At this time of year our diaries are bulging with work dos, secret Santa swaps and family gatherings. 'Tis the season to be very busy – in theory.

It appears some of us may have been a little over-zealous in our RSVPs, having double or triple booked ourselves in the run up to the holidays. But are we unbearably agreeable because we know it's so easy to cancel?

Long gone are the days of postal invitations, where you ticked the 'attending' box, sent it back and if you didn't come, your hosts thought some kind of terrible accident must have occurred on your way there. Never would anyone have guessed you shamefully cancelling because it was raining or the Downton Abbey box set somehow slipped into the DVD player.

With a string of flaky friends, playing host is something most of us would consider with great trepidation nowadays. Why go to the trouble of hand-crafting canapés and deliberating over a cocktail menu when the nation seems to fall under a seasonable spell of festive fatigue? Far better to text each other while mutually snuggling up for a Christmas TV special, rather than clock-watching and making small talk.

So this year, why not make your New Year's resolution to RSVP to 2012 events that you, without hesitation, plan to attend? And then hosts have free license to tax party poopers, putting an end to the notorious 'bailing out' of our nation.

Picture credit: brians101