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Guests attending Michelle Obama�s 50th birthday party at the White House later this month can look forward to �a little Dougie� but definitely not dinner. Word is out that the lucky VIPs invited to fete with Mrs. Obama at a �Snacks & Sips & Dancing & Dessert� party have been advised to dust off their dancing shoes and, more strictly, �to eat before you come.� While it�s always nice to give the stiletto sporting crowd a heads-up, the East Wing�s �EBYC� directive has some folks in the party planning business scratching their heads. �I don�t think it�s rude, but I do think it�s a little . . . different than what people are used to. How�s that for putting it delicately?� joked Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and co-author of Great Get-Togethers: Casual Gatherings and Elegant Parties at Home. Colin Cowie, Oprah Winfrey�s go-to entertainment guru, worded his reaction gracefully. �To ask people to �eat before you come� is not the way I would have done it,� Cowie said. �I always think of the food. When it comes to making people feel welcome we give them great music, a well-stocked bar, and excellent food � and you do it abundantly.� Area party planner Andre Wells agreed that telling guests to grab a meal before they attend a get-together is a bit unusual. �I�ve never seen it said straight out. That is definitely new,� said Wells, before adding that some harried hostesses might appreciate the break in protocol. �But I know a lot of people will be happy about it. They�ll say, �Well, if the president and first lady said it, we can certainly say it on our invites.� � Not so fast, warned Post. �My advice to people would be not to put �eat before you come� on an invite,� Post said. �And this is not a specific etiquette thing. To me it just sounds so instructive. I�m still in the camp of letting them know what will be served at the party instead of what they should do.� Whether the Obama�s �EBYC� will start a trend on the party circuit remains to be seen. In the meantime, the first lady, who told children at a local hospital that she�s going to be �fifty and fabulous,� plans to celebrate her own way. �It seems like a very causal party, and she�s turning 50,� Wells said. �The older you get, I feel like you can say what you want.