Sizes of the Family

[Quincunx]

Something I was mulling over during the American Thanksgiving holiday, while lots of family gatherings are going on and I'm not at one*, was how far the definition of family stretches these days.

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

For myself, two grandparents, their children, their childrens' spouses, the grandchildren, and my husband (I'm the only grandchild paired off permanently, so far as I know), for a total of 30. In practice I don't think we've topped 28 in a day or 20 at a time.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Never could keep track of the great-aunts and great-uncles, who formed the focal points of their own descendants' gatherings. Also I have no allowance for my other set of grandparents; with my mother an only child, there weren't aunts and uncles to juggle and grandparents' time was solely for them, not melded into a concept of 'family'.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

I am American and know of no family with more than five born children, and all of the first four siblings in those few are of the same gender. My social circle was favored with no children of divorce, so the stories which filtered through to me were all of 'step-' intruders and not given any sort of full sibling status.

*and some topics would've caused an awkward silence if broached over turkey and stuffing, anyway. . .

[arguskos]

1. Depends on the side of my family we're discussing. Dad's... would be me, Dad, his wife, my brother, his parents (assuming they both come for some insane reason) and their spouses, and that's about all the blood that would come. Counting her immediate family doubles the total.

Mom's side would be me, Mom, her parents (again, the assumption) and spouses, and the entire Smith Clan, which is like 50 some odd people. This is not an exaggeration, it's who would actually show up. :smalleek:

2. Honestly, any of my four grandparents won't show up if their other half does. They're all divorced and remarried, which makes things problematic, since they don't like each other. Beyond that, no, most of my blood is accounted for.

3. I know a set of parents with 13 children. In my family, there's a set of parents with 7 children, all girls. :smalleek: None of this is step-siblings or any such nonsense.

[KuReshtin]

After a bit of a consultation with my mother, if my family would all gather up, starting with my grand-parents on both my dad's and my mom's side, there would be 60 of us.

If Level 1 is my grandparents, Level 2 is my parents and their brothers and sisters and so on, heres the breakdown on my family.

Level 1 - 1 (Mom's mother)
Level 2 - 10 (Dad + 6 siblings, Mom + 2 siblings)
Level 3 - 20 (Me + 2 siblings, 4 cousins on mom's side, 13 cousins on dad's side)
Level 4 - 12 (children of my cousins on my dad's side)

'Add-Ons'
Level 2 - 6 (Aunts-in-law and uncles-in-law)
Level 3 - 11 (1 brother-in-law, 1 sister-in-law, the rest cousins-in-law)

[Serpentine]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Regardless: My parents, my sister, her partner, her two children.
Mum's side: Mum's husband, his two kids I guess, aunts and uncles and their spouses (8 total), an ex-spouse, their children (7, all but two of which are older than me), their children (2, I think. May be 3, actually). Total: 20/21+6
Dad's side: Two grandparents, aunts and uncles and spouses (5, but I think I'm forgetting someone), their children (11). Total: 19+6.
Optional extras: Cousin's boy/girlfriends (varies), my nephews' family/ies (about a dozen grandparent figures, for starters (mother's parents, mother's parents' parents, father's parents, father's parents' grandparents, stepfather's parents, stepfather's parents' parents (not actually sure whether they're alive), great-aunts and -uncles on both sides), various family members' exes (only a couple). Extended family (have had 3rd and 4th cousins from England at a couple of Christmases, and their families).
Potential family members: 50+

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
Not blood relations, but several exes, such as my first nephew's father, would definitely not be there.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
I think I know a few with 5+ kids, but I can't think of them.

[raitalin]

1) I've got 2 different sides of the family via divorce. So, My mom's would be: Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Mark & Aunt Johnni and their twin boys, My mom & step-dad, myself, my sister, my brother, his wife and 2 kids. Then my Aunt Marty and Uncle Ed's family: 5 cousins, two of their spouses and their 9 (8? something like that) kids. Plus, at least one or two boyfriends/girlfriends at any given time, and any kids they bring along. So...About 30 people. That's about what was present yesterday at the family Thanksgiving.

