How to Plan a Graduation Open House

First you need to determine where you will hold the graduation open house. Consider that the weather may not be in your favor and you will want an indoor plan if the weather indeed ends up being poor.
Set the date and time. This may also play a role in the location you have chosen. Typically open houses are held on a Saturday or Sunday. Shoot for early afternoon so guest have plenty of time to get there and plenty of time left in their evening.
Once you have a location and date chosen, you will want to get to work on your invitations. Make a list of the guests you want to attend. This list will be important later as well so hold on to it. Get suggestions from your graduate on whom they would like to invite. Next to each family you will send and invite to, make a note of how many people may come in that group.
Make your own invitations to save money. Open house invites can be printed on a one page card. Use a fancier font and center it. Include the graduate the time and place of the open house. Use a separate sheet to include a map if needed. Your invite could read something like this
Please join us as we celebrate the
Graduation of
Name of graduate
From Place of School or University
An open house will be held
In their honor
On Full Date
time
At Location
Address of location
city, state
Invitations should be sent out 6-4 weeks prior to the date of the open house to ensure your guest have plenty of notice.
Next you will want to plan what food and beverage you will be serving. Finger foods work best for an open house, especially if there will not be enough table settings for everyone to sit down to eat. Take your guest list that you made for your invitations and count the number of possible guest that could attend. Plan that 20% may not show. Make a list of food and paper products you will need. Begin watching for your food items to go on sale or look for the best place to get your perishable items at the best price when it is time to purchase them. Plan to prepare enough servings for your guest based on 80% of how many you invited. A graduation cake is a tradition. You may want to begin to shop around or recruit someone to make a cake for you. Also plan on what you will need for serving trays of serving bowls. Begin to ask family and friends if you can borrow theirs if you do not have enough.
Once you have the location set and the menu planned, you will want to consider the set up of the location. Will you need to rent or borrow seating? If you are doing it at your home, you will want to make a list of things that need to be done or taken care of prior to the open house. Remove unneeded furniture or items you would not want broke.
Keep decorations simple. Maybe a few balloons. Make a display of your graduate and their accomplishments in school. This could include sport awards or academic achievements. Guest love to see pictures and you could use a recent year book. Their diploma is also a nice touch and use their graduation cap and tassel on your display. You could also include what the graduate plans to do with their future.
Plan for a gift and card area. Your graduate will not be able to open these as they come. Money is a very typical gift to give to graduate, so be sure you have someone in charge of supervising the cards and gifts as they come in.
Recruit a family member or friend to help with refilling food trays and gathering trash as it needs it. Guests want to be social, so make yourself available to socialize back.
Plan ahead your clean up and who might be available to help put the location you choose back the way it was.
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How to Organize a Youth Conference (10 Steps)

Start a committee. Canvass your church, neighborhood and the friends in your social network to get a strong group of responsible, fun-loving adults together to help you plan. Remember, many hands make light work. You don’t have to, nor should you try, to do this alone. Ask your committee members who may also be interested in chaperoning the trip.
Pick a theme. Choosing a theme for your event will make the conference feel more cohesive and build excitement. Think about the age group of the kids who may be attending and what they are into right now--the shows they watch and who they on listening to on their iPods. Consider a certain message you are trying to get across. All of these factors will be helpful in pulling together your conference theme.
Find a place to hold the event. It’s probably a good idea to research some conference venues, so you’ll have an idea of the types of places available for your event. With your committee, decide where you’ll be holding the event, using information such as cost per night, the mileage to and from, and the types of amenities available. Decide whether to stay local or attempt a far-off location. Having this information already established will help the parents decide whether to sign up their children for the conference.
Start a sign-up sheet. For budgeting purposes, it’s always good to know how many mouths you’re going to have to feed and how many kids will be in your charge. The sooner you can get the word out about the conference and get people to commit, the better off you’ll be. Set a deadline for sign-ups to end so you can let the venue—and your committee—know how many kids are in the equation.
Set a budget. Estimate the cost of gas if you’re providing your own transportation. Estimate how many meals you’ll be serving to how many folks. Have your committee help with this, and find out who among them has connections to local resources that may be willing to donate food, gas cards, etc. Maybe your neighborhood has a local cookie factory that might be willing to make a donation to your event. Consider asking for sponsorship from the businesses where your committee members are employed.
Arrange for transportation. Make sure the person driving has an updated driver’s license with the appropriate designation for the size of the vehicle he will be operating. Some larger vehicles, like buses, require additional certification, i.e., CDL if you will be utilizing a full-sized bus.
Make a checklist for parents and children. Parents love details. The more information you’re able to provide them regarding the location, the duration, the climate and the activities of your retreat, the better. Helpful also would be to provide a checklist of what to buy, what to pack and what to expect for parents and their children. The more everyone comes prepared to the conference, the more fun the kids are likely to have, and the less stressed the chaperones are likely to be.
Plan some icebreakers and other activities, in addition to the workshops. Assume there will be at least one child who doesn’t know everybody. Icebreakers are a great way to help children get to know each other a little better so they can feel more comfortable in an unfamiliar setting.
Get Insurance. Keep it safe; make sure everyone is covered, should there be an accidental injury while you’re on the trip. Contact your local insurance provider for more information on travelers’ insurance.
Run background checks of youth assistants. This is a very important step that is often overlooked. Never assume. Your local law enforcement agency can help you find the proper resource in your area so that you can run background checks on those who have volunteered to chaperone. It is also a good idea to establish safety guidelines to protect the children who are traveling as well as the adults who are chaperoning them. The Boy Scouts website has a helpful page on Youth Protection.
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How to Host a Church Tea Party for Women (6 Steps)

Set up a committee. Ask people to volunteer to help you plan this event. If the church is really small and only a few women will attend, you can avoid this step; however, if you expect a lot of women to attend, you should not plan it alone.
Determine the generalities. With your committee, choose a date, time and theme. If it is a spring tea party, choose a spring theme, such as flowers or new life. Decide how will you advertise and invite women, including response methods, such as a sign-up sheet, or ask women to send an email or fill out a response card. Another aspect to plan is whether the tea party is offered free to guests or if you will sell tickets to cover the expenses.
Choose the menu. Tea parties of course always have tea, so this is a given. Delegate someone to purchase various kinds of teas to offer the women. For the menu, some tea parties serve a light snack, such as homemade scones or muffins; whereas others serve a full lunch. One idea for a menu is serving chicken salad sandwiches on croissants with fresh fruit. You could also offer an alternative, such as tuna salad sandwiches.
Determine how you will serve the meal or snack. There are several common options for serving food. If you are offering a light snack, such as muffins and scones, place them in baskets and put a basket on each table. For a luncheon, have kitchen workers make individual plates to serve the guests or set it up buffet style.
Plan the agenda. One nice addition to a tea party is hiring a guest speaker. If you decide to do this, give the speaker the theme of the event and ask her to discuss this. For example, if the theme is new life, or spring, ask the speaker to relate her message around this subject. Plan any additional activities that will take place at the tea party, such as singing or playing a game.
Purchase decorations and supplies. This includes table covers, centerpieces, tea sets, food and a small gift for each lady. Make sure the centerpieces compliment the theme of the party.
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