I’m not home at the time of candle lighting

I’m going to my friends’ in a different city on Chanukkah eve before sunset, and I won’t be back home until approximately 11 PM. What should I do about candle lighting?

Dear …!

You have several options:

1. The best way is to send an emissary who’ll light candles in your house for you, when the time comes to light the candles. That way you’ll fulfill your obligation. It’s proper for you to hear the blessings over candle lighting from someone who lights himself, so that you’ll also fulfill the obligation of reciting the blessings.
2.  If sending an emissary is not an option, but you’re planning to leave your house after the time of plag-haminchah, which is an hour and a quarter before sunset (relative hours), then you can light in your house yourself, with a blessing. But you have to make sure that there is enough oil so that your Chanukkah lamps will burn for at least a half an hour after the stars come out. (Again, using relative hours; the length of relative hours for night and day, as well as the time that the stars come out, should be all be listed in a Jewish calendar.)  
3. If this is also impossible, for example, if you’re planning to leave before the specified time, you should just light when you come back home late at night.