Miss Manners advises on dinner party etiquette for guests with medical conditions

A reader asks how to set a dinner table for a friend who cannot eat food orally due to medical reasons. The friend will attend a formal dinner party but will not consume food. Miss Manners suggests setting a full place setting to avoid drawing attention to the friend's situation. She advises consulting the friend for their preference regarding the table setting. In other questions, Miss Manners addresses whether to disclose the amount donated to a charity in memory of a friend's daughter and confirms that sending New Year’s cards can be done until March, depending on the celebration.