College is almost done
BY TRESA ERICKSON

You're just months away from graduating from college. You're proud of everything you have accomplished, but you're not sure if you should send out graduation announcements. Wouldn't that imply to the recipients that they were also invited to your actual graduation ceremony? You can't have that. You only have so many tickets to the ceremony to give away.

First things first, sending out a graduation announcement does not mean the recipient is also invited to your graduation ceremony. It simply announces to them that you are about to graduate or have graduated, so you may send out as many graduation announcements as you wish.

You should order your graduation announcements fairly early and send them out two weeks prior to or after your graduation ceremony. If you are using them as invitations to your graduation ceremony or party, you should send them out two weeks in advance. If you are using them simply as announcements, you may send them out two weeks after your graduation ceremony.

Here are some tips in preparing announcements:

• Address each outer envelope by hand in blue or black ink, using the recipient's full name and address and excluding all abbreviations except for Mr., Mrs. and Ms.

• Address each inner envelope informally with all of the names of the recipients, including children. For example, for an announcement for your uncle's family, you may write, "Uncle Jack, Aunt Kate, and Bridget, Brandon and Billy."

• Place your name card in the cardholder of the announcement, if there is one. If not, place it in the fold of the announcement with your name facing away from the text.

• Insert your announcement in the inner envelope with the front facing the flap.

• Fasten the flap with a seal or leave the flap hanging out.

• Slide the inner envelope into the outer envelope with the front facing the flap of the outer envelope.