Multi-Generational Activity
The Family Tree Wall: A Project Everyone Builds Together
A reunion project that gives elders the meaningful role they deserve, teaches kids real family history by hand, and creates a keepsake the family will photograph for decades. Here's the supply list, four layout templates, a multi-generation activity flow, and the role each age group plays in building it together.
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Grandma sat at that table for three hours telling us who was in those old photos. Two of those people - her older sister, her grandfather - we'd never heard her talk about before. She died eight months later. That family tree is the most valuable thing in our house.
- Reunly organizer, on the year they built a family tree
Why this project
Why a Family Tree Wall Works Better Than Other Reunion Activities
Most reunion activities either work for elders OR kids, but rarely both. The family tree project is the rare exception: it gives every age group a real job that only they can do.
Elders contribute the irreplaceable information - they're the only people who can identify older photos and name distant cousins
Kids contribute their hands and energy - gluing, decorating, helping place photos
The project preserves stories that would otherwise be lost when elders pass
The finished tree is a real keepsake - photographed, printed, and treasured
It runs in the background of the day, not as a single sit-down event
Cross-generational time at the table is the actual goal - the tree is the structure that creates it
🚀 With Reunly
Start a reunion workspace and run the tree project from it
Reunly holds the supply list, photo asks, and craft lead's tasks in one project under the wider reunion plan.
What to buy
The Supply List
Total budget: $80-$150 for a typical reunion of 30-75 family members. Source most of it from a single Michaels or Hobby Lobby run with a 40% off coupon.
💰 With Reunly
Track the family tree budget in Reunly
Add craft supplies, photo printing, and frames to your reunion budget so the project doesn't sneak past the budget.
Pick your shape
Four Layout Templates
Pick the layout that fits your family's size and shape. The vertical tree is the most beautiful for small families, but it doesn't scale - and the heritage map hybrid tells an immigrant story no vertical tree can match.
Traditional Vertical Tree
Small to medium families (10-40 people), 3-4 generations
The classic tree shape. Earliest ancestor at the top. Branches spread downward into each subsequent generation. Looks like a tree with leaves of family-member photos. Most photogenic option, but space-limited.
✓ Pros
• Most visually recognizable as a 'family tree'
• Beautiful when finished - real keepsake quality
• Easy for kids to follow visually
✗ Watch outs
• Doesn't scale well past 40 people
• Hard to fit 5+ generations on one board
• Branches get cramped for large modern families
Horizontal Timeline
Large families (40-100 people), multi-generational with strong dates
Time runs left to right - earliest generations on the left, current generation on the right. Each generation is a row. Lines connect parents to children across rows. Reads like a story.
✓ Pros
• Scales to large families easily
• Generations are visually clear and time-anchored
• Easier to add new family members in years to come
✗ Watch outs
• Less visually 'tree-like' - feels more like a chart
• Wide format requires wide wall space (often 8-10 ft)
• Less photogenic than the vertical tree
Branch-by-Branch Display
Very large families (100+), reunions of multiple branches
Each major family branch gets its own panel or section. The original ancestors anchor the center. Each branch radiates out from there. Often built as 4-8 separate boards arranged in a fan or radial layout.
✓ Pros
• Scales infinitely - just add another branch panel
• Each branch can decorate their own section
• Becomes a collaborative project across the day
✗ Watch outs
• Requires more wall space - often 8-12 ft of display
• Less unified visually
• Coordination needed so branches don't double-up on shared ancestors
Heritage Map + Tree Hybrid
Immigrant families, geographically-scattered families, heritage-themed reunions
A map of the world (or country) anchors the display. Family members are placed at their birth city or where they live now, with lines connecting parent to child across the map. The 'tree' is geographic, not vertical.
