If you're throwing a graduation party this month, I hope you understand that thieves are lurking in broad daylight, targeting your party and ready to ruin your kid's graduation.

It happened to my son, and it could easily happen to you...especially in this crazy post-COVID-19 world we're living in right now. 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 be honest, the purpose of throwing a party for your grad is help them earn a little cash before they head off to the next step in their journey, whether it be college, a trade school, or taking advantage of a local job with a sign-on bonus. No matter what your grad is planning to do with their future, a little cash for a kickstart is exactly why we hold graduation parties.

Back in 2013, my son Benjamin's graduation party before college ended in disaster because some deviant showed up at our back yard party, scoped out the situation, and when we were all focusing on the band, stole the card box with all the cards and money inside.

We actually thought everyone at our party was a friend or family, but we quickly found out that the guy we thought was with the caterer, told the caterer he was friends with us. When it was all said and done, no-one suspected a thing, and this criminal (from a fairly prominent family in the neighborhood) was ready to take advantage of our trust.

I tell this story every year in hopes that others won't fall victim to a sneaky burglar like we did.

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 also.

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. That's what our thief did and when he was a few hundred feet away, he broke open the locked box, took the cash and threw away the rest.

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.

There's nothing wrong with being a little paranoid. Believe me, your grad with thank you in the end when they're opening their cards.

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