• Place cameras on reunion tables to capture candid photos.camera image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
  
  Planning a 20-year high school reunion demands a great deal of planning to create events that will reintroduce long-lost classmates in a comfortable setting. As you plan, consider ways that you can create connections between old friends and help guests rediscover the places, traditions and activities of your high school days.
  
  

Re-create Traditions

• As you plan your reunion, solicit stories from classmates about the traditions that they loved the most in school. You may find that the homecoming bonfire is remembered fondly by many people, or that the old school song has been replaced by a new version. At the reunion, re-create the favorite traditions at a special mixer evening. Consider holding the event as an icebreaker to allow guests to participate in familiar rituals while they get reacquainted with each other. The common ground of old traditions will create a relaxed, nostalgic atmosphere.
  
  

Where Are They Now?

• To avoid the common reunion pitfall of repeating your life story to multiple people, arrange an activity to introduce each person to the group. After 20 years, your former classmates will have a wealth of experiences and anecdotes. Depending on the size of the class, your methods will vary. For large classes, create an introduction wall with a panel for each person that contains their senior picture, a current picture and biographical information. Use bullet points and a standard format to make data collection easier, and include several funny or unexpected questions. For smaller classes, you can hold a trivia night for guests to guess which person fits which life profile, or you can simply have each person stand up to introduce themselves and give a short personal summary.
  
  

Table Cameras

• One of the most difficult things at a high school reunion is capturing the fun and reintroduction of old friends. To assist you, place disposable cameras on each reunion table, and ask classmates to take candid photos. You can have the emcee or DJ give several reminders throughout the evening. Take advantage of technology and have each camera developed to CD instead of prints. Upload the photos to an online gallery and send out an invite to the class mailing list, post a link on the website and include it in your next alumni newsletter. This will allow classmates and friends from other years to view and save the photos. You can also upload the pictures to a site like kodak.com or shutterfly.com, which will allow users to order prints of the photos they like.