The first words my grandfather said upon meeting my husband for the first time: “You wanna shot?”
Yep, alcohol most definitely figures into any and all gatherings of my side of the family. I didn’t realize how much they drank till I returned after living away for a couple of decades. They can’t seem to be without it in all its forms. I’m not anti-alcohol, but I rarely drink because it puts me to sleep. I’ve tasted a few of the concoctions they’ve served and I just don’t get the appeal. Not even a chocolate martini, and I lurves me some chocolate.
Husband comes from a Southern Baptist family and while his father will occasionally allow himself some sweet sweet wine, his mom doesn’t drink at all, and there’s never alcohol at any of their events.
At least my family has finally learned to quit offering me drinks. I’m quite happy with a tall ice water. And every once in a while, I’ll splurge for some half-n-half and make myself a Toasted Almond. It’s been months since I’ve wanted one, tho.
When I was a kid, there was always some sort of adult beverage at all family gatherings. By the time I was old enough to imbibe, the rest of my family hardly drank. I even had an uncle that worked for a large brewery and he hardly drank. I never noticed anyone drinking too much or anything that would cause the family to stop like they did; it’s almost as if the novelty wore off or something.
Funny thing about Southern Baptists, my grandma’s family were all Southern Baptist, grandma actually converted to Catholic to marry grandpa, so our little branch of the family were the “black sheep” when we went to the reunions. We followed their traditions though and never brought any alcohol to the reunion, which was held in the reception hall of the baptist church. There was a public park next to the church. I was about 12 or so and after having my cheeks pinched by every aunt and 1st through 48th cousin, I decided to go to the park. The men folk were all standing in the shade on park property, passing around a mason jar of what looked like water to me. They saw me and called me over and I got my first nip of moonshine that day. After the feeling returned to my tongue, I said something to the effect, “I thought you all didn’t drink?”. One of my relatives looked at me and told me that they weren’t on church property and their wives weren’t here and if I knew was was good for me, I would never mention this to them.
That was many years ago and my family still doesn’t drink at gatherings and my in laws are the same way. I asked my wife if there was a reason for her side and she said about the same thing I did…it was common when she was a kid, but not anymore.
We were Catholic, and I always said that if there was one thing good about the Catholics, it’s that they had no problem with drinking. Go to any Catholic Church sponsored fair, and the booze will be flowing freely. So, no problem with drinking at any of my family gatherings. Pretty much required.
I have an Irish side and a Polish side, all Catholic. I could mix drinks in third grade. Alcohol is always on hand, and strangely it’s never become a habit for me or the majority of us on either side.
There will almost always be alcohol at family gatherings (Mexican Catholic), but it’s almost always limited to macrobrew beer with the hard stuff/wine only seen at weddings. I remember when a cousin married a Korean gal and her family did the planning; there was a lot of grumbling in our family because all the beer was stuff like stouts and IPAs.
When we join my relatives, who are Jewish, they usually have wine or beer, depending on the occasion. When we join my husband’s relatives, who are Muslim, there’s no alcohol.
I can’t imagine a family gathering without alcohol. That would be like…it just doesn’t happen in my family. Not everybody drinks, but to not have it? We’re Irish-German, it’s practically a commandment.
God, when I was little, my grandparents had a kegerator, and I remember going to the local beer store with my dad and my grandfather to pick up a keg. Hell, at my grandfather’s funeral, my cousin went out for a beer run and we were going out to his truck and getting beers. And even for those who don’t drink, part of the fun is watching the ones who do get hammered and make asses out of themselves. Good times. (FWIW, I don’t drink a lot, because I have epilepsy, but family events are one of the few occassions I’ll get a little tipsy)
What do we have? What don’t we have! Beer, wine, whiskey, liquors, wine coolers, etc. Twice my cousin managed to get some moonshine from this dude his father-in-law knows.
Sure. My dad always offers a drink - usually good whiskey - when everyone arrives, and the we have wine or beer with the meal, and maybe a digestif after. Nobody gets drunk, though. I’ve never gotten drunk in front of my parents (or my kid, for that matter), and to the best of my knowledge, they’ve never gotten drunk in my presence, either.
Nope. I’ve been sober for over 26 years, the kids grew up with no alcohol in the house, the Mrs. takes maybe 2 drinks a year, and while I’m not phobic about it, when we’re together alcohol isn’t present, at least in our house. If we dine out together, they may order a drink but the role of alcohol at family gatherings is minimal.
Depends on the generation. My parents, aunts and uncles - no way. But my cousins and I drink like fish. In fact, one cousin owns a winery. Several are homebrewers. So our get-togethers are a lot more festive since the older generation has all passed.
