On Alcohol in Europe

And how we've handled it with our girls

I’ve told this story enough times in person that I figured I should get it documented. I invite you to go back in time with me to New Year’s Eve 2024. We were in Budapest and I had made a dinner reservation at a place I can’t even remember the name of. (That’s not the point.) C and I decided to order a bottle of wine and, when the server came, he asked us nonchalantly how many glasses we’d like: 3 or 4. We all looked at each other and tried to stifle our laughter and amusement. After a brief “conversation” mostly through facial expressions, we settled on 3.

We’ve taken a European approach to the girls trying alcohol for a while now, and we probably even would’ve let them try the wine that night anyway, but it never would’ve dawned on us to get them their own glasses, let alone be asked if they wanted one. Oh, Europe: You’re so very different from the US. (Which, in many ways, I love.) So the girls enjoyed the bottle of wine with us, sharing a glass between them that kept getting refilled, including after we ordered a second bottle of wine. Video short here.

At one point S leaned over and asked: “How do you know if you’re drunk?” 😳😳😳 That was the end of her bottomless refills. Parents of the year, right here.

The next day I took the girls to a cooking class. (We made chicken paprikash and nokedli, like German spätzle.) We started off with glasses of homemade pálinka, which was 51% alcohol. 🫨 I took a sniff and am pretty sure I singed the hair on the inside of my nose. I told the girls we would not be having any.

But then the host (and chef) poured us a round of white wine and the girls asked if they could try some. I mean, a few sips, sure. Well, a few sips turned into something more, especially as we started cooking. And this time they each had their own glass. They were the only kids in the class and no one had any issue with them drinking.

In general, the girls don’t particularly like wine (only sometimes) and they definitely don’t like beer. S thought sangria was delicious (duh) and I think they’ve tried a porn star martini along the way. It’s really only every several months that they have a bit of alcohol and, again, we consider it part of their education, but the back-to-back drinking in Budapest was too hilarious. I guess it was a way to say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new? 🤷‍♀️

If you have kids, what’s been your approach to introducing them to alcohol? Our approach is a complete departure from how I was raised growing up.

PS: Our Foodapest class was a lot of fun, even without the wine. 😉