We bring you this regularly scheduled blogging post with breaking news…I FINALLY talked my best friend/aka godmother to my babies, Meg, into guest posting here on the old blog while I’m away at the beach. We have been discussing this for some time now, and I was so glad when she said she would write in my absence…so without further adieu, here she is:
Hi everyone!
Iâm Meg, also known as Natashaâs BFF. Iâm so excited to be guest posting today
for Natasha. While Iâm a big fan of reading blogs, I donât have my own so itâs
fun to be on this side of the screen!
asked me to guest post I started racking my brain for ideas. After much
discussion, we landed on the topic of etiquette. I would, by no means, consider
myself an etiquette expert. However, my mom is very traditional when it comes
to etiquette and I love that she instilled those values in me from a young age.
Etiquette can be a sensitive subject, but I want to talk about a few things
that people have recently asked me or I’ve seen people do that just make me
think, â didn’t your mother teach you better?â
etiquette can be a touchy topic, so Iâm sure not everyone will agree with what
I say, and I completely understand that. But this is what I’ve grown up with
and what I found to be the standard in the south and also according to actual
the âexperts.â
with an easy one J
DO IT! If someone sends you an invitation that asks you to respond, whether by âRSVPâ
or âRegrets Only,â by all means respond.
And by the date requested. I know it can be hard to remember once you’ve put it on your fridge, but as a rule of thumb I will not put an invitation on
the refrigerator until I’ve responded. This helps me make sure that I donât
forget. And this goes for electronic invitations, too!
people thank you cards can be a daunting task, but donât make them overly
complicated. Especially so overly complicated that you donât do them. For
birthdays, Christmas, showers, or other events give yourself one to two weeks
to send them. Again, the sooner the better so you donât forget. As for wedding
gifts, the standard rule is three months for gifts given at the wedding. I know
for some people, myself included, three months can be hard especially depending
on the size of your wedding. But these people were kind enough to give a gift,
make sure youâre kind enough to thank them.
Cell Phones
youâre important and people are tweeting and emailing you constantly, but if
youâre going to be on the phone the whole time weâre at lunch or dinner, well that just makes for a long meal! As
someone who works in a field that is 24/7, I do understand it can be hard not
to check your phone constantly. But there arenât many times when you canât go
at least an hour without checking it. If you are expecting an important email,
text, or call, just let the people who youâre with know. At least then youâre
not acting like youâre bored and need to check Instagram every five minutes.
Shower Gifts vs. Wedding Gifts
few people ask me lately if youâre supposed to give a wedding gift if you also
gave a shower gift. There are many
varying opinions to this and many varying
circumstances to consider. My short answer is yes. I think of the shower gift
as a gift for the shower and the wedding gift as a gift for the wedding. If
youâre not sure that you can afford both, then split the amount you are able to
afford between the two gifts. With that said, if youâre invited to multiple
showers (which you shouldnât be unless youâre family or in the weddingâĻanother
topic), youâre not expected to bring a gift to both showers. There are also a
lot of people who travel from afar multiple times for one weddingâs events. In
that situation I would just do what you think is best. If youâre close enough
with the bride, just let her know!
And a few âquickiesâ to leave you with:
– Introductions: Do them! I know itâs easy to forget, but try to always remember to introduce people to each other at events or social gatherings. But make sure to call them the correct name, haha.
– Being Late: I understand we can all be late every now and again. But for those people who are constantly lateâĻcâmon now.
– Giving Thanks: Iâm constantly surprised by the number of people who never say âthank you.â And Iâm talking just simply saying, typing or signaling (when in the car) the two words. Itâs not that hard! If someone helps you, holds the door for you, or whatever it may be, say thank you!
Well I hope
you all enjoyed my etiquette tips for today, and I hope I didn’t offend anyone!
Thanks to Natasha for letting me post and thank you all for reading. I hope you
all have a great week and maybe Iâll be invited back when sweet Carson comes
along! Maybe next time Iâll share some funny stories about our beloved âTat.â
Just kidding đ
Great guest post! I think you can never have too many "please" and "thank you"s!
THANK YOU! I do not live in the South, but I was taught all these guidelines growing up. It amazes me how many people do not do these simple things! The thank-you notes, especially!
Great Guest Post Meg! So glad you touched on this subject and the wedding shower gift vs. wedding gift is really helpful.
Great post. I am hosting a baby shower for one of my friends in August and she wanted to invite everyone on her invite list to both showers that she's having (50 people!) and just would not understand why that is not okay… I wish I could tactfully get her to read this and understand, but oh well. We will make it through.
Malc, not only was this spot on, but it was also very well written. đ
Speaking of "thank yous" I hope you got our thank you for being a great hostess a couple weekends ago in the mail. Thanks for being a great hostess!
I would love to get down to the nitty gritty of southern etiquette! My gf is from the South and her mom has SO many rules! Like, always bring a gift for the host, never drink a sip after a cheers was made in your name, etc. Love this stuff!
Great post and something that is lacking in today's society. I dealt with a lot of these things when I got married and it was so shocking because I was raised to do this things. I will definitely be teaching my future children this.
Great post- I would love a follow up with more things that are really "southern" like someone else posted, about not sipping after a toast in your honor, ect. Love this type of stuff!
What a great post – it seems as though etiquette is lost these days…especially saying thank you.
I vote yes on the funny stories đ
Oooo I love etiquette too! I'm old fashioned and seriously believe in thank you notes for everything and always bringing something for the host / hostess! I'd love to hear more from you Meg!
I don't live in the South either, but I often wish I did – good manners matter! đ Great post!
Love this! I am from the South and agree with everything. I don't necessarily do a hand-written note for birthday/Christmas gifts but think is a sweet gesture. It's crazy how some wouldn't just be common sense for people, regardless of where you are from? Like simply waving/smiling back! Bless them;)
I am so glad you decdied to do your post on this! Sadly, I don't think people really consider etiquette anymore. But it's so refreshing when people do things the right way. Let's keep trying to change the world one thank-you note at a time. đ
Etiquette ,manners,culture is what adds smoothness to the rough edges of civilisations,Without culture we quickly slide back into the Paleolithic era,something best avoided. Being civilised demands precious little; a thank you,a please,a sorry can open doors which no other form of intimidation or coercion
could ever achieve.Think about it.
Thanks for a great insight.
,Etiquette ,manners,culture is what adds smoothness to the rough edges of civilisations,Without culture we quickly slide back into the Paleolithic era,something best avoided. Being civilised demands precious little; a thank you,a please,a sorry can open doors which no other form of intimidation or coercion
could ever achieve.Think about it.
Thanks for a great insight.
I'm big on RSVP'ing and properly thanking people! So important! Great post!
Great advice!
xo,
Katie
hellolittlebean.com