timing

Here's my quandary: now and again I'll have a gig that is somewhat special. It may be a concert for a large audience, a prestigious venue or a new band line-up. I am eager to invite friends, family and colleagues to the event. But I have found that I consistently run into two problems. 1) The timing is never right: too close to Christmas, too close to March break, too hot, too cold, relatives over from Mongolia, sickness in the family, a wedding, too rainy, too snowy...and more. 2) No matter when I announce the event, I get a slew of excuses: either my concert is too far in the future ("let me know closer to the date, we'll do our best to be there") or it's too close to the date ("would love to come but already have plans, you really ought to let us know more in advance")

Without further ado I'll admit that I've been known to employ the very same tactics. We are all very busy with way to many events flooding our schedule. I don't know whether this dilemma of mine even has a solution. I just wish I could discover the secret of perfect timing!