✓ Pros
• Powerful for immigrant or scattered families - tells the migration story
• Beautiful and unusual
• Kids love seeing where everyone came from
✗ Watch outs
• Requires a large printed map (Etsy has good ones - $15-$40)
• Doesn't show generations as clearly
• More complex to assemble
📄 With Reunly
Save the layout template to share with your project lead
Reunly pins the diagram, dimensions, and supply list to a project page your craft lead can open from anywhere.
The flow
From 6 Weeks Out Through the Reveal
The tree project has three pre-reunion phases and three day-of phases. Spread the work, and the day-of feels effortless.
Every age has a job
Every Generation's Role
The strength of this project is that everyone has a real job. Nobody is just hanging around watching. Here's how to give each age group a meaningful contribution.
Kids under 6
Decorators
Add stickers, glue on leaves, hand out markers. Their job is helping place the small decorations on the family tree. Keeps them included without expecting precision.
Kids 6-10
Photo placers
Glue family photos in the correct boxes (with guidance). Read names aloud as they place. Often surprised to learn they have relatives they didn't know existed.
Kids 11-15
Scribes and storytellers
Sit with elders and write down the stories they tell. Asking grandma 'what was your father like?' produces stories that nobody has ever heard. Often the most life-changing hour of the reunion for the teen.
Adults 25-50
Coordinators and confirmers
Verify names, dates, and family connections. Often the people who manage the tree project itself - photo collection, supply prep, setup. The connective tissue between elders and kids.
Adults 50-70
Family historians
Usually know the most about the middle generations. Confirm connections, fill in cousins, and serve as the elder-knowledge backup. Often the project's natural leader.
Elders 70+
Living sources
The only people who can name the people in the oldest photos and tell the stories of the previous generations. Their hour at the tree is the project's most important contribution.
🎉 With Reunly
Coordinate the photo collection in Reunly
Send the 'we need your family photos' ask to every household in Reunly - track who's responded, who hasn't.
Pro Tips From Families Who Have Built One
✓ Start photo collection 8 weeks out, not 4
People are slow to send. You'll get 50% of photos in the first 2 weeks, another 30% with reminders at weeks 4 and 6, and the last 20% the day before. Build in the slack.
✓ Pre-print everything you can
Don't show up with a blank poster board and try to build it from scratch. Print the tree structure, the empty boxes, and family-branch headers in advance. The day-of work should be placement and stories, not setup.
✓ Designate a tree leader (not the host)
The reunion host has 50 other jobs. The tree leader is someone else - usually the family historian or whoever is most into genealogy. Their day is focused on running the tree workstation.
✓ Record the elder hour on video
When grandma sits at the table telling stories, run a phone camera on a tripod recording video. These stories are irreplaceable. The video is worth more than the tree itself, in many cases.
✓ Acknowledge family members who couldn't make it
Leave space on the tree for relatives who didn't travel. Print their photo. Place them in the right spot. They feel included even from afar - and the family is complete on the wall.
✓ Acknowledge the people we've lost
Add a small black ribbon, a single gold star, or a candle icon next to relatives who have passed. Quiet and respectful. The tree honors them too.
✓ Photograph the tree at multiple distances
Close-ups of individual branches, a wide shot of the whole tree, a shot with family standing in front of it. The wide shot becomes the year's signature photo.
✓ Plan to update for next reunion
The tree isn't done - it grows with the family. Keep a digital copy. New babies get added, new marriages get noted, losses get acknowledged. The tree becomes a living document across reunions.
📅 With Reunly
Block the family-tree activity into your day-of schedule
Reunly's schedule gives the project its own window so it isn't competing with dinner or the group photo.
What Happens to the Tree After the Reunion
The most common mistake: rolling up the tree at the end of the day and putting it in someone's garage to forget about. Here's how to make it actually outlive the weekend.
1. Photograph it in good light
Before it leaves the venue, lay it flat or hang it well-lit. Take a wide shot, a few zoomed shots, and a family-with-tree group shot. Phone camera is fine. Print these later.
