Etiquette alert: where are the gifts?

There should be a chapter in “The Life Text Book” about gift giving just to make sure that we are all on the same page. Because it seems we hardly ever are. Mamamia reader Annie* writes…

What is the etiquette these days for gift giving when you are invited to an event and can’t attend?

When we are invited to something, from a kids birthday party to a wedding, if we can’t go we still always send a gift. On the flipside, when people can’t attend a function we are hosting, I’ve been surprised how few people still send a gift. Not that receiving the gift is the aim, but I was always bought up to do so and consider it to be good manners. I mentioned this to a girlfriend on the weekend and she said that’s old hat and nobody does it any more.

Am I out of touch?