What is etiquette for left overs? Do I take them? Leave them?
2007-10-16 12:56:41 · 9 answers · asked by Squeaker 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
I mean for my own dish only ;)
2007-10-16 13:06:52 · update #1
I've been at parties where people were encouraged to take their own leftovers (hosted by small families who wouldn't be able to eat it all, so it'd spoil, or by places like a school that didn't have any facilities to store & eat it) and I've also been at parties hosted by large families where leftovers were welcome after all the work & expense of the party! Up until seeing this question in the etiquette section I'd always thought of it more as a practical matter than an ethical one; ask your host what he/she prefers?
2007-10-16 19:45:12 · answer #1 · answered by Sheriam 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm assuming this question pertains to the guests rather than the host? If it's in a non-disposable dish, you'll likely want to at least take that home with you. In many situations it's common and polite to offer around leftovers to see if anyone would like to take a serving home or if the host would like to keep it. If you brought something in a disposable dish, it's nice to offer the leftovers to the host and easy to just leave it behind. I would definitely do that if the event was more formal or with people I didn't know as well. With close friends or family you might want to offer left-overs, then take home what ever is left. Usually with my family we divvy everything up and each make a plate to take home so we each get a little of everything.
2007-10-16 13:14:42 · answer #2 · answered by wandergrrl75 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Leave them. The host is permitted to keep everything...or, in most cases, offer up "care packages" for various guests. The idea of joining in is that you prepare something you are prepared to leave behind. If you're dear friends, it's likely that you'll take home some of the leftovers as well. But you are bringing a "fair share," and enjoying everyone else's offerings. So be prepared to leave with a lovely feeling of sharing time with friends, enjoying a meal, etc., and no sense of what you are entitled to come home with beyond that.
Potlucks are meant to be easy, communal, and generous. Eating at restaurants are about ordering too much and taking home what you didn't finish.
2007-10-16 13:09:19 · answer #3 · answered by OhioWriter 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that if the person who made that dish has already left the party, you can keep that leftover dish. If they wantesd to take it home; they would have.
If you aren't sure who brought what, wait until everyone leaves and then just keep whatever is left over!
2007-10-16 13:03:14 · answer #4 · answered by Virginia P 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Leave your dish the hostess gets to decide what happens.
2007-10-16 13:27:59 · answer #5 · answered by gypsy pirate 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I go to a pot luck I take what ever I am taking in a disposable container and just leave it there.
2007-10-16 16:31:16 · answer #6 · answered by Classy Granny 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think if you take home your own leftovers that is perfectly fine. Some people might not want to take their leftovers home, in which case they might give them to someone else.
2007-10-16 13:51:40 · answer #7 · answered by drshorty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you brought it, you usually take it home with you unless you want to give it to someone else. If someone asks you if you want to take something home with you, you can.
2007-10-16 13:04:40 · answer #8 · answered by pete 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people will just leave it for the homeowner.
2007-10-16 13:42:34 · answer #9 · answered by Jai 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