Follow The “Rule Of Three” When Entertaining

visiting relatives are like buying fresh fish. after a few days they both start to smell

I wonder whether 3 is all that special [notice other LH post today on persuasive speaking with lists of 3], or its simply that we've spent our entire lives seeing things in threes (three bears, three little pigs, three wishes, three blind mice, three strikes and you're out....) Which came first, chicken or egg?

If you've got a question in search of a numeric answer, make the answer 3 and then work around it. People will be more willing to trust your answer because they believe that 3 is golden.

@UnderLoK:That's because the person writing is insane.

To be honest I’m not really sure I understand the point of this article. They lump house guests, dinner guests, and what could be a party together…

Beyond opinion it really depends on the size of your house/apt and I’m not sure this article says anything that applies to everyone or if it actually says anything at all. If you have a studio apartment your limit will be much lower than someone who has 3 bedrooms. If you are a paranoid neat freak one person might even be too many… If there is tons to do in your town the guests might only be there to sleep… If you like to party 10 might not be enough!

Maybe if the article talked about how to keep your guests out of your hair I could see the point, but otherwise it seems like a statement rather than any kind of suggestion or advice on dealing with guests (overnight, party, or otherwise).

And I'm not usually a stickler for these things, don't you either have too many or too few guests?

Maybe they're little people. Too many regulars and two little people? Uh, I don't know.

Peter_T

@jackburnt: I had thought the exact same thing... They say "we" and "our" multiple times.

I'm staying with my cousin in NYC for 6 nights next month. I guess I'm going to doubly overstay my welcome about halfway through my trip.

amcglamry

@jackburnt: Yes indeed. Also sounds like they need a few LH tips on getting things done so they aren't running out to do stuff once their (apparently invited) guest have arrived.

jupiterthunder

I'm confused. The person says "our" as in at least a couple, but says three guests mean four for dinner.

I guess the saying "two's company, three's a crowd" stands true

@paintbox: At least you conceded that you did.

@ShakespeareGeek:The human mind can recognize things in up to three without counting (this idea is paraphrased, but you get the point) After that, we have to "count". Therefore making things in groups of three the largest 'easiest' groups to remember.

@paintbox: conceited I fkkt up

paintbox

@jackburnt: Maybe they mean the royal "we". Conceded people tend to do that.

paintbox

This seems a little too one-size-fits-all. I would think a huge influence on how many is too many would be the size of your apartment, number of bathrooms, etc ... much more so than whether your # of guests makes an even number for dinner or not.

Oddly enough, even with the "we" and "our" confusion, they're right. I have 4 people living at my apartment, and even then, three is the magic number for guests. It's right at the "dinner-party" level. One friend is casual company, two is a get-together, three's a party. Even though three means WAY more than four for dinner.

WaldoHalona

"Guests and fish stink after the third day" is a fine old Roman quotation. But few have heard the Tibetan one: a visit is three hours long. That is, if you're going to have someone over during the day, expect them to be over for a) a meal, b) some kind of activity, and c) a bit of chitchat. Or, if you're a guest, you make major Brownie points by glancing at your watch/cellphone and saying "My! it's getting late! I'm sure you want to get (dinner, on with your life, to bed, whatever....) "if it's near/at/over the three hour limit.



Only stay on if begged three times. (My Swedish Grandmother.)

teleny

Benjamin Franklin said it best, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after 3 days."

@kflott: How so? The point of the article is that 3 guests is good (four people total), and 4 guests is bad (5 people total).



Wait, never mind, this is just a poorly conceived and poorly written article.

mahumphrey