Twinkle: Post-Party Comparison

Two families (Mr Twinkle's and mine), two parties hosted by us (one for each side; one in August, one in October), one comparitive analysis:

Grandmotherly Help:

MIL: My MIL and her mother insisted on making a contribution, and I was glad to accept. I asked MIL to bake one specific kind of cookies and one other baked good to be determined at her discretion. She showed up with four large trays of various and sundry cookies, brownies, fruit bars, etc. She either worked very hard at baking her diverse array of treats, or else she raided her high holidays freezer stash. I'm not complaining...she's a wonderful baker, the guests were happy, and I didn't have to bake cookies myself.

My mother: When confronted with the same request from me, she picked up a phone and ordered a cookie assortment from Plehn's.

Tastes:

Mr. Twinkle's Family: exclusively hovered around MIL's trays of sweets. Ate nothing else, and I'm not sure why. I specifically chose a menu that was just universal enough, not-too-exotic but still interesting, but they ate nothing. Seriously, Lola biked over the next day and we made a meal off of all the savories his family refused to eat--including things that I made specifically for them that I thought they would like (Barefoot Contessa smoked salmon dip, to be specific...it is indisputably delicious, if you like smoked salmon, and I know for a fact that they do, and yet Lola and I ate a huge bowl of it ourselves because no one in Mr. Twinkle's family would venture beyond MIL's baked goods). I don't think it was out of meanness at all...maybe they just don't trust any cook who isn't a Jewish grandmother. But they should trust me.

My family: Tried and ate pretty much everything; told me it was good. I do not have nearly the amount of leftovers I had after the other party. (Sorry Lola).

Drinks:

Mr. Twinkle's family: stuck to my homemade lemonade. (If they'd had any other choice on beverage that hadn't been made by me, I'm sure they would have had that). I also offered red and white wine, but no one drank that except me.

My family: Some opted for the nonalcoholic apple cider, some opted for the fall cocktail I offered (cranberry kir Noel, from Splendor). Some kids had juice boxes and some men had beer. Different people drank different options, but I was definitely not the only one drinking alcoholic beverages. Not by a longshot...and people thought the cranberry kir Noel was festive.

Cloth napkins:

Mr. Twinkle's family: was shy, refusing to use the cloth napkins for the most part and, I guess they went napkinless because there weren't any other options. Of the three or so napkins that were used, they were so dirty it looked like someone had used them to clean up some sort of massive chocolate icing accident.

My family: wasn't shy. Used the cloth napkins, left a few spots consistent with normal napkin use.

Arrival time:

Mr. Twinkle's family: arrived right on time; left before the ending time on the invitation.

My family: arrived fashionably late; closed the place down.

Anyway, that's it, for what it's worth. Mr. Twinkle and I had fun comparing and contrasting the different styles of both families and how they differ as guests.