My Dad's side is a bit smaller, which is surprising because my G&G had a big farming family, 7 kids initally, but 2 died young and 2 are single and will likely stay that way: G&G, 7 Aunts, uncles and spouses thereof, 8 cousins, one cousin once removed. My dad, step-mom, siblings and myself take it to about 20.

2) Yeah, great-aunts and uncles generally form the nucleus of their own gatherings and I'm not even sure I've met half of them all told.

3) My eldest female cousin has 4 kids. Not that surprising, but she had them all in the span of like, 6 years. I cannot imagine being constantly pregnant that long, not that I can imagine being pregnant at all.

I currently have 3 step-siblings in my Dad's family, but honest he just got married a few years ago and me and my sibling have little connection to them. I have one step-brother from his previous marriage that's closer to my than my own siblings, but naturally he's not at family gatherings.

[SMEE]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Tricky question.
Let me see, there's mom's side with grandpa, grandma, 14 children (including adopted son), their children (around 30+), their children (7 atm) plus husbands/wives/girlfriends/boyfriends.
Then there's dad's side. Both grandparents are dead, but there's a few uncles, one of which has at least 6 or 7 children, who in turn have around 5 to 6 children or so.

I'd say we'd near the 100 people or more. It's hard to keep account of everyone when the family is that big. :smalleek:

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
There's one ex that I know for, and also bastard children and mothers (no one knows the correct count, but there's at least 4 or 5 bastard children around)
Strangely enough, the EX would be more likely to show than her ex-husband (one of my mom's side uncles).

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
Mom's side Grandpa and Grandma with 14 uncles that I account off for now. There's 2-3 still borns that didn't make it, and one that we lost at an accident in 1993.

[Serpentine]

Oh yes, I'm at least one cousin short. A mother-in-law, looking after all the kids (several families' worth) alone, left a candle lit. It fell over, the house burned down. My surviving cousins only did so because they were sleeping in the car.
Poor woman went rather mad afterwards, I'm told...

Quin, would it be permitted to ask general family questions here?

[HellfireLover]

1) Probably about 35. I can only go back to my parents, you see. Much of the count comes from cousins and half-sibs.

2) Have not included for exes, uncle's progeny from first marriage or aunt's grown up kids and grandkids, cousins once removed, 'cousins' who are family but to whom I'm not actually related to by blood, sister's dad's kids after second and third marriage, sister's husband's grown-up child and wife and progeny, sister's brother in law and wife and progeny, sister's sister-in-law's children bar one, or any of husband's many cousins and cousin's children I have never met. If we included these, there would be no trouble in breaking a hundred people.

3) I don't know of anyone my age with a particularly large family. My mother's biological mother was one of thirteen surviving siblings, hence the ridiculous number of cousins-once-or-twice-removed I have (I don't care to count it up, to be honest.)

[blackfox]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Three grandparents, mom, dad, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, 6 cousins. So, fifteen, plus me and sister = 17.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
Yes, I'm not counting the second cousins/great-aunts/great-uncles/etc. right now because I can't keep track of them. Also, one aunt/uncle set and 3 of the cousins are not blood relatives.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
I know a family of... 9? Seven kids? And that's without any step-siblings.

[AslanCross]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

My maternal grandmother had 12 siblings; she was from a well-off family so her father could afford to support all of them. I have approximately 50 aunts and uncles and at least 100 second cousins. Not all of them are in the country, though, so the people who attend our Christmas reunions typically number around 100-120.

My father's side is smaller, but still pretty large. My paternal grandfather had four brothers and two sisters, so I still have several uncles and aunts there. I'm not so close to that side, so I don't really have a solid count. I don't even really know any of my second cousins from that side.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

As I mentioned earlier, many are abroad; typically in the US. Of my grandmother's siblings, only 5 are still living. Both of my grandfathers have passed away, so not counting them either.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

My mom's eldest sister is married and has five children. They're definitely the biggest nuclear family among my mom's siblings. Mine doesn't really count since my parents' marriage was annulled and my father remarried. I have one full-blooded brother and two half-brothers.

[wxdruid]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

My mother, father, me, Eric, Annalisa, Kathryn, Russell, Elizabeth. These are all my immediate family. Then we include spouses and children. So, catlover is my daughter. Annalisa is married to Deni and they have a daughter named Denia. Kathryn is married to Greg and they have a son, Cameron and a daughter Brooke and another on the way. Russell is now married to Alexis. Elizabeth has a boyfriend named Chris.

