We received a handwritten invitation to New Year's Eve; it was lying on the mat in front of our house door when I came home from swimming with my daughter.
When I called my friend to (regretfully) decline, I asked her why she didn't knock on the door and deliver it in person. My husband and sons were home.
The house was dark, so it never occurred to her we were there. Probably everyone was sitting in a darkened room with just the glow of a screen before them!
I found something 'typisch deutsch' in the wording of the invitation:
"Ab 21 Uhr laden wir Euch ein, im engeren Kreis in das neue Jahr hineinzufeiern.
Mitzubringen ist nur gute Laune, denn Sekt haben wir besorgt und gegessen habt Ihr zu Hause ;)"
Very cool how she made it clear she is not cooking dinner, huh? I like the "freche" emoticon...
This is an example of German frankness that I find praiseworthy. The expectations are all laid out and dealt with. Sure, most invitations for New Year's include dinner, but perhaps we wouldn't've been invited if it came down to preparing a big meal for us.
I would definitely attend if we didn't already have plans.
When I called my friend to (regretfully) decline, I asked her why she didn't knock on the door and deliver it in person. My husband and sons were home.
The house was dark, so it never occurred to her we were there. Probably everyone was sitting in a darkened room with just the glow of a screen before them!
I found something 'typisch deutsch' in the wording of the invitation:
"Ab 21 Uhr laden wir Euch ein, im engeren Kreis in das neue Jahr hineinzufeiern.
Mitzubringen ist nur gute Laune, denn Sekt haben wir besorgt und gegessen habt Ihr zu Hause ;)"
Very cool how she made it clear she is not cooking dinner, huh? I like the "freche" emoticon...
This is an example of German frankness that I find praiseworthy. The expectations are all laid out and dealt with. Sure, most invitations for New Year's include dinner, but perhaps we wouldn't've been invited if it came down to preparing a big meal for us.
I would definitely attend if we didn't already have plans.