I was just wondering what the social life is like in Canada, does it vary much from State to state?

I am originally from Holland and found some very different expections and "norms" in Uk. Ie: " come over for tea? what time is thast in Holland that would be 1500 in UK this means evening meal?

Children dont open birthday presents in the uk when invited to a party they wait until all the guests have left and then tuck in to a pile of presents...Strange

In Holland " come for drinks " is about 1800 and guests know to leave before 1930 unless invited for dinner.

Any info would be great , just to get an insight of what I am expected to do.. do we have a "drinks" party for neighbours when we have moved into a property to say hello , or do they do this for us or is this just NOT done...

Gelukkig Sinterklaas dag!

Ik hoop dat jullie een goeie dag krijg.

I'm not really a 'social butterfly' so can't really advise on the differences of social life from province to province but I would say just be yourself!
We have said 'hello' to our neighbours but not invited them over for drinks, then again we probably would have done that in Europe so maybe it is us that is changing!
However, maybe in the future when we get to know them better we may invite them over.

I think if you want to invite your neighbours over then just do it - it would be nice for them to experience some Dutch culture!

ps, I've been looking everywhere for kruidnoten to surprise the family for tomorrow and can't find it anywhere

There are provinces and territories, not states, in Canada.

In BC, where I live, lunch is at noon and the evening meal is eaten much earlier than in Europe. If you are invited to dinner you usually arrive around 5.00 pm and be making your goodbyes around 9.00 pm. Weekdays many people are in bed by 10.00 pm.

I am not really sure about the etiquette for "drinks". I don't think we have invited anyone just for drinks, or been invited for them.

In my experience, an invitation offered to come for drinks means my wine rack gets empties, the beer fridge cleaned out, folk stagger home in the small hours, and I get to deal with the debris in the morning.

JonboyE's illustrated the general rule of thumb for meals, though on a Friday or at the weekend I'd suggest dinner invites are somewhat later, for us it's around 7pm.

The one I still find a bit strange is that when you get invited to a bbq you have to take your own meat with you

Tried changing it by inviting them here and supplying the food and the drink (tenderloin as well ) - Doesnt work , still expected to take my own the next time an invite was given


Not sure if thats a canada wide thing or more of a newfoundland thing

In our early days it used to amaze me sitting on the deck at 10.00pm and seeing all the lights out at neighbouring houses.

People do seem to be early risers to make up for it though.

I soon learnt that when you get invited to a boys night of poker and drinking, you are expected to bring your own booze

No one told me.

So did you have a dry evening or did they feel sorry for the brit that was too tight to bring a case of beer and let you dig in ?

I always took my own, but contrary to some around here, I don't take it home with me if there is any left. I consider it a small thank you for having me.

i generally steal sommit out the liquer cabinet as a small thank you to myself for going

byob ,,,no chance in the village i live in .we took beer to our first bbq invite.. and it was not well received....i was told it was like saying you cant afford to buy beer.

i agree, i always take drinks always have be it here or the UK, and dont expect to bring any home thats not been finished, but here our hosts always seem to think i should take it home.

and if its an arranged bbq or meal i'll always ask before if they would like us to bring any food or dessert etc.. but if its just a call saying the bbq's on come round now then i dont expect to have to bring food.

When you invite people for a BBQ/drinkies etc and they bring their own and keep those bottles in the cool box by their side then you are not responsible for the amount of booze they drink. I've been told that if you know someone is driving and you pour too much wine for them, hand them too many beers, then you are partly responsible for their DUI. Which is true but it's a legal thing in Ontario.- apparently.

No I made a quick trip to the off licence and came back

In a civil context this is certainly true (i.e., you were neglient for serving them when they were too drunk - similar cases have arisen in England when businesses have not provided taxis for their employees following a work's do), I am not too sure about the criminal context.