Choosing the date should be a simple thing, right?  One would think so, but there are several factors to consider before simply picking a date and marking it on your calendar.

If you plan early, your task is less complicated because there are fewer potential conflicts.  First, check on the date of graduation.  Each year, celebrations are held earlier; many are set even before graduation.  This helps spread out the events so people are free to attend more of them.  The bulk of graduation parties and graduation open houses are scheduled on graduation night and for the next two weeks.  Fewer guests will attend the further from graduation the event is scheduled. Although it would seem like waiting a month would be a great idea because your graduate's open house will not conflict with others', many friends will lose interest in celebrating graduations after a few weeks, June weddings often take away potential guests, and others just want to get busy enjoying their summer at the lake, rather than going to another graduation open house.

Second, check the school calendar to be sure there are no conflicting activities.  Then just decide on a date that will be convenient for you and your family, and notify extended family, neighbors, and close friends of your teen and family of the date and time and you are all set.

Once the date is chosen and people are notified, it will be difficult to change it.  It is possible, but not preferable.  Like a wedding date, there will always be people who are important to your family who will not be able to attend and you will just have to be sure that the most important people in your lives will not have a conflict on the day you have chosen.

If you are not fortunate enough to choose your date early, you will need to take into account a few things:  First, are the neighbors having party at same time so there would be a parking problem?  Secondly, what dates and times have your teen's closest friends picked?  (If a best friend's open house is on the same day from 3:00-6:00 p.m. and your open house is from 4:00-7:00 p.m., the friend may be able to join your party for the last half hour, but your teen may not be able to attend their friend's event.)  Have your graduate check dates and times of their friends' open houses and ask them to prioritize the ones they want to be sure to attend.  Then steer clear of those dates.  Lastly, if out-of-town relatives are coming, what day would work best for their travel schedules?  A Friday or a Sunday night doesn't allow them time to travel without conflicting with weekday work schedules.  If you have a lot of traveling guests, a Saturday graduation open house might be best.

If it's too difficult to choose your date because of these and other factors, consider:

• - Choosing a date before graduation
• - Scheduling your event on a weeknight
• - Having a weekend brunch or early lunch
• - Or, if necessary, pick a date several weeks after graduation

One final hint:  three hours is an excellent amount of time for a graduation open house.  Events that are four or more hours long allow the opportunity for lulls in attendance, which detract from the party atmosphere.  Also, with most of the preparation and clean-up on that day, three hours of entertaining will be perfect; more than that may lead to exhaustion for you and your family.

Once you have picked the date and time of your graduation open house, you are well on your way.  It won't be long and you will have all your graduation party ideas pulled together.

Laurie Phelps