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I keep my recitals not longer than 1 hour, and I make sure that each recital has a good mix of different level of playing and repertoire. Because of that, I have 2 or 3 separate sessions that students can choose to sign up for. It works out pretty good.

I agree with you, I do not look forward to them either! After working on the pieces for so long and hearing them time after time, I am relieved to be done with it. I have the kids do the entire thing. I don't speak a word. They all say 2-4 sentences about their recital choices. I tell them to find something interesting about it/the composer, not dates etc...
They introduce each other. They do the writing/welcoming and the writing/closing. All I do is hand out their awards. I find that the audiences usually like the kids more, they're cuter than I am lol and it makes them feel good about it, even if they don't play perfectly. They are never more than an hour long either.
As far as parent's mingling, I find that when the kids make the program covers (I use ALL the covers that come to me, we do not "pick our favorite") they mingle afterward if only to get the cover that their own child made :-)

Dear Ebony and Ivory,
I like your idea of getting the students to host the recitals, and I just sit back and enjoy! I also like the idea of students designing the program covers. I shall try them both out in my next recital.

Awesome! Glad I could share :-)
I used to do voting on the cover designs, but it really isn't fair with such a range of ages, and it really doesn't take any more effort to make them all.
Plus it's cool to see how their drawings progress over the years too!

These are great ideas.

I have students participate in 2 auditions a year and one big recital My recital is an awards recital and reception. I divide the students up into three recitals (all on one day) so each recital is not too long- 45 minutes tops. At this recital we recognize the students achievements for the year. I ask parents to bring cookies for a reception. It is a busy Saturday for me with three recitals but seems to work well. I also arrange mini recitals with 4-5 students to play at various nursing home. It is smaller crowd of parents and less stress for students but it still gives students performance opportunities. I encourage students to build a repertoire list and depend on the competition preparation for the recitals.

I do believe a recital should have entertainment value for the audience so I ask advance students for all three recitals. It is a privilege for students to be asked to perform for all the recitals….and it makes my studio look good…… I also play duets with beginner students to make it more interesting for the listener.