7 Family Reunion Speech
Examples You Can Adapt

Good afternoon, everybody. I want to start by just looking around this room. Look at how many of us are here. [PAUSE] Some of you I saw last week. Some of you I have not seen in three years. Some of you I am meeting for the first time. But every one of you is family, and every one of you made the choice to be here today, and that matters. I want to thank the people who made this reunion happen. [NAME 1] handled the venue. [NAME 2] tracked every RSVP like a detective. [NAME 3] cooked enough food to feed a small country. Please give them a round of applause. I also want to thank the people who traveled. [SOMEONE] drove in from [CITY]. [SOMEONE ELSE] flew in from [CITY]. You did not have to be here. You chose to be here. Thank you for that. We are going to eat soon. We are going to take a group photo. We are going to play some games. But before any of that, I want to say one thing. Our family has been through a lot this year. [OPTIONAL: mention a loss, a birth, a milestone]. And we keep showing up for each other. That is not small. That is the whole point of what we are doing today. So eat well. Talk to somebody you have not caught up with yet. Take pictures. Tell stories. Be present. The [FAMILY NAME] family is here. Let's have a great day.

Before we go any further, I want to take a moment. There are people who are not in this room who should be. [PAUSE] We lost [NAME 1] in [YEAR OR SEASON]. [ONE SPECIFIC MEMORY - a saying they had, a food they made, a place they loved]. She would have been the loudest voice at this table today. We lost [NAME 2] [WHEN]. He taught me [ONE THING]. He had a laugh that carried across the backyard. There is a chair here that should be his. [ADD MORE NAMES AS NEEDED] They are not gone. They are in how we cook. They are in how we argue. They are in the way we greet each other at the door. They are in this room right now, just not where we can point. So I want to do this. I am going to ask you to stand. We are going to take one deep breath together. And we are going to raise our glass, or our cup, or our water bottle, for the [FAMILY NAME] family members we love and miss. [STAND. LIFT. PAUSE.] To the ones who came before us. To the ones who made us. To the ones we carry forward. We remember you today and always. [SIT. RESUME THE PROGRAM.]

Before we wrap up, I want to say something nobody else is going to say, because the person who deserves it will not say it for themselves. [ORGANIZER NAME] put this reunion together. She spent [MONTHS] making this happen. She chased down RSVPs. She argued with the caterer. She probably cried at least once. [LAUGH] We are eating her menu. We are wearing her t-shirts. We are sitting in the venue she booked in [MONTH]. Every single thing we are enjoying tonight is because [SHE/HE] said yes to this. [NAME], stand up for a second. Family, give her a hand. [APPLAUSE] Next year, somebody else is doing this. [LAUGH] But tonight, thank you. From all of us. We love you.