You know, I never thought about it before, but it's smart of you about getting the lay of the land & meeting people a few at a time. What a clever way to turn the situation into something you're more comfortable with & ease any social anxiety!

If it's a personal friend or family member hosting the party, I always ask when they would prefer me to arrive & stick to that. I offer to come early & help, if that's something I can do. I like being on time for parties because I usually get to spend time with the host(s) when everyone else is late! I would never impose on them by arriving early. But, I understand people being more lax in their arrival time for personal parties & such.

I stress if I think I'm going to be late! I don't want to inconvenience others, or have a reputation as being inconsiderate! If something unforeseeable happens & I will be late, I always call (thank goodness for cell phones), I would rather they have the opportunity of deciding to cancel or to do something while waiting, instead of being held hostage by my potential tardiness. That said, I've only been late twice that I can remember, once the car died & the other, I was stuck behind an interminable funeral procession! Both times, since I left early, as always, I ended up late by about 15 minutes.

It's interesting to see the answers that people are often as punctual as they were when growing up; it appears to have a great impact on your future punctuality.