideas. Write the branch name too, for relatives who are color-blind.
06 / ONLINE
How Does AmazingReunion’s Family Tree Help?
It gives the paper chart a home online. The tree is free with no cap on people. Kickstart suggests relatives from people you have shared reunions with and drafts a starting tree. You control who adds names, and relatives you invite by email join their branch’s chat room when they accept.
- Kickstart. It suggests relatives from the people you have shared reunions with on AmazingReunion and drafts the tree for you to build on.
- Real family shapes. The tree has 25 relationship types, including step, half and in-law, so blended families fit without workarounds.
- Approximate years. Enter “c. 1908” when nobody knows the exact birth or death year.
- Branch chat. Invited relatives who accept join their branch’s chat room automatically.
Who can change the tree is set by the person who created it:
| Who | How they add people |
|---|---|
| The tree’s creator | Adds people directly |
| Trusted members the creator marks | Add people directly |
| Everyone else | Suggest people; the creator approves |
Mark your elder interviewer and the cousin who ran the wall chart as trusted members, and they can add the weekend’s new names themselves. The tree doesn’t print or export, so keep using the paper chart or a free printable for the wall. See the full feature on the family tree page.
07 / AFTER THE REUNION
How Do You Keep the Family Tree Growing After the Reunion?
Type up the wall chart within a week, while the sticky notes still make sense. Then invite every household to the shared tree and ask each branch to check its own names. Bring the unanswered questions to the next reunion, and start that year’s wall chart from the updated tree.
- Send one ask per branch: “Blue branch, please check your names and add any new babies.”
- Share the recordings with each elder’s own family first.
- Use the tree as your next guest list. See how to plan a family reunion for the other steps.
Bring the Whole Family Tree to Your Next Reunion
Plan the reunion, invite every branch and keep the family tree in one place.
Launch My Reunion SiteFree to start. Includes RSVP, Payments & Photo Sharing.
Sources
- National Archives: Charts and Forms (free ancestral chart, family group sheet and tree charts)
- National Genealogical Society: Free Charts
- FamilySearch: Free 7-Generation Genealogy Fan Chart
- StoryCorps: Great Questions
- StoryCorps: The Great Thanksgiving Listen
- Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide: Some Possible Questions
Sources checked October 30, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make a family tree for a family reunion?
Start before the reunion by asking each household for its names, birth years and parents when it RSVPs. At the reunion, interview the elders to fill the gaps and let everyone add to a large wall chart. Afterward, put the tree online so relatives can keep adding to it.
What should a family reunion family tree include?
At minimum: each person’s full name, how they connect to the people above them, and a birth year. Add death years for those who have passed, maiden names, and step, half and in-law links. A guessed year marked “c.” for circa is better than a blank.
Can I print my AmazingReunion family tree?
Not at the moment. The AmazingReunion tree is shared online and does not export or print. For a wall chart, draw one by hand on butcher paper or use a free printable chart from the National Archives or a free genealogy tool such as FamilySearch.
Is the AmazingReunion family tree free?
Yes. Building and sharing a family tree on AmazingReunion is free, and there is no cap on the number of people in it. You can invite relatives by email, and each one who accepts joins the chat room for their family branch.
Planning where the family will gather? Our state guides cover venues, lodging and costs. Start at the Reunion Planning Guides hub, or see family reunion traditions worth starting this year.
Ken O.
Founder of AmazingReunion and veteran reunion organizer who has coordinated 50+ family gatherings across the US.
