Tuesday, March 6, 2012

RSVP....Please!

So, I have learned this year that people don't RSVP anymore. My 21 birthday was in February and my aunt threw me a party. It was a big deal and people really needed to RSVP to make sure that there was room with what we were doing. We never heard a thing from anybody. I had to call and text all of my friends to find out if they were coming. Never once did anybody bother. Now, my daughter's birthday is coming up. And of course, I haven't heard a thing from anybody and the party is on Saturday. UGHHHH.

An RSVP is a reply to an ivitation. I figure most people know that. Here is an article on how important RSVPing etiquette is. I found this on emilypost.com, about the importance of RSVP'ing. There are many reasons why RSVP'ing is important. The host of the party needs to know how many people are coming so they can decide on many factors. They need to know how much food they need, how big of a space they need, if they should even have the party at all. It is a big deal. The host probably doesn't want to spend extra money if there isn't a need to, and they probably don't want to not have enough of anything for people. Extra people showing up can actually be worse than not enough people coming.

Hopefully, I have a big enough cake and not more children then I plan on at my daughter's party. Manners and ettiquette are both exciting topics for me. I love them. And since I love them so much, I follow them. I understand that manners aren't everything to some people, and that's ok. However, if a person puts RSVP on an ivitation, then you should reply dammit! Just to be courteous at the least. I don't want to have to not accept you at the door of some party I throw because you didn't reply and I didn't plan for you but you show up anyway. However, maybe that's what people need to start doing. Maybe others would get the hint!

6 comments:

brittanylynn09 said...

I understand your frustration with people no longer RSVPing to anything. I recently had a wedding and we had nowhere near enough seating for everyone at the reception because nobody responded to if they were going to go or not. It causes much unneeded stress!

Naomi Orr said...

I understand. How many people who came to your birthday said, "I assumed you knew I was coming" or "you know I wouldn't have missed it"? If I don't hear from someone I assume they are not coming! When I came home from Portland I planned a dinner out with all my friends that I had not seen in a year... only 3 people said they were coming so I reserved a table for 4. That made it awkward for me having to move between 3 table to talk to everyone who showed up.

John S. said...

I totally understand. People just seem to think that you should know they are going to be there or not or that you should be able to read their mind. I respond to those requests even if I am not able to be a part of the festivities. I do this so that the person understands that I care for them no matter if I can't be there because of work or another obligation. It is a matter of manners. The person is just trying to plan accordingly. Too much or too little of the food or beverage can make for an unhappy gathering.

Scott said...

I heard of a good way to solve this problem. When you put out the invite in the mail, you intentionally leave off the time or the date. This way they have to call you to ask when it is and at that point you will know if they are coming.

Lindsey Mercer said...

Oh, I completely agree. There is nothing more frustrating for a host than worrying that there may not be enough!

jaymo27 said...

I am a none RSVP kind of person too sorry guilting, but with all the comunication we have no an email or text text is just soo much easier.