Then we go further to include my mother's mother (my Grandma) and my mother's sisters - Lois and Sharon. Of them, Lois has one son, Troy and he has three? kids. Sharon has two children, Nathan and Nathalie. Nathan is married to Stephanie and they have two kids. Nathalie is married to Matt and they have two kids.

If we all showed up to dinner at my Grandma's house, this is who would be expected to show up.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why? There is my Father's side, they live in Utah and I'm sure there are more on my Mom's side, but I think they live in California.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately? No step siblings in my family. I have 5 siblings. When I was growing up, there were several families in our church that had more children, but I don't remember how many.

[Mauve Shirt]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Lessee, there would be around 27 on my father's side if you counted my sister's boyfriend and my uncle-by-marriage's brothers and their families (they tend to show up at our TG gatherings, since their parents live nearby.)
On my mother's side, 15, again if my sister's boyfriend counts.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
Nope.


3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
I can't think of any really large families... I guess my father's would be the largest, a family of 5 kids.

[Gullara]

Something I was mulling over during the American Thanksgiving holiday, while lots of family gatherings are going on and I'm not at one*, was how far the definition of family stretches these days.

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

For myself, two grandparents, their children, their childrens' spouses, the grandchildren, and my husband (I'm the only grandchild paired off permanently, so far as I know), for a total of 30. In practice I don't think we've topped 28 in a day or 20 at a time.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Never could keep track of the great-aunts and great-uncles, who formed the focal points of their own descendants' gatherings. Also I have no allowance for my other set of grandparents; with my mother an only child, there weren't aunts and uncles to juggle and grandparents' time was solely for them, not melded into a concept of 'family'.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

I am American and know of no family with more than five born children, and all of the first four siblings in those few are of the same gender. My social circle was favored with no children of divorce, so the stories which filtered through to me were all of 'step-' intruders and not given any sort of full sibling status.

*and some topics would've caused an awkward silence if broached over turkey and stuffing, anyway. . .

1) that would be a very large gathering, i'm not sure how many it would be, and that's only on my dad's side

2) no one i can think of

3) In our generation, hmm, my family has 7 people (mom, dad, and 5 boys), and i have a couple friends with the same size family.

[Mary Leathert]

Well, my parents are divorced, so I'm going to count mother's side and father's side separately.

1. Mother's side: Me, my two brothers, our mom, her new husband, her mother (my grandmother, grandfather is dead), her brothers (two), their wives (again 2), my cousins (max. 4), their significant others, their children. Total: Max. 17 This would probably be the core group, if it was a family gathering.
Father's side: Again, me and my brothers. Our father, our grandfather (grandmother dead), his new wife, her three children, her parents, significant others of the children. Total: 13.
Again the "core" group.

2. It really depends on the situation. My mother has a third brother, he has a wife and they have two children (my cousins) who also have siginificant others and children. But they aren't as close as the two other brothers' families are with our family, so they might come or not. It's not that we don't like them, they're just a bit more distant.
My mother's husband also has a still living father and sister, who might come if it wasn't strictly a 'family' thing. So for things like birthday parties, they might show up.
On my father's side, my grandfather has four sisters/half-sisters. Some of them live it bit far away, so they might not come because of that. This also applies to my uncle and his wife (the wife is also quite people-shy). Also, my father's wife has siblings, who have their own families. (Not my blood-relatives, but anyway.) One of problems is that these gatherings at my father's place are just as much gatherings for his wives family, so it takes some balancing. And it depends on where we are gathering. If it is at the wives parents place (like we usually have some sort of Christmas dinner there), then her siblings will most likely come, but our grandfather won't, etc.

3. Well, my mother's family has four children. (Three boys, one girl, but the girl isn't the last sibling, only second to last). As one of cousins has become quite religious in a way that says you shouldn't practice any birth control, and his family is already at two children, it is likely that this number will rise.

