Your son or daughter has graduated and now you're throwing them the party of their lives before they head off on the next leg of their journey through life. Whether the party is in your backyard, or at a venue somewhere else, there is one very important thing that you need to do to prevent a disaster.

Let's start by acknowledging one of the purposes for throwing the party in the first place: the hope of raising a little cash for your kid before they head to college (or whatever path they take). That's exactly what we did for our son who graduated in 2013, and unfortunately, our party ended in disaster because someone stole the card box with all the cards and money inside.

The one thing you need to do before letting anyone into the party is come up with a fool-proof place to secure the cards. By the way, this problem isn't exclusive to graduation parties as it happens every year during wedding season.

Some suggestions:

1.  Assign an attendant to the card box

2.  Empty the box frequently and store cards in a secure place

3. Create a box that can't be removed that only allows cards to go in, and not out

4. Don't place the card box near a door, or near a spot that isn't attended

If you google graduation card boxes, everything comes up Martha Stewart. Creative, cute, and easily lifted and removed from the property.

How did we blow it for my son's graduation party? Click here to read the original news story from my son's party. I'll give you a hint: we thought we had figured it all out with a clever way to store the gift box near the cake. We thought it was secure. We never thought a stranger would infiltrate the party. We were very wrong on all accounts.

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