My Thrifty Friends Invited Me to a Birthday Party—But I Came Home Hungry

I have friends whom I like to call thrifty. They pinch pennies on just about everythingfood, clothes, you name it. Its not that theyre hard up for money; quite the opposite, really. Theyre actually quite well-off and always seem to have plenty of cash. In theory, they could afford anything they fancied.

I only really see them at special occasions. Otherwise, its just the odd phone call here and there. A month or so ago, they invited me round for my birthday. I went, but came home absolutely starving.

On the morning of the day, I popped the present Id bought earlier into my bag and set off for work. By four in the afternoon, my friends called to invite me to their house for a party. I decided to skip a proper lunch, settling for just a coffee and a couple of biscuits, thinking Id save room for the feast to come. I was invited for a do, after all.

I arrived a bit before the time wed agreed, handed over the gift and wished them all the besthappiness, luck, the usual. Half-laughing, I told them I was absolutely ravenous, hadnt eaten on purpose. My mate grinned and replied, Dont worry, everythings ready.

There were six of us, plus the hosts. When we walked into the living room, I didnt see a dining table set up anywhereit was clear they wanted to have a sort of buffet instead. No proper chairs either, just a small sofa to squeeze onto. Truth be told, sharing a proper meal with friends after work sounded much nicer than cramming eight people onto one tired sofa, but a buffet is a buffet.

One of them had cobbled together a little round table covered with food. Thats when I began to regret only having those biscuits at lunch. On the table sat several small plates (I even counted the slices, not the least bit embarrassed at this point). On each plate, just eight slices: eight pieces of smoked sausage (which I adore), eight bits of ham, eight slices of cheese. Same with the tomatoes and cucumberseight slim slices apiece. Everything was cut so thin it was almost see-through, but I must admit, it was nicely presented. There were also two tiny bowls of salad, and the fruit was, again, rationed out for eight. The finishing touch to this lavish spread was one solitary bottle of wine. So we were invited, as they put it, to eat and be merry.

I sat there, chewing my wafer-thin sausage and cheese, still painfully hungry. I couldnt even bring myself to have a drink for fear of getting tipsy on an empty stomach. Hang on, my friend piped up, Ill bring out something hot. I perked up, thinking at least thered be something warm and substantial on its way.

Our hostess soon returned with the hot fooda plate with tiny chips and a single crispy chicken drumstick per person. I couldnt help but laugh; if nothing else, at least the cake afterwards was of normal proportions. All in all, we had a lovely time. After about an hour and a half, I left, still absolutely famished.

On my way home, I nipped into the shop to buy some groceries. Once home, I made myself a proper mealfinally, a square supper. Well, thats how my friends saved a fair bit of money on their guests.

But honestly, I cant help but wonder: why invite people round for a birthday celebration if you dont wantor cant be botheredto host them properly? If I ever throw a do, Ill make sure no one leaves my house hungry. Thats the lesson I walked away witha bit more generosity goes a long way.