How do you feel when you invite someone over and he/she brings along others without asking? Some people have the attitude that more is merrier. They don’t mind if a friend brings other friends. Not everyone feels that way though. Some people feel differently. They invited you and you didn’t ask if you could bring others along. When some people receive an invitation they just take for granted that they can extend the invitation to others as well. This is bad etiquette.

Put yourself in the place of the person who invited you. How would you feel? Okay, maybe you wouldn’t mind if your friend brought guests but the least they could do is ask first. Different people have different ways of doing things. What is okay with one person may not be acceptable in the eyes of the next person.

There are several factors to take into consideration before inviting others along. For example, if you’re invited to dinner for four people taking along two friends could be a problem if the host/hostess only has made enough to feed four people. If the invitation was just for the two of you and you bring along others it could make the person who invited you feel uncomfortable. Perhaps that person wanted to spend time alone with you. The situation could become awkward.

If you’ve been invited somewhere for the weekend taking along friends without asking is not a good idea. Your friend may not be able to adequately accommodate extra guests. Even if you’re going to a large party it doesn’t mean it’s okay to take along other people without permission. The friend who invited you could misinterpret your actions as taking advantage of his/her hospitality.

Accepting an invitation for yourself doesn’t automatically mean that you can extend that invitation to others as well unless the host or hostess has specifically included an extended invitation. Even an informal footnote or verbal statement such as “Tell your friends and family,” or “Feel free to bring along a friend,” is enough confirmation to do so.

If you have intentions of bringing others along you should always ask permission of the person who invited you. It’s only common sense and good etiquette. Do your friend the favor of showing enough courtesy to ask before bring other guests to their home, party or other function. Even if he/she tells you that you didn’t have to ask you can rest assured he/she will appreciate the fact that you did.

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