[Ikialev]

1. That would be 22 persons, +/- 10 people whom i've neverseen, but are a part of family.

2. No, I've included everyone I know.

[Recaiden]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Me, my 2 siblings, my parents - 5
On my mom's side: her sister, her brother in law, their 2 children, and my grandmother - 5.
On my dad's side: both his parents, his step-dad, his 3 siblings, their spouses, and we're still on well with their ex-spouses too, 2 of my cousins, 2 more cousins, another cousin, 2 step-cousins, that one girl whose relation to us I always forget, a cousin's wife and daughter.
We might invite our second cousins though. The ones with common great grandparents, not the ones we're only connected to by marriage.
31
2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
No. We even count some people who aren't blood relatives to us.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
In my family, going through grandparents? My parents and siblings. 5.
Outside of the family I know a family of 7.

[Quincunx]

But it was so nicely on-topic! *sniffle*. . .ok, moment over. Fire away the questions, Serpentine.

[Assassin89]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Me, my 2 siblings, and parents - 5
On my Dad's side: both his parents, 2 brothers, one brother's wife and child, possibly one grandmother, 9 other relatives -16
On my Mom's side: both her parents, an aunt and uncle, both cousins, one cousins' husband and two children - 9
30
2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
Yes, one blood relation on my dad's side has a criminal record.
3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
In my family? My fathers and siblings: 6. No step-siblings there.

[Coidzor]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Hmm. There's my great aunts and great uncles on my dad's mother's side, about 5 of them all told. Their kids for the most part. Their kids' kids, and a couple of their kids' kids' kids. And of course, y'know, surviving spouses. All told I'd be guessing around 25-40 people showing up, though the numbers fluctuate as the generations change and people get sick or move or... what have you.

Occasionally there's some people who are just friends of the family who come, as well as girlfriends/boyfriends who've lasted long enough to be brought to Thanksgiving.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

My father's father's side of the family, because they've got their own thanksgiving traditions and partially because they're a bit more scattered, I think.

The cajun blood relations that my dad has met in the past briefly that I don't even have any names or can recall offhand how they're related to my dad.

My mom's uncles and aunts and their families and descendants mostly due to them having their own traditions and being clustered about on a more remote part of the country from us when they're not disparate. I need to go visit my 2nd cousin once removed's irish pub in cleveland sometime though.

They seem like decent people aside from the fact that one of them married a woman with the most horrific nose that is quite dominant and so all of the progeny along that line have been cursed with it.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

Step siblings are generally not counted due to either being in the same house through a lens of mutual hate or a perverse one-sided lust.

5 children is the most I've really gotten to know the family as a group. I'm from a 3 children family myself. I've met and gotten to know a bit one girl whose family has 12 kids, some of which are biologically theirs and some of which are adopted. They sound and seem like pretty horrible people for setting up that kind of setup so it's a stretch for me to think of them as a real family.

[Cobra_Ikari]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

We had one this Thanksgiving, actually. Well, almost.

Me, 2 sisters, 2 parents, 3 grandparents, 1 uncle, 2 aunts, and 5 cousins. So...16.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Nope. Cobra's family is small. *nods*

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

5, and it's my family. There are no step-siblings in my family that I know of.

[Adlan]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Myself, My 2 Siblings, My Parents. My Mothers 2 Sisters, My Fathers 3 Brothers, and Their wives. 2 of my cousins. Then, My 2 living Grandparents (Fathers side), my Mothers Cousins (3 or 4 of them, and maybe another 20 kids, They keep multiplying). My Grandmothers (mum's side) Cousins, over from thailand and down from scotland, my Grandfather's Cousin (Fathers side), and his wife and kinfolk from ireland (maybe a dozen would come). My Grandmother (Fathers side)'s relations (sister, cousin and cousins wife).

I think thats all close enough to us that would show up. And of course, my Adopted brother, Blood oaths man alot to me. He's as much kin to me as anyone.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

My Uncles ex wife and daughter (my cousin), After the divorce, we don't see them.

They still take my grandparents money because my uncle is a nutter and divorced them to go back to his cult, but thats no odds. I miss my cousin.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

I've largest in this generation? I know a Lubavich, he has 6 or 7.

[Dragonrider]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

On my dad's side - two grandparents, three aunt/uncle sets, eight first cousins, my parents, myself, four siblings, and foster sister; then two honorary aunt/uncle sets and the eight children they have between them, plus two honorary cousins' spouses and one honorary cousin's baby-due-in-June (does that count?)

