Mixing friend groups

[sootspritez]

AIBU to think this is horrible, stressful stuff and just utterly avoid it?

Say if you had a housewarming and you had old school friends, university friends, friends from several different workplaces over the years, family and then family friends... how do you get these groups to mesh when they are all hugely different clashing personalities that would never naturally interact?

I even hate it at other people's parties and avoid them for this reason - is it just me who finds this really awkward and unnatural?

I also find it stressful. I have different interests and senses of humour in common with different friends so it's just stressful to be with different groups at the same time. I'd happily introduce friends who I thought might get along though.

Me too, I recently spent a weekend in a big rented house for a friend's 50th and they were a big mix of colleagues/friends/family … it didn't really work.

I love seeing my groups of friends getting on so well together, but then they are all quite relaxed and fun personalities so no real dramas

I do hate hen parties for this reason though - I have no desire to spend time with mother of the groom or some girl the bride used to work with or her random cousin

I used to avoid it but I’ve found that the groups genuinely get on. They’ve got you in common and they hopefully like you so they will make the effort and hopefully find things in common! It’s also lovely to see them making friends with each other too!

Embrace it! And always have plenty of alcohol to hand too 😂

Good hosts will work a room, introducing and moving people from group to group, sort of ""Mary (from work) have you met Tim (from Football), May, Tims a hot sex beast plumber he knows about central heating""

I wouldn't have a mixed group house party for this reason!

I used to hate it, but now all/almost all my friends are people I genuinely really like (rather than friendships of convenience or habit) I find mixing groups much easier. At one point certain social gatherings were mostly reminiscing about "the old days" and mixing groups there would not have been fun... but now that's moved on a bit it's much easier. I am not particularly outgoing, so I find it hard when I have to facilitate people mixing.. but am happy to chat to my friends' friends at hen dos, weddings, parties etc. And my friends are generally more outgoing than me so it works ok. And even if it doesn't.. well as long as noone is left out, does it matter if the groups don't mix much? I have one friend who has a group I don't especially get on with, she has big parties, we largely stay in two groups, everyone has a nice time

But generally I find my friends friends are nice, and the ones I don't get on with are their relatives or very old school friends. The friends who they have a choice over are generally more similar to me. (and the same is true of my different friend groups). They all have me in common, so clearly they all have good taste

@unicornbrexit see that honestly gives me physical anxiety! I hate being handled like this by hosts as it kind of forces interaction in a verrrry artificial way.

The only way I've ever found myself genuinely getting on with mixed groups is via complete and utter integration and some form of stupid game like beer pong

Mixing friendship groups has always paralysed me with anxiety. It has worked out well in the past, but there have also been some major clashes.

I invite different groups of friends together all the time and it’s marvellous. It makes the conversation much more fresh and enjoyable, and some groups of friends I introduced to each other have gone on to be friends with each other in their own right. The more the merrier imo.

It just depends how much of a "different strokes for different folks" type of person you are.

If you have a group who knows you as a smash head waster who likes to dance nekked on the bar and another who only sees you volunteering at Sunday school, they may be in for a few surprises.

I'm with you op, I looathe mixed groups, but most especially if I'm meant to host, it gives me huge anxiety and I avoid whenever possible.

I used to think it was a personal failing but I've accepted it now, and only host parties when I absolutely cannot avoid it.