Tis' the Season for 'Elements of Etiquette'
Browsing through my bookshelves I rediscovered Elements of Etiquette ' A guide to table manners in an imperfect world' as its author Craig Claiborne calls it.
The book was originally published in 1992, might sound a little old fashioned to you but contains a lot of valuable advice.
It covers such topics as how to set a party, who to invite. How to accept an invitation or call it off?
If the party is in a restaurant, he suggests that bringing the topic of splitting the check during dinner or using a calculator to verify the check is very bad manners. Regarding tipping, in the US a minimum of 15% should apply even if there were issues with the meal. they might not be all the server's fault.
A more recent take (2004) on Manners comes from Jill Bremer in Dining Etiquette for the Fast Food Generation.
In any case, be sure to make a gracious exit and thank your hosts unlike the stragglers I mentioned in Music as a weapon to deal with lingering guests in October.