DORÉ

Ah, party etiquette. This is just what I needed. My worst problems: accidentally kissing someone who I thought was someone else and of course, the Irish exit.
Your Friend, Jess

hahahaha this is exactly my problem! especially when your husband’s family (big family that is) is french and at each gathering you have a huge cheek kissing session and just when I think I did it the right way, I either go for the wrong side or bump my glasses into their nose or…

Well, apparently, you still have no clue cause kisses, hugs etc. are purely cultural and differ from a country/region to another…

lol, il s’agit bien d’une farce…non?
Je laisse de côté l’éternuement, mais en ce qui concerne la poignée de main, je trouve que recevoir une main toute molle est très désagréable et me donne une mauvaise image de la personne (bon à l’inverse se faire écraser la main c’est pas top non plus!)
En tout cas la vidéo est agréable à regarder pour les jolies couleurs et vêtements/ maquillage.

http://www.miroirdemuses.com/

My social etiquette is: dance and have fun. In general it’s enough…. when it’s not, then the party is boring ;-))

I’m American, my husband is Belgian and we live in France.
Americans: hugs, no kisses.
Belgians: air kisses by the cheeks, starting on the right.
France: air kisses by the cheeks, starting on the left.
Result: I find kisses, even air kisses to be way too intimate. To me, kissing is what you do with your lover or your children. Not friends, or acquaintances. So I never initiate.
When I encounter Belgians (they visit us or we visit them), I am so used to the French maneuver that I inevitably collide in the middle, as they are trying to approach from the opposite side than I’m used to.
Total disaster.
Of course, my husband loves to tell his friends how great it is to greet my female friends and relatives in the U.S. and get to have their breasts smashed up against him. He finds that way too intimate.

My French teacher taught me how to exchange the bises, one on each cheek. I couldn’t help but notice that she gave me a look of filthy hatred in between each kiss. I liked it better when we hugged.

hahahaahaha…yeah thank you! highly appreciated, cant wait for the next party!

CDR

OMG this is exactly what i need! Thanks for sharing!

Très drole et tres ironique également, évidement qu’on ne tend pas une main molle ou qu’on n’éternue a la tete de quelqu’un! (cela dit faire comme si on n’avait pas remarqué quand cela nous arrive reste une politesse de base)

La main molle NOOOOOON. Je deteste quand qqn me tend le ‘poisson mort’. On n’ecrase pas la main de l’autre bien sûr. Et les bises, c’est local / culturel. Nous avons un groupe très mélangé ici, donc, pour eviter des problèmes on fait les ‘négitiations préliminaires’: des qu’on se penche pour faire la bise, voir après la primière on se dit ‘deux ou trois?’ en rigloant bien evidemment :-) ça marche pour tout le monde et évite les faux pas. Après tout, le fondément de toute etiquette c’est de mettre à l’aise les gens, parcequ’ils savent ce qu’on attend d’eux.

“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.” ~Phyllis Diller

Thanks for the tips about etiquette at a party Garance. I mix with friends from very mixed backgrounds: I am never quite sure if I have made a blunder. I tend to follow my instincts.
The worst parties are those that involve people you work with on a daily basis.
In such cases, I firmly believe that less is more.

PS : I can’t get over the sneezing tip ha ha. I shall try this with my OCD manager.