I gave two big Christmas bashes this year, one in London, one in New York. Both included friends who are celebrities, such as Joan Collins, Michael Winner, Tina Brown, Harry Evans, Candace Bushnell, Michael Heseltine and Emily Maitlis, as well as many more friends and colleagues who are not celebrities but who are always a joy to see at the holiday season.
Both parties were a great success, at least judging by the attendance and the jovial atmosphere: no doubt the plentiful booze and canapés contributed. I certainly enjoyed them. But a couple of things have struck on the post-party haze.
First, the paltry number of folks who wrote thank you letters afterwards: it's not essential but it is polite. True, a few grateful guests sent handsome e-mails, which is all that is required for good manners these days; one or two even mentioned it on their Christmas cards; but you wouldn't need the fingers of one hand to count those who wrote an old-fashioned thank-you letter.