R.S.V.P.

Hannah is having a birthday party Saturday. The invites were handed out to some, others were mailed. She also received an invitation to a party the day after hers. Both invites have an RSVP on them. And it got me to thinking about RSVP's.

I have found more and more in recent years of giving parties for the girls, that a lot of people simply ignore the RSVP, which could mean one of two things. The first: that rudeness is a growing trend in our society, which I think we can all agree is most definitely an ever growing trend, or second that people simply do not understand what RSVP means.

The term R.S.V.P. comes from the French expression "repondes s'il vous plait". Translated to English means "please respond". When R.S.V.P. is written on an invitation, it means the party hostess would appreciate the guest informing the hostess whether or not they plan to or not plan to attend the party.

A lot of times there is the misunderstanding that it means to respond only if coming, or only if not coming. The expression for not coming would be "regrets only".

R.S.V.P. means the party host needs a definite count of people planning to come to the event. In the instance of children's parties, an R.S.V.P. is often asked for so that enough goodie bags can be prepared. Or in the instance for the party in which Hannah was invited to, enough place settings are set for the tea party.

A party list of incomplete party respondents is not only rude, but it can create difficulty for the party host in his or her planning. Perhaps todays post has been an informative and educational one?? If so, the next time you receive an invite with an R.S.V.P., you'll remember this post and alert the hostess as to whether or not you'll be attending. :)