DEAR ABBY: What's the polite way to get guests to leave at the end of the night? I'm a pretty direct person, so generally I say, "Well, it's getting late now," or "I'm tired and would like to go to bed," but my husband keeps telling me I'm being rude.
When inviting someone over, is it in poor taste to ask them to leave by a certain time? I love that guests feel so comfortable and welcome in our home, but my husband and I work full time and have a 1-year-old. I need some me time at the end of the day. -- RUDE HOST IN THE EAST
DEAR "RUDE": A variation on how you're handling this would be to stand up and say, "'John' and I want to thank you for coming, but we have to work tomorrow." For a guest to ignore that cue would be rude. An almost surefire way to ensure guests are out by a certain time would be to make clear when they are invited that the evening will be "between 7 o'clock and 10."