The young couple who said they'd come for Christmas dinner if they were in town did email me by my deadline of last Sunday and said they unfortunately still didn't know if they'd be here. Some complications in their lives and the weather made being here uncertain. They apologized profusely. I emailed back to say that this was okay, that I would probably serve the same thing whether there were six of us or only four, so if they were here, please come. Five o'clock.
However (and are you ready for this?), on the Monday before Christmas, a good friend whom I'd invited and who'd said he was going to be with his family for Christmas, and then said he wasn't but that he'd committed to another friend for dinner, called to say that he and his friend, and a friend of hers, would really like to come for dinner if the invitation was still open. My table seats six comfortably but I can stretch it to seven (even though I only have six of the champagne glasses I wanted to use), but I decided it was better to have a certain number than an uncertainty. So I told him to please come and bring his friend, and her friend. Well, he wasn't certain if the friend of the friend would come - he didn't have a definite on that yet - but he and the friend would definitely be here. Was I sure I didn't mind? No. Not at all. They'd all be welcome. Yes. Please come. Well what about the uncertain couple? How would I handle that? So, in my best Emily Post fashion, I emailed the young couple to say that a back-up couple I had previously invited suddenly said they could make it for dinner, which made my table full. If the young couple were in town, please come for drinks with us. At five. Nothing more from them. And I admit to feeling somewhat guilty but I had taken them to The Prime Rib for dinner so it wasn't as if they could think I was being totally rude.
The day before Christmas, I received an email from my friend saying that the friend of his friend would also come. So there would be seven. Okay. I can make that work. And my friend, and his friend, and her friend, didn't know the trio who were my initial, confirmed guests, so that might make the evening more interesting. You never know about inviting people who don't know each other. But I usually risk it, thinking that if some guests don't know other guests, it puts everyone on their best behavior. And as it turned out, it did.
Stay tuned.
However (and are you ready for this?), on the Monday before Christmas, a good friend whom I'd invited and who'd said he was going to be with his family for Christmas, and then said he wasn't but that he'd committed to another friend for dinner, called to say that he and his friend, and a friend of hers, would really like to come for dinner if the invitation was still open. My table seats six comfortably but I can stretch it to seven (even though I only have six of the champagne glasses I wanted to use), but I decided it was better to have a certain number than an uncertainty. So I told him to please come and bring his friend, and her friend. Well, he wasn't certain if the friend of the friend would come - he didn't have a definite on that yet - but he and the friend would definitely be here. Was I sure I didn't mind? No. Not at all. They'd all be welcome. Yes. Please come. Well what about the uncertain couple? How would I handle that? So, in my best Emily Post fashion, I emailed the young couple to say that a back-up couple I had previously invited suddenly said they could make it for dinner, which made my table full. If the young couple were in town, please come for drinks with us. At five. Nothing more from them. And I admit to feeling somewhat guilty but I had taken them to The Prime Rib for dinner so it wasn't as if they could think I was being totally rude.
The day before Christmas, I received an email from my friend saying that the friend of his friend would also come. So there would be seven. Okay. I can make that work. And my friend, and his friend, and her friend, didn't know the trio who were my initial, confirmed guests, so that might make the evening more interesting. You never know about inviting people who don't know each other. But I usually risk it, thinking that if some guests don't know other guests, it puts everyone on their best behavior. And as it turned out, it did.
Stay tuned.
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