I hold formal dinner parties with limited place settings. But there are friends who never respond to my invitations and show up anyway. What’s the best way to accommodate them?

I usually say simply, “What a nice surprise,” but I am then left to shuffle place cards, add settings (often unmatched) and ...

My question is how to react when people do not respond to an invitation, nor to a gentle nudge and arrive anyway.

In today's Miss Manners column, advice columnist Judith Martin responds to a host seeks advice on handling friends who arrive ...

My question is how to react when people do not respond to an invitation, nor to a gentle nudge (such as an emailed “I wondered if you had received this,” with a second copy of the invitation) — and ...

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a single man who inherited, from my parents and grandparents, both a love of entertaining and also a ...

These are friends of mine, and I do want to entertain them, but I’m afraid I’ll be limiting them to barbecues in the future.

Some of the world's best flavors are found in casual spots, but local customs still carry weight. Whether it's the specific ...

Miss Manners hopes, however, that you will not otherwise dumb down your charming, seated dinner parties because of a few outlaws. We, the purveyors of fish knives and strawberry forks, are a dying ...

Whether it's politics over the holidays or pineapple pizza on game night, here's how to have a civil conversation when you disagree—and when to make a graceful exit ...

Feeling "Clueless" about what to nosh on during your next movie night? You’ve come to the right place.