Hey, Who Took a Bite of That Cookie and Put It Back?

So I went to an engagement party last night. It was reception style, so you basically come when you want to, beginning at 8 pm. It was really nice, and really fun, and I walked away thinking about timing. How do you know when to go to a party so that you get there when most of the people you'll want to see will be showing up? How do you balance that with the need, as family, to show up somewhat on time? This was a family event, so whenever I got there, there would be people I knew and WANTED to speak to and hang out with. But it was also a local party, so there could have been a lot of people there who I knew.

In retrospect, I'd say I probably went too early. Called for 8, I got there about 8:50. It was fairly empty, so it was nice shmoozing with the cousins and such. I stayed about an hour, and as I was leaving I saw a whole bunch of people who I knew coming in.

So when you over analyze it, it makes the whole thing a little less fun. But after the fact analyzing can be a tool for next time. Here's what I should have done:

Hmmm, called for 8. On a weeknight, local. Most people won't want to come too late, but it's hard to leave the kids, so assume that non- family won't show up a minute before 9, but 9 can be kinda early if the kids aren't going into bed nicely and you're quickly putting up one more roast for Succos. So assume 9:30 is when things will get hopping. So I'd say between 9:30 and 10:30 were probably the main prime times (cuz really, who wants to FIRST get dressed at 10:30 and THEN go to a party for fifteen minutes). But that's late to show up when you're family and live local. Hmmm. So the other solution would be to stay longer, but that's ridiculous too, because really, how long are you going to stay and not seem like that oddball relative who just doesn't know when to leave. So really there is no good way to time these things, so you just have to go when it works out best for your own schedule, and plan to socialize at a more fixed time event.

The real question is, how many people got there after 10, and were disappointed because they missed me?