The dos and don’ts of hosting friends

According to the Yale sociologist, Professor Nicholas Christakis, we are on the verge of a second Roaring Twenties. Just as the 1918 flu pandemic ushered in an era of excess, so too will Covid, as people ‘relentlessly seek out social interactions’. This could take the form, he believes, of lavish spending and ‘sexual licentiousness’. Or at the very least, changing out of the bottom half of our pyjamas. 

Under the next relaxation of lockdown restrictions on 16 May, groups of six will be able to meet indoors — prompting many a wag to tweet that they’ll need to start finding excuses to stay in again. After more than a year without normal social interaction, in which so much has changed, having friends over is fraught with difficulties. What have we got to talk about, other than box sets and weight gain? How much physical contact is acceptable? Will a peck on the cheek be greeted with screams? We could do with a reminder of even the most basic social niceties (one friend who’s just held a dinner party in her garden texts to say that she had to stop and think hard about how to lay a table).