2. Send a copy to every household
Print the wide-shot photo at Costco or Walgreens ($5-$10 each). Mail or hand-deliver one to every family. The print becomes a real keepsake on people's walls.
3. Home the original with the right person
Usually the host, the eldest family member, or whoever has the wall space to display it. The tree should live somewhere it can be seen daily - not in a basement.
4. Digital backup in a family Drive
Scan or photograph all the elder stories on the index cards. Upload everything to a shared Google Drive folder. The stories survive even if the physical tree doesn't.
5. Update for the next reunion
Two years later (or whenever the next reunion happens), pull the tree out. Add new babies, mark new marriages, acknowledge losses. The tree grows with the family.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make a family tree for a reunion?
Six weeks before the reunion, collect a photo of every family member plus basic info (full name, birth year, marriage and death dates if relevant). Print photos 4x6 and cut to 2x2 squares. Print a family-tree outline on poster board (Canva templates are free). At the reunion, set up a workstation where elders fill in stories and connections, kids glue photos in place, and adults coordinate. Build over the day - usually 4-6 hours total of collective work. Display the finished tree at dinner.
What supplies do I need for a family tree project?
Core supplies: a 4x6 ft poster board or foam board ($15-30), printed photos of every family member ($0.25 each), 8-10 glue sticks ($10), permanent markers and colored markers ($15-25), decorative paper for leaves and accents ($5-15), index cards for stories ($3-8). Optional: battery-powered string lights ($15-25) and a printed family-tree template from Canva or Etsy ($0-25). Total budget: $80-$150 for a typical reunion.
How far back should the family tree go?
Most family-reunion trees show 3-5 generations: the founding ancestors (usually the great-grandparents or grandparents of the current oldest generation), then each subsequent generation down to today. Going further back is research-intensive and often the names are uncertain. The reunion tree's job is to anchor the FAMILY - going back further than you can verify dilutes the personal connection.
How long does the family tree project take at the reunion?
About 4-6 hours of total work spread across the day, in three phases: an elder-led hour where the oldest generation tells stories and identifies older photos (1-1.5 hours), an adult coordination phase where the tree base is built and photos are placed (1-2 hours), and a kid decoration phase (1-2 hours). The project runs in the background of the reunion, not as a single sit-down activity.
What's the best layout for a family tree wall?
For small families (under 40), a traditional vertical tree (earliest ancestor at top, descendants branching down) is most visually beautiful. For large families (40-100), a horizontal timeline (time left to right) scales better. For very large families (100+), branch-by-branch panels with each branch on its own board work best. For immigrant or geographically-scattered families, a heritage map + tree hybrid (placing family members on a world or country map) tells a unique migration story.
How can elders contribute to the family tree project?
Elders are the most important contributors. They know who's in the oldest photos. They remember the people previous generations talked about. They can correct family stories that have drifted over time. The right move is to give them a comfortable table, tea or coffee, a willing grandchild to write down what they say, and an unhurried hour. The stories they tell during that hour are often what the family treasures most from the entire reunion.
What do you do with the family tree after the reunion?
Three things: (1) Photograph it in high resolution before it leaves the venue. (2) Print copies of the photo for every household ($5-10 each at Costco). (3) Send the physical tree home with the host or the eldest family member, where it stays on a wall. Keep a digital copy in a family Google Drive so it can be updated for the next reunion - adding new babies, new marriages, and acknowledging losses.
How do I get kids involved in the family tree project?
Give every kid a specific job, sized to their age. Under 6: decorate with stickers and leaves. 6-10: glue photos in the right boxes. 11-15: sit with elders and write down stories. Each child should feel like the project couldn't have happened without them. Many kids leave the reunion with a deeper sense of family history than they could ever get from a textbook - they learned it by hand, sitting next to grandma.
Plan the Reunion Your Family Will Remember
Reunly tracks the photo collection, the supplies, and every guest - so the family tree project comes together without ten thousand reminder texts.