ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S NOTEBOOK: I’m a party expert: here are my do’s and don’ts

After 25 years hosting parties at Vogue, I reckon I’m something of an expert on party etiquette - both for guests and hosts. Alexandra Shulman gives a few of her top do’s and don’ts for anyone giving, or going to, a festive party Leonardo DiCaprio once brought his mum to a Bafta dinner, but not everyone is Leonardo DiCaprio After 25 years hosting parties at Vogue, I reckon I’m something of an expert on party etiquette - both for guests and hosts writes Alexandra Shulman Guests Never accept an invitation to an event you know you’ll want to skip when the day arrives. Bows and ribbons, apparently, can’t be recycled and should be kept for next year; metallic mince pie cases and sweet wrappers should be scrunched into a ball to be put into the bin heading for landfill; and we should think about adopting the Japanese practice of furoshiki – using fabric, rather than paper, for wrapping gifts This is the same lot who once sent someone round to advise me that if I thought I had too much food for the recycling caddy, I should consider using old cheese to make a quiche rather than chucking it out. Bows and ribbons, apparently, can’t be recycled and should be kept for next year; metallic mince pie cases and sweet wrappers should be scrunched into a ball to be put into the bin heading for landfill; and we should think about adopting the Japanese practice of furoshiki – using fabric, rather than paper, for wrapping gifts.