Reading the interesting post of Mrs_O concerning her dinner party, it brought to mind the tradition at the end of the eating.
Do the women (ladies) still leave the gentleman and retire into the lounge to talk about knitting and babies, leaving the men to tell jokes and smoke cigars?
It is ages since I attended a dinner party, so would like an update of present etiquette and niceties.
After dinner Mrs McM always withdraws to the lounge and I withdraw to the kitchen to do the clearing up (and open more wine). I have been known to tell myself jokes, but usually I don't get them.
''would like an update of present etiquette and niceties''
Sqad... just so you know for your next dinner party: getting your kn0b out over the bakewell tart and yelling 'keys in the pot, lets party' is not the done thing anymore...
I think dinner parties are a thing of the past here now Sqad, people tend to just pop round for drinks and nibbles, or a BBQ if the weather is ever right! Formal dinner parties were such hard work if I remember back to the 1970s. We did used to have less formal fondue evenings and "bring a bottle and plate of food" evenings too they were much less work and still exist today!