Ah, the holidays, a time for people to come together. To celebrate family and friendship, faith and joy and love for all. A time for sharing and caring, filling the house with guests, trodding on the houseplants, flatus abounds.
Here’s my situation/question. I am a divorced father of 3 who is madly in love with a divorced mother of 4. She has custody, I have liberal visitations, all is well in the world. On occation, I find myself out and about with my three lovely children who are, from time to time, hungry. What the heck, Mickey D’s is right there and everyone at home has already eaten, so I stop to eat. Here’s the question: Is it rude to bring the food home without bringing enough for everyone? Honestly, I know the answer to that one, I know better. However we have a houseguest with 4 kids of her own (yes, we’ve done the math, that’s 11 children, God help us all). This evening our guest stopped for take out and brought it back. We had already eaten dinner so it was not a problem with the other 7 kids wanting some of the food, the problem was with her kids eating fast food in front of ours who had just eaten mac-n-cheese. Now, we certainly don’t expect our guest to feed our children and we certainly do expect her to feed her children but what would it have hurt to go ahead and eat there? Does any one else think it is rude to bring something in not knowing whether anyone else wants or needs anything and to eat in front of them? What is your opinion on the situation and also on the best way to approach the situation?
11 children, all in the same house during the holidays? I’m impressed that you’re all fed!
As for the issue at hand, I would have kept the food at the restaurant to eat it barring any unknown hindrance to such a plan - Such as…are the children very young? Maybe the baby was wet and they had to come on back. Or maybe they were all wild as peach orchard boars, and the parent had rather be slightly rude to you instead of terrorizing a McDonald’s full of innocent people.
Wow. Tough one. I think as long as you call and check on others, it is no big deal. You can always bring some apple pies home for the gang…less than 12 bucks since they are 2/buck! And you can always bring a trough of french fries as well.
With kids, I think it’s rude to bring food home unless you bring enough for all. Adults, not so much. Especially if it’s a situation (as nd n8 remarked) where the at home kids got mac n cheese and the others come home with those wonderfully smelly fries.
Even when I’m not hungry the smell of McD’s fries makes me want some.
Sorry, forgot part of my post. Whichever of you is closer to your houseguest should bring it up, in private, in a non-confrontational manner. “Hey, would you mind eating the fast food out when you’re coming in late? You know how kids are, and smelling those fries kinda gets them stirred up…”
Or even cut out the part where you ask them to eat the food at the restaurant, and just find a way to sneak in the fact that the smell of the fries gets the kids stirred up. And hope the guest takes the hint.
