I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Banana Boat®. I recieved product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
My in-laws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year and to celebrate, all 14 of their children (plus 11 spouses) and all 40 grandchildren, are gathering in the Midwest for a great big family reunion. With so many of us, it’s very rare that we can coordinate our schedules to visit at the same time, especially since we are spread all over the country.
In fact, the last time it happened was over 12 years ago. My kids are especially excited to see their cousins. In my opinion, cousins are the ideal relationship–immediate and lasting bond due to being related without the daily interaction that makes siblings annoying to one another.
Three Day Family Reunion Celebration
My sisters-in-law spearheaded the planning effort and they came up with an amazing itinerary for the three-day celebration. Day one is a BBQ and pool party. Day two includes a family mud run and minor league baseball game. And finally, on day three, we’ll have the big reception at a restaurant after a couple of hours of family photos at a local park.
Family Reunion Checklist
With so many people to accommodate, the great outdoors was the best way to gather us all together during the weekend so I wasn’t surprised that all but one of the planned activities is taking place outside. I didn’t help plan the reunion, but I did learn a lot about how to do it right from my sisters-in-law. I created a checklist from what I learned to help you leverage the wisdom of these eight smart and remarkable women.
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Don’t Forget The Sunscreen
As I read through the itinerary, I realized that packing and preparing for this trip was going to be different than our normal visits. With all of the planned activities came a long list of items I don’t usually pack (e.g. dress clothes for the anniversary party and non-cotton clothes that we don’t mind damaging for the mud run). Most importantly, I realized I would need to bring an entire arsenal of sunscreen to keep my entire family covered and protected for the entire trip.
Because I’m pretty forgetful, we already keep sunscreen everywhere I think we will need it. We keep waterproof sunscreen in our swim bag, sweat-resistant sunscreen in the garage near our outdoor sports equipment, and moisturizing sunscreen in the bathrooms so that we remember to use it when we’re getting dressed to head outside or to the pool (did you know it’s recommended to apply sunscreen 30 minutes before you go outside?).
Banana Boat’s SunComfort™ Clear UltraMist® Sunscreen
I like Banana Boat’s SunComfort™ Clear UltraMist® Sunscreen for the beach and pool since it’s water resistant and it has built-in moisturizer to combat dry skin from salt water and chlorine. The best thing about it though is that sand doesn’t stick to it! I’m also a big fan of the spray can sunscreen for when we are out and about since for me it’s much faster to reapply to myself and the kids than a lotion.
Banana Boat’s Sport Performance® Lotion Sunscreen with Powerstay Technology™
We use Banana Boat’s Sport Performance® Lotion Sunscreen with Powerstay Technology™ because it’s super lightweight (not greasy at all!) and is designed to resist sweat and water for almost an hour and a half. I’ve used it for years when I run since it doesn’t sting my eyes when I start to perspire. I have my husband to thank for keeping the garage so organized and for giving me the perfect bracket to hold the sunscreen.
Banana Boat’s Dry Oil Clear UltraMist® Sunscreen
I just started keeping Banana Boat’s Dry Oil Clear UltraMist® Sunscreen on my bathroom counter so that I remember to use it everyday. It works and smells better than the body lotion I was using (I still use my former lotion on my hands throughout the day) with the added benefit of protecting my skin from the sun. My teen daughter swiped my first bottle because she loved the coconut scent and the silky feeling of the argan oil in it so I had to buy two more bottles (one for my bathroom and another for the main guest bathroom).
A side benefit of keeping our sunscreen in so many places is that we use it more often and more liberally than if we only have one bottle on hand. The first time we all got sunburned at the beach even though we had all put on sunscreen beforehand was an important lesson that one application is not enough! Sunscreen loses its effectiveness over time once you’ve applied it so we should reapply it every two hours (more often if we are swimming or perspiring a lot). When I’m not worried about running out of sunscreen, I’m much better about making sure we reapply it throughout the day.
Banana Boat® wants to help other families get together and have fun outside this summer. For even more ideas on fun activities, check out the Banana Boat® Facebook page. We are definitely having a Banana Boat Race on our pond this summer.
Great family reunion ideas (especially the one about providing contact numbers for everyone). My family uses Banana Boat products, too all summer long.