For those with a graduate in the family, summer means one thing: the graduation party. Throw an open-house party and give your grad the chance to shine! Here are our top tips for putting together a grad party with ease.

Usually, an open house party happens on a weekend afternoon and will last for several hours. State clearly on your invitation the hours. For example, “Please join us for an open house from 1 p.m–5 p.m. Sunday, June 11.” If you’re inviting a great number of people, consider staggering times on invitations to ensure a steady flow of guests throughout the day.

Remember that not every guest will sample every item, so you don’t have to prepare everything in as large a quantity as you might think. For example, if you’re serving a crowd of 30 and you are offering two salads, you don’t need to make 30 helpings of each salad! Unless you want plenty of leftovers, of course.

Here are tips for keeping your outdoor party foods safe.

Serve foods that are easy to prepare, serve and eat. Avoid those that require complex serving methods. Meats, cold cuts and pasta salads are all simple choices. Dishes that have to be made at the last minute and then kept warm should be avoided.

For a fun remembrance of the party, blow up the grad’s photo and glue it to a sheet of white poster board. Place the photo, along with a permanent marker or two, on an easel or table in a central location. Ask guests to sign and write a message to the grad with family members signing first to give other guests the idea.

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