Dear Queenie,
I am planning to surprise my wife with a birthday party at her favorite restaurant so she won’t have to cook or do any work for the party, but I can’t afford to pay the bill for all those people.
Queenie, would it be okay to say something about this on the invitation, like “No gifts, please, your presence will be all the gift she wants”?—Party Etty Ket
Dear Etty Ket,
It is never okay to mention gifts on an invitation unless you are suggesting donations to charity instead of gifts.
And in this case you are not actually planning to play host by paying the restaurant bill, so perhaps your invitation should say something along the lines of “Please join me in treating my wife to dinner at her favourite restaurant (place) on (date) at (time).”