That's 38. And the honoraries really do count; I've called them "auntie" and "uncle" all my life. It's basically just the children of my one pair of grandparents, though; neither of them are at all close with their families. I'm close with them all and we get along tolerably. I can't think of anyone here who wouldn't be invited.

On my mum's side it's much more complicated. Any 'complete' family gathering would include my grandparents' siblings, first cousins, great-nieces and nephews, plus my mum's sister and husband and two boys. We'd probably easily break a hundred. While I'm not particularly close with most of them (just my grandpa's brothers and first cousins and their children and grandchildren, which amounts to about one-fifth), any "family gathering" would have to include them all. LORD . . . they're all very nice but ultra-organized super-rich lawyers, doctors, and PhDs. Pretty intense.


2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

On my dad's side there are zero divorces and zero estrangement; with Mum's family it's much less clear-cut. I know her sister's ex-husband would NOT be welcome (my grandmother photoshopped him out of my parents' wedding photos by pasting a bush over him), and I am positive there are many other estranged members on that branch.


3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

Within my family . . . one honorary aunt and uncle have five (aged 14, 12, 10, 8, and 6) and my mum and dad have four naturally and one foster child.

Outside of my family I know at least half a dozen people with seven children or more. One family has four natural and five adopted, but I know another with nine all within two years of each other, some within a year.

[Mando Knight]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Let's see... two surviving grandparents, two uncles and their families on one side, six uncles and an aunt and their families on the other...

...So, around 50 or so sounds right without an actual head count.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?
Great-aunts and -uncles and their descendants. My family is too prolific to even keep track of three generations.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
Out of relatives or in total? If the former, then my own family, with my four blood-siblings, my parents, my adopted sister, and myself. (plus the sibling that died before the rest of us were born...) If the latter, then there's one of my dad's colleagues whose wife just gave birth to... number 12, I believe?

[Lupy]

1)
My 4 Grandparents, my 5 Aunts and Uncles, 6 of my cousins, my brother, and both of my parents. So that makes 18 people.

2)
I have several cousins who don't want anything to do with the rest of the family.

3) I know a family with 7 children.

[Perenelle]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Lets see here... me, my grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin 1, Cousin 2, Mom, Step Dad, Step Brother, Possibly my great grandma, and possibly my uncles parents. so around 13.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

My dad's entire side. Since he and my mom had a rather nasty divorce and I hate his guts. I havent seen him in years, and never met his family.
a lot of my family is up in the Northern part of the US, and my grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins moved down to the Southern area. so some other relatives just cant come down every year.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

That would be my Dad and his children. I believe him and his wife have 5 (my step siblings, whom I have never met). if I were to include myself then he's had 6.

[cycoris]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

On my father's side:

around 45? people, give or take

me
my mum or my father (never at the same time)
1 aunt
1 uncle
3 cousins
3 2nd cousins
1 great-aunt
1 great-uncle
various other members of our very, very extended family, probably 30-ish people if you only count those in America, far, far more if you include our family in Turkey

On my mum's side:

47 people

me
my mum
her step-father (maybe)
5 aunts
5 uncles
1 great-uncle
2 cousins-once-removed
20 cousins
3 2nd cousins
2 honorary grandmothers
6 honorary cousins

There are also various people that are my honorary aunts/uncles/cousins that don't fit in with one side of my family in particular.

And since I'm DeeRee's foster sister, I also fit into her post above.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

My step-grandfather (mum's step-father), who fathered 2 of my uncles, is a total fruitbasket, and the family will try and avoid him being at any function, but he has a tendency to show up uninvited.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

We do count step-siblings in the family, which makes the largest nuclear family 8 people.

[Katana_Geldar]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Lets see...

My family: Mum, Dad, my stepdad (though there's no room big enough to contain all of them :smallfrown:), me, my two sisters. That's six

Mum's side: Aunty Barbara, Aunty Lorell and her kids my cousins Jessica, Michelle and Cahn, Aunty Louise and her kids Nathan and Jared, Uncle **** and Aunty Pam. As well as my Grandad and his wife, her kids Julie and Sonia and their kids, Jamie, Todd, Sarah, Terry, Kira, Dean and two others I can't remember the names for. That's 22.

