Manners
"You have been invited to someone's home for dinner"
What to do??
Be Fashionably On Time: Arrive
at a formal dinner party thirty minutes before dinner. At a less formal event, the general rule
today is to arrive no earlier than twenty minutes before dinner. Gifts are not expected unless it is a birthday
or a celebration of some sort. You may
bring a special bottle of vintage port, champagne, or sparkling cider. Never suggest or mention that your wine be
served. The host or hostess has decided
which wines should accompany his or her menu.
Flowers should not be given to the hostess because she or
the staff will be too preoccupied to arrange them. The flowers, like the wine, have already been
chosen. Instead, it is thoughtful to
call the hostess several days before the dinner to say you would like to send
her flowers in advance and ask what are a few of her favorites as well as her
preference in color.
Make An Entrance: Almost everyone watches the entrance of a
room. Enter the room with good
posture. Do not rush into the room, even
if you are late. Do not slouch. Do not speak loudly or expect everyone to
stop what they are doing and greet you.
Rather, look for the honoree, the host, or the hostess and greet them
politely while complimenting the hostess on some item of décor, her costume,
etc. It is true you only get one chance
to make a first impression; be careful that your impression is a good one. Always be sure to greet the host or hostess
before you accept a drink.
NOTE: Shoes
off at the front door can be done very comfortably by providing
slip-ons for indoor use or shoe covers.
You can put a basket by the door filled with surgical booties. Also have a bench or chair nearby so guests
can sit down and either take their shoes off, put slip-ons on, or put booties
over their shoes.
Remove Gloves: Remove your gloves before
you shake a person’s hand. Unless there
is a reason not to, it is best to remove your gloves as soon as you arrive at
an event.
NOTE: Gloves are often thought of as
something born of the Napoleonic era. In
fact, they’ve been worn for over 10,000 years.
Of course, the earliest uses were not for fashion but more utilitarian
in purpose. Gloves protected one’s hands
from harsh weather or hard labor. Even
thousands of years ago, they were not worn during dinner service. This is understandable when you consider that
until the 1600s, food was traditionally eaten with fingers.
More coming soon...
NEW ONLINE TEA ETIQUETTE TRAINING AVAILABLE!
Ms. Bernadette M. Petrotta
Founder & Director
Polite Society School of Etiquette
Authored Books:
The Art of the Social Graces
The Art and Proper Etiquette of Afternoon Tea
EMMA The Etiquette Cat: Meet Emma
Website: PoliteSocietySchool.com
Email: PoliteSocietySchool@Whidbey.com
Blog: PoliteSocietySchool.blogspot.com
