Holiday open house timing

[Nomad]

i posted earlier about holiday open house and got good ideas.

We moved here this summer. New city.

Between my immediate neighbors and a few old friends and a few new friends I've only got about 26 people to invite. A Sunday afternoon.

Questions:
1. If I make it 1-4 or 5 it could get very spread out and perhaps most people would come between 1-2:30 (best guess). Then anyone coming later it would look like hardly anyone came.

Should I consider narrowing it down to force a bigger crowd? 1-3:30 or something like this? Would this be more like a lunch?

2. Other than my son and his immediate nuclear family, I was NOT considering inviting family. I'm actually having all of them for Xmas so I didn't nt think it's necessary. Besides, if I invite one, I would have to invite them all.... correct?

What to call it?
Holiday lunch?
Holiday Open House?
Holiday Open House/Lunch?

Thank you.

 

[RN0441]

Nomad

Sounds like a great idea! I'd limit the time also so that you get more at one time.

Why not call it Holiday Open House - then in body of invite: lunch will be served!

 

[KTMom91]

We discovered this with my mom's BD party last year. We did NOT specify what time lunch was to be served, and some people thought it was an open house, and there would be food the entire time. There wasn't. So...my take on this is that if you plan to serve a real lunch, give a time. If it's an open house, and there will be finger foods available the entire time, you only need to give start and end times.