The traditional answer is every 5 or 10 years. Milestone anniversaries — the 10th, the 20th, the 25th, the 30th. Pick a round number, plan a party, repeat a generation later.
That works for a lot of classes. But it's not the only answer, and for many groups it's not even the best one.
Here's how to actually think through the right cadence for your class.
Why the 5 and 10 Year Model Exists
The milestone model has real logic behind it. Round numbers create urgency — people feel like a 20-year reunion is a meaningful marker worth showing up for in a way they might not for a random 17th anniversary. The gap between reunions is long enough that people have genuinely changed, moved, built new lives — which makes reconnection feel meaningful rather than routine.
It also gives organizers a break. Planning a reunion is a significant undertaking. A 5-year gap means you're only doing it a few times in your life. A 10-year gap means even less.
For most classes — especially those where the planning is handled by a small group of volunteers — every 5 to 10 years is the right starting point.
When to Reunite More Frequently
Some groups don't want to wait 5 or 10 years. And for them, they shouldn't.
Tight-knit classes with strong existing bonds. If your class is already active — a group chat that actually gets used, classmates who see each other occasionally, strong friendships that survived graduation — annual or biennial reunions can work well. The connection is already there; the reunion just gives it a focal point.
Classes that skipped their early milestones. If your class never had a 10th or 15th reunion and is now doing its first at the 20th, the pent-up demand can be significant. Groups like this sometimes find that getting together once creates momentum for more frequent gatherings afterward.
Older classes. For classes reuniting at the 40th, 50th, or beyond, the calculus changes. Members are in their 60s and 70s. The reasons to not wait are real — health, mobility, the people who won't be there if you wait too long. Many older classes shift to annual or biennial reunions specifically because the time feels more precious.
Organizations beyond class reunions. Family associations, military units, fraternity and sorority chapters — these groups often meet annually or every other year because the ongoing community connection matters as much as the event itself.
When to Reunite Less Frequently
Every 10 years — or longer — makes sense for classes where:
The planning burden is high and the volunteer base is small. If one or two people are carrying the entire planning load, a longer gap gives them time to recover and re-energize.
Geography is spread out. Classes where members are scattered nationally or internationally face higher travel costs and scheduling complexity. A longer gap makes the event feel more worth the trip.
The class is younger. For a 5th or 10th reunion of a class that's still in their mid-to-late 20s, life is chaotic — careers are early, finances are tighter, people are moving. A longer gap often means higher attendance because people are more settled.
The Question That Actually Matters
More important than the interval is the question of whether anyone will actually organize it.
The most common reason reunions don't happen isn't that the class decided every 10 years was better than every 5. It's that no one stepped up to plan it. The 20th reunion that almost happened three times but never got organized because the lead organizer got overwhelmed and nobody else picked it up.
The best cadence is the one that's actually sustainable for whoever is doing the planning. A beautifully organized 10-year reunion beats a chaotic 5-year one every time.
How to Decide for Your Class
A few questions worth asking:
How connected is the class now? An active Facebook group with regular engagement suggests appetite for more frequent gatherings. A group that's gone quiet suggests you might need more lead time to rebuild momentum.
What's the organizer situation? Is there a committee with shared responsibility and genuine enthusiasm? Or is this one person's project? The answer affects what's realistic.
What did the last reunion look like? Strong turnout and good energy at the last one suggests the class is ready to gather again. Low turnout or a difficult planning experience might mean waiting longer and coming back with a stronger event.
What do classmates actually want? The fastest way to answer this is to ask. A simple poll in your Facebook group — "Would you come to a reunion in 2026? 2027? 2028?" — gives you real data instead of assumptions.
The Case for Staying Connected Between Reunions
One shift worth considering: instead of a binary choice between "big event every X years" and "nothing in between," think about what year-round connection looks like for your class.
A Facebook group that stays active. An alumni page where classmates can find each other. An email blast when something significant happens. These don't replace the reunion — they make the reunion better when it comes, because people arrive already connected rather than starting cold.
MyReunite's public reunion page stays live year-round with a community feed, member directory, and photo wall — so the connection your reunion builds doesn't go dark the day after the event.
Whatever cadence you choose, the reunion that happens is infinitely better than the perfect reunion that never gets planned. Pick a date, build your committee, and start.
For a complete guide to getting started, our post on how to plan a high school class reunion covers the full timeline from first decision to event night.
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