Is it okay to exclude neighbors from your housewarming party?

A quiet housewarming in a quiet neighborhood sounds harmless, until the neighbors you did not plan on inviting start acting like they already own the guest list. This one starts with a new homeowner, 32-year-old OP, trying to settle into their new place and keep things simple.

On one side of the street, Tom and Sarah seem friendly, but they also pop over unannounced pretty often. When OP finally mentions their housewarming party, Tom and Sarah assume they are automatically invited, even though OP never said that. OP wants to keep work and personal life separate, worries Tom and Sarah will dominate the party, and feels stuck between being polite and setting boundaries.

Now OP has to decide if excluding them makes them the bad guy, or if Tom and Sarah just went too far.

Original Post

I (32M) recently moved into a new house in a quiet neighborhood. The neighbors on one side, Tom and Sarah, seem nice enough, but they come over unannounced quite frequently.

Last week, they mentioned they hadn't made many friends in the area and were excited about our housewarming party. They assumed they were invited, but I hadn't planned on inviting them.

I prefer keeping work and personal life separate, and I'm a bit of an introvert. Tom and Sarah can be a bit overbearing, and I worry they'll dominate the party.

I feel uncomfortable about it. I'm torn between being polite and setting boundaries.

So AITA?

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It’s a lot like the AITA case where a host set strict overnight-guest boundaries amid family drama.

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Tom and Sarah keep showing up unannounced, so this “assumed invitation” feels like just another sneak-in moment for OP.</p>

After last week’s conversation, OP realizes the party plans are already in Tom and Sarah’s heads, even if they were never officially on the list.</p>

The bigger fear is that Tom and Sarah will take over the housewarming, since OP already says they tend to be overbearing.</p>

With OP feeling uncomfortable and torn about how to draw the line, the real question becomes whether politeness is going to cost them their own event.</p>

What do you think about this situation? Let us know in the comments.

OP might not be an introvert with a boundary problem, but a neighbor with a “you assumed” problem.

Grief and an assumed invite collide, see the neighbor who demanded their housewarming be postponed for a late partner.