A few days ago, an article appeared in the Washington Post titled "Stop charging me to attend your celebrations — #guestsdontpay." Naturally the Internet is outraged.
If you are not new to The Boonie Breakdown, you have heard me state plenty of times that "Everyone's happiness is expensive." I love celebrating the accomplishments of my friends - marriages, birthdays, baby showers, etc. It's great, but the celebrations definitely do add up. I will tell you this, if I get an invitation to a gathering that requires me to pay $50 and I don't like you $50 amount, then I will decline the invitation. Simple as that!
My mother has always said "It's not a party if you have to pay to attend child." I mean she has always told me this. We have all become accustomed to being invited to the annual birthday dinner and then the bill comes and all hell can some times break lose.
You get the person yelling "I didn't have a drink or an appetizer" or the person who dips out early drops $40 on the table that only covers their two drinks and tip. It's infuriating. In these situations, I prefer to split the bill evenly and that of the honored guest. However, this is truly poor etiquette practice. It's considered poor etiquette to invite others to a party, including a sit-down dinner, and then expect them to pay for it.
In the Washington Post article, Michelle Singletary stated "This party-charging thing is indicative of an American culture in which people want to do things they can’t afford." Well damn that was a brick hitting you in the face. I mean that statement is on point.
Have we moved as a culture to want the celebratory functions with out incurring the cost. I know that if I throw myself a 35th birthday party in a few years, I would not ask my guest to pay a dime. There are exceptions to every rule, of course. However, I think all the members of your party should be notified in advance that they will be paying for their portion of the tab. I think they will be understanding to the situation and hopefully decline if they can not afford to attend.
Nothing is worse than being the person who always has to cover the gap in the bill because "party attendees" were too broke to afford the invite. Wait I take that back. Nothing is worse than the waiter bring the bill to the table and all the sudden the bill becomes a fucking calculus question and it takes 45 fucking minutes to gather the funds.
If you are the person inviting others to a function, just make sure that the expectations of attendees are clear. I am so happy that my group of friends don't have these problems! HAHAHA!
So let me know. What do you think on the issue, is this the new norm and ettiquette rules are outdated? Talk to me!
XoXo,
Boonie
P.S. I mean its quite a swindle actually. Come celebrate me, but I am not going to pay anything. LOL!
P.S.S Read the comments on the Washington Post article. They are hilarious! LOL!
