This Is the Rudest Thing You Can Do at Someone Else’s House

The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s almost time for the peak season of parties, gatherings, and soirées. Even if you’re a social butterfly, attending a social event in someone’s home can be nerve-wracking — especially if you don’t know the host very well. Do you bring wine or flowers? Take your shoes off at the door? 

Fortunately, a little class can go a long way, and a new survey on modern party etiquette reveals some of the top houseguest behaviors to stay away from. Furniture company Joybird polled over 2,800 people nationwide in June and July 2026 to find out “what Americans expect from guests.” The Joybird 2026 home etiquette survey’s results were divided into categories like “Basic Guest Etiquette,” “The House Rules Hosts Actually Enforce,” and “America’s Rudest Houseguest Behaviors.” 

Joybird surveyed folks across all adult generations from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. When it comes to the house party behaviors to avoid, one unsavory habit topped the list of every generation polled in Joybird’s survey: “Snooping in private rooms, closets, drawers, or cabinets.” Sixty-one percent of overall respondents named it their number-one pet peeve. 

Turns out, it doesn’t matter if you’re Gen Z or a Baby Boomer: You don’t want people going through your stuff. Additionally, 62% of respondents said that guests should keep their phone away during most of a visit. Whether or not politics is on the menu for conversation depends largely on the generation: 67% and 62% of Boomers say guests should avoid talking about politics and religion, respectively, while only 39% and 33% of Gen Z respondents said the same. Over half of respondents regardless of generation said that you should never discuss someone’s appearance or weight. 

Are you fashionably late? No worries. Perhaps surprisingly, 40% of respondents said that arriving more than 15 minutes late to an event is totally fine. And while snooping was the biggest overall no-no, Joybird’s survey respondents also (understandably) expressed strong feelings about showing up to a party when you’re feeling ill (41% said this was rude), breaking something without offering to figure out a replacement (32%), bad-mouthing the “home, food, or decor” (37%), and bringing a pet to the party without notice (27%). Other faux pas? Imbibing too much, bringing kids to an adults-only party, inviting an uninvited plus one, and arriving very late without notice.

If you want to be a model guest, a majority of the respondents agreed that you should ask whether or not you should remove your shoes upon arriving, inform your host of any dietary restrictions you might have before the party starts, offer to bring something to the party, try to help clean up, and leave well before the party is over. If anything, these poll results should ease your party anxiety — seems like you should be fine if you arrive with some basic decency! The data pans out in interesting ways across generations, so if you want to read the entire study then you can check it out here. And have fun at your holiday parties this season!