Dad's side: My grandparents, their kids Uncles Terry, Peter, Mark and Robert and Aunties Tricia and Julie. Spouses, Aunty Colleen, Aunty Kim, Uncle John and Uncle Mark. Kids, Jamie (two others I can't remember the names of), Scott, Michelle, Shawn, Thomas, Christopher. That's 20.

So, a gathering of ALL my extended family, assuming they would not tear each other to pieces, would be a total of 48 people. And this is just close, as I have cousins in Melbourne from my grandfather on my mother's side that I only met a few.

My Dad's side of the family see each other quite a bit at Christmas and stuff, with the exception of my uncle robert whom I cannot remember meeting but he sends strange emails now and again. With my Mum's there are quite a number of rifts where people don't speak to each other, we haven't really goten together for about ten years since my great grandmother died, and there was a big fight over the funeral and her will.

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Yes, as a lot of them are spouses or are children from another person's previous marriage, like my grandfad's wife.

There's also a lot of people I haven't counted that aren't blood or marriage related, yet have been known by myself and my sisters as "uncle" or "aunt" for years.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

Biggest would have to be my friend Rebecca Harris, who I have not seen in tne years, she has six sisters.

[Stormthorn]

A "complete" gathering with my mom's side of the family would be me, my mom, my dad, my sister, my aunt, her husband, her son, my uncle, his wife, his son, and me moms mom.

Not everyone is related by blood, but thats about how are thanksgivings their turn out when everyone thats expected shows.
But if we started bringing my grandmothers brothers and sisters and their kids and stuff....
Well...my mom has more than 50 FIRST cousins.

[drakir_nosslin]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Well, it's only my mom's side that shows up for holidays and celebrations, so if everyone came, it would be:
Grandmother/Grandfather
My mom, dad, their children and their spouses, and their children: 9
Uncle, plus wife, plus children, plus children's spouses: 8
Uncle2, plus wife, plus children who are too young to have any serious relationships: 4
Aunt, plus children, who are old enough but aren't in any relationships right now: 4.
Adds up to a grand total of 25. Everyone are usually present during our family meetup every summer. Loads of fun! :smallbiggrin:


2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Well, no one from my fathers side are present, simply because they are too many and celebrate with their own families instead. It's almost impossible to fit them all into one place.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

Well, largest family I've ever met that are around my age have about three kids, but then I'm only 22, and they were around 25, 27 I think. My father ooth has 13 siblings, and I have a grand total of over 70 cousins. I've never met them all though, and I keep in touch with only a few of my relatives on my fathers side. But we are awfully many! :smallamused:.

[Zincorium]

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?

Holy cow. I think last time we had a family reunion, at least 60 people were there, and I've since met over 30 who hadn't been there, but are considered 'part of the clan'.

Scary when you consider this includes 0 people on my dad's side.


2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

My uncle Frank. He doesn't participate. Nobody actually knows why.


3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?

I have 4 half sisters, 2 half brothers, 1 full brother on my mom's side, and two step brother's from my dad's 2nd marriage.

I don't think anybody's topped that, but my 2nd oldest half sister is working on it.

[Eldpollard]

Maan, you all have incredibly large families, at least from my point of view.

1) How many people would be around if you had a "complete" family gathering, and how many would there be?
Let's see. On my Dad's side there is my Dad. That's it for his side, although he may have a cousin that I think he mentioned once.
On my Mum's side there's her, her brother and his wife (my aunt and uncle) they have two kids. And I have a great aunt.
Neither parent has any surviving parents, and my Dad's always been an only child (like me)

2) Are there blood relations who aren't counted in question 1; if so, why?

Possibly... I think I possibly have another great aunt that lives in Canada, and they have a small family.

3) What's the largest nuclear family (parents and their offspring only) that you know in the current generation, and do you count step-siblings with this family or separately?
In the current generation of my family? It would be my aunt and uncle's two kids.
Otherwise it's one of my friend's families which has two parents and three children.

Yes, my family is incredibly small, it makes Christmas gift buying quite easy!

[Dragonrider]

So is someone gonna run the stats on this? :smallamused: