Q. I am at the stage of my life where I am often sending presents to newborn babies. These presents are almost never acknowledged: the parents believe they will get round to posting me a handwritten letter, complete with a picture of the child in the outfit or under the mobile or reading the book they have received. As a result they don’t even send a WhatsApp. As deliveries go wrong so often, I eventually have to check that the parcel has arrived safely and am met with grovelling apologies. Mary, please can you help make this process less annoying?

– Name and address withheld

A. Buy a £10 pay-as-you-go burner phone (or burner phone app) as favoured by criminals. Use it to send text messages along these lines: ‘Dear X, this is Bouncing Babies Outfitters. Please could you confirm that you have received a present from Y? We have had some delivery issues. Please reply ‘Y’ to confirm, ‘N’ if there is a problem.’ If they answer ‘Y’ you can stop worrying and decide when to start feeling cross.

Q. A hen weekend is being organised for someone I am fairly close to, who is the first of my friends to get married. I was told the estimated cost of the weekend, which includes two nights in a hotel, and it was vaguely affordable to me. But some of our shared school contemporaries who have gone on to get well-paid jobs are now sending messages to the group saying we must stay for an extra night so we can take full advantage of the spa at the hotel. For professional reasons I don’t want to have to say that I can’t afford this extra night. I also don’t want to look as if I am not being celebratory or team-spirited enough. How can I get around this?

– Name and address withheld

A. It is bad form for any hens to suggest add-ons to an agreed budget, but you can turn this into a problem of surplus rather than deficit. Explain that because you are expecting to go to a number of ‘hens’ in the next year – for reasons of discretion you can’t enlarge on who else is likely to be getting engaged – you have set aside a hen fund with a strict upper limit on how much each one can cost. Sadly, if you go over budget with this extra night, you will short-change another bride further down the line.

Q. The occupant of the Old Rectory in the next village to mine has always been reclusive. I long to compare his Old Rectory with my own but its boundaries are thickly wooded. I cannot ‘do a sweep’ as he would know my face. How can I satisfy my curiosity?

– Name and address withheld

A. Have a case of wine, addressed to you, delivered to his Old Rectory as though in error. Then turn up to collect it.