We’ve been invited to our next-door neighbors’ for Thanksgiving this year. The wife next door is a nurse at the hospital that my husband is a resident at, which is how we know them. We’ve socialized some over the last year (which is when we realized we were neighbors) but not a whole lot. I called and asked what we could bring tomorrow, and she said they had a lot of food and didn’t need us to bring any more, but that we could bring some wine if we wanted. So we got a couple of bottles of wine.
Is there any further expectation that I might be unaware of that is common etiquette? I plan on sending over a thank you card afterward. I’ve only ever either done Thanksgiving at my house or at a relative’s house, so I don’t know if there is some social expectation (hostess gift? etc) that I’m not aware of.
The wine will be your hostess gift. Since you’re planning on sending a bread and butter note, I think you have everything covered. Just remember your table manners and you’ll be fine.
Two bottles of decent wine and a follow-up thank-you card is what I am bringing as well (probably not to the same party). Invited to spend T-giving with a friend’s family as my husband has to work out of town once again this week. Like you I have been assured that there will be monster quantities of food.
If we screw up OpalCat, at least we can cry on each others’ shoulders.
I thini you’re covered with the wine and a note. It would be thoughtful of you to offer your driveway or whatever for overflow parking for other guests, if that’s applicable.
Our driveway is steep, curving, and has almost no room to maneuver in–it would be a hazard to offer it as a place to park. Also our houses aren’t very close together. The lots are quite large and both of our driveways are pretty long, and fairly far apart. It’s probably at least a 5 minute walk from my front door to theirs.
Do remember that your wine might not be served. It shocked me the first time I brought wine as a hostess gift and we didn’t taste it. Your hostess will have already selected the wine for the meal and will probably save your wine to enjoy later.
I’m not good at that sort of social thing, which is why I was so shocked that my wine wasn’t opened. I learned about why she didn’t on the Dope
Hopes you have a wonderful time. I probably would help move used plates and what not into the kitchen for my hostess, but as soon as I got the evil eye, I’d stop.
