This One Simple Thing Could Save You From a Graduation Nightmare

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.

LOOK: What are the odds that these 50 totally random events will happen to you?

Stacker took the guesswork out of 50 random events to determine just how likely they are to actually happen. They sourced their information from government statistics, scientific articles, and other primary documents. Keep reading to find out why expectant parents shouldn't count on due dates -- and why you should be more worried about dying on your birthday than living to 100 years old.

How Many in America: From Guns to Ghost Towns

Can you take a guess as to how many public schools are in the U.S.? Do you have any clue as to how many billionaires might be residing there? Read on to find out—and learn a thing or two about each of these selection’s cultural significance and legacy along the way.

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

LOOK: 50 essential civil rights speeches

Many of the speakers had a lifetime commitment to human rights, but one tried to silence an activist lobbying for voting rights, before later signing off on major civil rights legislation. Several fought for freedom for more than one oppressed group.

Keep reading to discover 50 essential civil rights speeches.

Categories: New York News