In laws! What should I do?

Question

Yesterday my husband celebrated his birthday by inviting his brothers and a friend over for dinner and x-box. I was ready with enchiladas at 5. They called at 5:45 to say they would be here at 6:15 (this was all okay because I had a very hectic day, otherwise I would have thought that over an hour late was rude)

They called a few minutes before they came to tell us they were bringing a friend along! (It was actually the brothers friends friend and they were leaving early)

Fortunately, I had made a couple extra enchiladas, but I find this so rude- had I made hamburgers or anything else like that an uninvited, unexpected guest causes problems!

This is not the first time this has happened. I have noticed that college students think "the more the merrier" but I find it frustrating!

Ps- We had never met this guy before, and it would have been fine to invite him, but I just think it would be nice to ask a few hours ahead of time so I have time to purchase (if need be) extra ingredients.

So, how can I nicely hint that I dont want surprize dinner guests?

Answer 1

I always voice my feelings to my husband and ask him to relay them because if it's his family he deals with it and if it's mine I deal with it. If I were you, I would ask your husband to tell them that you don't mind them bringing extra people but you would like enough notice to ensure that you have enough food because it's important to you that you have enough food for everyone. If you have a good relationship with them you can tell them but with my in-laws I avoid communicating with them because some of them are just too much for me to handle. The other way of dealing with it is knowing that there is a chance that they might bring extra guests and making more food....if they don't bring extras you will have lunch for the next day for you and your hubby. Best wishes.

Answer 2

We had a similar incident with friends.  They brought 4 people with them and we were serving steaks.  I had to run out and buy more food .  We told the inept clods "We loved meeting your friends, I just hope they weren't embarassed about me having to run to the store."  I don't know if they got the hint or not, as shortly after we decided this couple was too much effort.