When Does A Party Really Begin

Martin Little posed a good question. What time does the party start? (Ted's Birthday party, that is.) If I had sent out invitations I would have said 8ish. But if you say 8ish, people show up at 10:30ish. And if you say 9ish, they'll arrive at 10:45ish. But if you want people to arrive at 9:30ish, because you're looking forward to seeing everyone, you'd have to say 7:15ish on the invitation, and then people would think dinner was involved. No sit-down dinner. Arrive when you like, the earlier the better.