Kitchen

[faeriemoon]

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@jackthebear wrote:

glad i celebrate Chanukuh now 

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I doubt the OP is frustrated enough to convert.

[house_cat]

I

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@faeriemoon wrote:

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@jackthebear wrote:

glad i celebrate Chanukuh now 

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I doubt the OP is frustrated enough to convert.

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   I'm pretty sure rudeness is non-denominational, lol.

[haddon9]

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@faeriemoon wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

i invite guests at a certain time......for example, usually 7pm. i then serve sometime between 8:30pm-9pm. that timing allows for stragglers and for those who enjoy cocktail hour with heavy appetizers and conversation. i tend to serve buffet style so that if someone actually arrives even later than when i serve, food is still out and available.

have always done it that way......so have most of my friends and family. i cannot imagine sitting down to a dinner within half an hour of arriving. i like some schmoozing time.

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Me too.  You have to shmooze!!!  I leave at least an hour for shmoozing.  I couldn't imagine inviting people over at 4 to eat, and parking them at the table immediately.  It's not a restaurant reservation, it's my house and family!!!

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@faeriemoon . Exactly!  I don't understand the rush to sit down to dinner!  On Christmas we visit with relatives that we see a few times a year and it's nice to stand socializing with drinks & appetizers before we sit to eat. 

I for one would hate to feel rushed like we must sit to eat asap.

[NYC Susan]

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@faeriemoon wrote:

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@sunshine45 wrote:

i invite guests at a certain time......for example, usually 7pm. i then serve sometime between 8:30pm-9pm. that timing allows for stragglers and for those who enjoy cocktail hour with heavy appetizers and conversation. i tend to serve buffet style so that if someone actually arrives even later than when i serve, food is still out and available.

have always done it that way......so have most of my friends and family. i cannot imagine sitting down to a dinner within half an hour of arriving. i like some schmoozing time.

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Me too.  You have to shmooze!!!  I leave at least an hour for shmoozing.  I couldn't imagine inviting people over at 4 to eat, and parking them at the table immediately.  It's not a restaurant reservation, it's my house and family!!!

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That's how I feel too.  We never sit down at the table immediately, and we don't eat and run!  A big part of having people over (and going to their homes) is to socialize.  Food is a part of it for sure, but it's not all about eating.  It's about being together.  You're exactly right that it's not a restaurant reservation.

[missy1]

Just ask them when the meal is being served.

[RedTop]

I understand the time allowance by others for nibbling and socializing before your meal.   

In my family we just don't see a need for it.   We all live within 10 miles of each other; rarely go more than a week without seeing each other, so our conversation is at the table and afterwards.   We don’t have to play catch up on what’s going on with everyone.   

[stevieb]

For me, it's not about whether or not there's time to visit when invited to a dinner. Time to visit is almost a given, but there needs to be some prior understanding of how long the 'catching up' will go on... whether it will be before or after dinner, etc... It's about being able to plan. In order to do so, one needs to know, roughly and within reason, when one can expect to eat... How closely dinner hour is pinpointed also depends on the nature of the activity... For many, a largely family dinner is a little more loose than occasions that are either more formal or that involve guests who aren't family...