To think this is slightly odd dinner party etiquette? (bit light-hearted)

[LittleBlackDress]

Had some friends round for dinner and they asked if they could bring anything. I said it would be very helpful if they could bring pudding. So, they turn up with pudding - yummy and we all ate just over half of it. All good so far. I did notice some exchanged looks when I had seconds, but didn't think too much of it.

Anyway, when it comes to time to say goodbye, they wander over to the fridge and take out the remains of the pudding and take it home with them. (they live very locally so would have been no problem to drop off the dish the next day).

I just thought it was odd to take your pudding back home with you, but maybe I am the weird one?!! I then thought the exchanged looks may have been because they were hoping at least half would be left over for them the next day. What do you think is 'normal'? :)

That's odd! Next time, scoff the lot :o.

Rather rude to come with what is essentially a gift to the host and then bugger off home with it.

What kind of pudding was it?
Unimportant, I'm just nosy

Very odd indeed! Although I think I can do one better... I had some friends over once and Couple A brought a bottle of Baileys... Friend B didn't bring anything, and then when she left (in the morning, after staying over) she took the remainder of Couple A's Baileys with her! Unbelievable.

Unless they thought you were being cheeky asking them to bring dessert when you invited them for dinner so decided to take it back!

fairtomiddling

Sorry, didn't read your last post re usually bringing a course to each others houses. Makes it even more odd. Must have been so delicious they wanted to scoff the lot when they got home!

Very odd.

I would have preferred to take the dish home, rather than wait for you to return it, but I would have put the leftover pudding in a dish for you to keep

Very odd.

There's a mate of DH's who I was at a meal with recently. The host hadn't asked us to bring anything, but obviously a couple of people turned up with wine anyway. This woman turned up with wine that I know is about 6.99 and not especially hard to get hold of (so not an amazing, once in a lifetime thing), and then demanded to drink her own wine all evening when she was offered something else the host had planned, and chilled, for the meal. So she ended up drinking unchilled white Jacob's Creek instead of whatever he'd bought in quantity. I thought that was strange, too?

I've only ever taken food home again with me when it's been special food-I've-taken-for-me -that-no-one-else-would-want, or I've been asked to take it because they have too much leftover and no space to keep it.

But I have taken drink away with me - not wine, but a half bottle of Pimms from a party where no one else liked the stuff, including the hosts, so it would have gone to waste.

Mind you, we went to a part held by DH's relatives and took a nice bottle of wine with us - not only did they insist we took it away with us again when we left, they gave us another one to take with us as well! Turns out they don't like red wine...

LRD - that might not be so odd - she might have very fussy taste in wine and only like Jacob's Creek... I have a friend who only drinks white wine but hates Chardonnay, so always takes something non-Chardonnay with her and asks if it can be opened, because 90% of everyone else has(had) Chardonnay.

LRD

I had that. Some people came for lunch in August and we were sitting round a table in the garden with a buffet inside. One couple brought a couple of bottles of sparkling white wine and kept them under the table by their chairs in the garden and offered to no one else. The rest of us had contributed wine and just shared the other bottles.

Mmm. I suppose I think that's just a bit rude, though, thumb. She doesn't have to drink wine with her meal, she could have water.

I think what got me was that the host obviously assumed it was a present to him and then she sniffed at his choices of wine and demanded her own back. I don't think I would have noticed had she simply said 'I'll bring my own, I'm dead fussy'. And given she hadn't chilled it before she obviously was being sniffy and not just planning ahead.

I dunno.

I am quite amused by your relatives giving you bonus wine to take away, though!

LRD - - that could be me, I really only like 'bog standard' wines so anything 'posh' is totally lost on me. We have got a family film of me turning down chateau neuf du pape (sp.) in a loud voice saying I would rather have the 'tesco red' one Christmas Day .

power - yeah, there's something about having an open bottle by your glass when everyone else is passing them round that makes me raise my eyebrows.

I'm probably a judgy cow. I'll stop derailing now, anyway!

rag - oh, lord, I'm not judging people's wine tastes, just the way it was done this time. Sorry!

I'll shurrup now!

I once went to a friend's place for coffee and I brought a packet of chocolate biscuits with me. Nothing fancy, just supermarket ones.

We enjoyed the bikkies and then when I left she asked me if I wanted to take the rest home with me Not in a "Please take them, otherwise I'm just going to sit here and eat them" way, more that she was thinking that they were MY biscuits so I would want them back.

People are strange.

No, your added info does make what that person did rude, LRD. I agree, if it was just about preference, then there would have been far better ways to let the host know - she does just sound rude!

We did laugh about the extra wine but at least we know now not to take red wine to theirs again.

It's a trifle odd!

Pickles

I wonder if they were a bit floored by the request to bring a pudding, so they grabbed one they'd set aside for Sunday Lunch?

They might be having guests of their own to dinner today?

Still weird though.

Just to appease my nosey nature, what sort of pudding was it?

Would you really dig out a half-eaten pudding for guests, though? 'Here's one I made earlier, took to someone's house, back in the back of the car, sorry, it was a sunny day so the cream may be slightly on the turn - enjoy!'

Actually, now I've written that out I realize that's exactly the sort of thing my mum would do.

Your friends are

a)odd
b)tighter than a duck's bumhole
c)greedy

LRD I suppose they wouldn't know if it was served on individual oojamafligs?

That happened to us once too, including the raised eyebrows when seconds were had. The man of the couple was a notorious tightward and apparently there had been a lot of ground almonds and several eggs in it.

Well, as a hostI would have asked if they would like to take the rest back home, to which they might have said yes or no.

I think you are both a bit greedy