"répondez, s'il vous plaît"

RSVP .... 

What does that really mean? According to my research, it comes from the French phrase "répondez, s'il vous plaît" ... translation [Respond, please]

Generally there is date that you should respond by - you know let the person who issued the invitation know if you'll be there or not. 

I struggle with this, well just with the getting people to let me know if they are coming. I have no problem letting people know if we're attending or sending our regrets.

Here are some myths about RSVPing I believe exist ...

Myth 1: When I call to say "Yes" or "No" I will get sucked into a long phone conversation and I don't have time for that

I spend a large majority of my day talking to people - in person AND on the phone. When I get home, I'm not in the mood for a long conversation either. 

Call when you know we aren't home and talk to the machine - she hangs up after 60 seconds so that is your maximum commitment. Email or text work too. 

Myth 2: If I say "No" they will make me feel guilty or bad for not attending.

Maybe that happens other places, but not here in Romanskiville, we offer guilt-free and no excuse required RSVPs. We're completely satisfied with "We're not coming to xyz."  If you don't want to come, a simple no is great. There really is no need to say "I just don't know if I want to come" ... really .. no need for that level of transparency

I want to know how much I'm going to need to buy ... how many plates, favors, pizza and drinks. Now some of that stuff keeps and can be used at other events but not always with the food. If I'm cooking - how much of an effort am I undertaking? If I'm outsourcing food, how much am I ordering? How many cupcakes or what size cake do I need? Who wants to host the party where there isn't enough to eat (we've been to parties like that). I also don't want to order 10 pizzas when 5 would have been plenty. It is a matter of efficiency.

Myth 3: They know we're coming

Actually if you didn't tell us "yes", we don't assume! You've heard that old adage "When you assume, you make an ......." Yeah, that ..... 

From the middle of August to now, we've had a handful of events - chasing RSVPs every. single. time.  One of those events is Brooke's birthday -- where you have to invite the WHOLE class if you send invites through school. Twenty-five invitations went out ... I've heard from TWO parents ... TWO. I'm still waiting for a handful of non school invitees too - not counting the peeps who are vacationing or travelling the USA. 

The actual "reply by" date on the invitation is tomorrow so I'm holding out hope for a flurry of text notifications or emails. We'll see.

I should mention that our niece excels at RSVPs, I am certain that she opens the email/envelope, decides if it is of interest, checks her calendar and responds right then. If there was an Olympic event for RSVPs, she would win the gold.