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Dinner party review, a moral and a question
Menu
Pork tenderloin - rave reviews as always - people love this and it requires practically no effort. You don't even have to wash the dish!
Grilled vegetables - these were incredible, definitely 5 stars. Best served steaming hot right off the grill; they're kinda meh when they're room temp.
My friend brought Paula Deen's corn casserole - very good; a homey comfort dish. She said it was ridiculously easy to make.
Lemon tarlets - I thought these had a cloying, artificial flavor and I wouldn't make them again.
The neighbor brought the greatest brownies I've ever eaten. Make box brownies, whatever kind you like. When they're done, turn off the oven. Top the brownies with Andes mints or those little mini peppermint patties that come in the white box and stick them back in the oven for a couple mins. Spread with a spatula. They taste exactly like a Girl Scout thin mint!
Moral
Part 1: RSVP. Part 2: If you RSVP in the affirmative for something, be so kind as to actually appear. Part 3: If you're not going to show, please tell your hostess.
19 people RSVP'd for our party last night. 7 showed. We spent lots of time and money expecting to host our friends and neighbors and they flaked without any notice. Only one couple informed us they couldn't make it, which brings me to my
Question
The couple that told us they weren't coming sent me a text 30 minutes before the party, saying they hadn't been able to find a babysitter. I call BS. Both sets of grandparents live in town, along with one of their brothers. We ran into one of the grandmothers at the grocery store yesterday and she told us she wasn't up to anything last night and she couldn't stop talking about her only grandson.
When I first moved here, I was without DH and the couple said they'd invite me over for dinner since I was alone in a new town - they never did. I told them we should get together for dinner - they couldn't ever find a date that worked for them. I invited them to my last dinner party - they couldn't come.
The husband is one of DH's best friends from college. They were groomsmen for each other.
WWYD about this couple? Keep making the effort? Think they're trying to give you a hint and stop trying to hang out with them? Chalk it up to the challenges of having a 1yo?
Re: Dinner party review, a moral and a question
Hi! Your menu looks awesome - as always.
Re: guests who RSVP'd and were "no show, no call". Forget them. That is so very, very rude. They must have no idea the time and expense of hosting and don't deserve to be invited to fun events.
Re: parents of 1 year old - no excuse for last minute CXL. My DH and I have a soon to be 2 and 3 year old and would never CXL like that either. In a dire emergency - one of us would go and one would stay home and bring whatever we were supposed to and then we would switch. (This has only happened once).
Better luck next time - we also host a lot more than we are invited to too...
Moral - You and I had the same problem last night. We had a bbq for neighbors and close co-workers. Invited 33, had 20 confirmed, had 10 show up. SO MUCH FOOD LEFTOVER. One girl canceled a few hours before, not a peep from the others. The girl who canceled was a strong maybe from the beginning so that was ok. Even the neighbors who's mother passed away an hour before the party still came (we told them they didn't have to)
Question -
I vote write them off. I had a co-worker like that, she always had an excuse, always. But always talked about getting together. I would rather her just say, no thank you.
This sounds awful, but I'm glad it happened to someone else! I did start to tear up with DH while he was out at the grill, taking it completely personally that no one came.
Some food I was fortunate enough not to prepare when I saw people weren't arriving. But there's lots of leftovers still.
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Honestly, I think there will ALWAYS be people who don't RSVP and there will ALWAYS be people who say they are coming and don't. It stinks, but seems to happen to everyone.
We're not big fans of pork tenderloin, but that looks easy enough - we might have to try it!
Your menu looks delicious!
As for the RSVPing thing...I had a very similar things happen to me this weekend. My Hubby and I had a Housewarming party this past Saturday. Of the 25 people who RSVP'd, half did not show up. No one texted to say they weren't coming. We got a few texts the next day from various people saying "Sorry we couldn't make it, but congrats." I even had a friend tell me today some story about how she had a friend who's grandma died and she needed comforting. If that was the case, then by all means comfort your friend...but a text saying you couldn't make it would have been polite. Fortunately, my hubby's family is awesome and they came by again on Sunday to help us finish off all the food. We still have half a keg of beer left though, which we wouldn't have got if we would have known so may people were going to flake on us...
I don't think there's anything to really say or do about it. The people that honestly care will come to your parties, there will always be lame people who RSVP and don't show up. I understand things come up in people's lives and sometimes they just can't make it to your parties. But I think if you've RSVP'd for something, a simple text message of phone call if you can't make it is appreciated. Especially when food and drinks cost so much for the people who throw the parties.
I'm so sorry you had so many no-shows. I always take it personally too. There's just no way to NOT feel bad about someone blowing you off, especially when you went to a lot of trouble and expense.
I know people like the no-babysitter couple. Some of them are jerks and make up last minute excuses because they found something better to do and some are just flaky--they may RSVP but they don't make firm in their heads until 30 minutes beforehand. Honestly, if you like them when you do get to hang out, I'd keep inviting them but always consider them a "no". I have a low tolerance for "That's just how they are!" behavior but it may be that that's really just how they are. It's up to you if the good times are worth it.
And your party sounds fun regardless! I know you always rec that pork tenderloin and I always think it's a great suggestion. We have our own version that's the ultimate go-to.
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