Miss Manners: One of the guests made everybody walk out in the middle of my party

DEAR MISS MANNERS My husband got a new job and as a way to get to know his new co-workers we decided to host a holiday party at our house Related Articles Miss Manners She s declared herself the dessert boss and the rest of us end up paying Miss Manners Don t they realize it s rude to make a car chirp like that Miss Manners How do I tell a specialist not to swear in front of my kid Miss Manners I have to wear a name tag and I hate the way these men say my name Miss Manners I have a battle I play with strangers Am I being rude We invited the people he works largest part closely with his immediate boss and everyone s spouses It was about people in all I am not used to being a hostess but put a great deal of effort time and money into the food and decorations We had turkey ham and various sides and desserts The spread was impressive and beautiful When the guests arrived it turned out they had all ridden with the boss and his wife in their large van instead of driving their own cars About minutes after their arrival and before hardly any food had been served the boss s wife got a phone call and announced she and her husband needed to help a friend move particular furniture right now She then proceeded to round up all of my guests load them into their van and drive away leaving no one for the party A fortune in food was left on my table I remember standing there looking at it and crying I was so humiliated and angry I honestly never want to host a gathering of any kind ever again My question Was there any way to have prevented this rude woman from stealing away all of my guests GENTLE READER Counter-questions Did the boss and his wife drop the guests off before the exigency furniture move Were they left on the street Coerced into helping Back to yours Perhaps you could have notified the other guests that you and your husband would help arrange transportation for them either taking them home yourselves or facilitating ride-shares or taxis More importantly Miss Manners hopes that with time you will realize that this rudeness was extreme and rare and that you will try your hand at entertaining again It sounds as if you are good at it She also hopes that your husband s new job is not similarly fraught with chaos or that his boss is sufficiently contrite that he gets something out of the dreadful experience DEAR MISS MANNERS If my neighbor has a yard sale should I feel obligated to purchase something even if I have no use for it Conversely if I have a yard sale and a neighbor wants to purchase something should I tell them to just take it no charge GENTLE READER Unless your residential area has an uncommon outside draw bulk of your customers are going to be neighbors If you give things away to them it will be a Yard Donation not a Sale Related Articles Dear Abby I don t want this child at my house What do I tell her parents Asking Eric My husband gets paid to do nothing and I can t stand it Harriette Cole I think the ushers should have done more after I fell Miss Manners She s declared herself the dessert boss and the rest of us end up paying Dear Abby My husband s excuse is that he only ogles women who are prettier than me Conversely Miss Manners assures you that you are not obligated to buy anything from them But do your neighbors the favor of not wasting their time by asking the origin and history of every single item thinking it is polite That would just be taunting them DEAR MISS MANNERS Is it rude to take old vegetables from the refrigerator then come up behind someone and place the vegetables under their nose and ask if they should be thrown out GENTLE READER Rude and potentially hazardous not just for the nose but for the nervous system when they scare you from behind Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website www missmanners com to her email gentlereader missmanners com or through postal mail to Miss Manners Andrews McMeel Syndication Walnut St Kansas City MO