No alcohol at a class reunion - unusual?

[Squidgyness]

I drink minimum (say... the equivalent of 4 beers/month) amounts of alchohol. I still wouldnt go if they banned it. Its a principle thing.

Also, we can drink at 18 in england, in case anyone was wondering about my sig.

 

[eliza61]

We had a non alcoholic 15 year old reunion. It was a lot of fun. We were not telling anyone they could or could not drink we simply did not want the legal ramifications if some one got rip roaring drunk and had an accident.

Sorry but people will sue some one if they fart to loud in a movie theater.

I think adults are perfectly capable of enjoying themselves for 5 hours without booze. I don't think we are controlling or conservative, we discussed having alcohol at our reunion and the entire majority of the committe simply decided we did not want the worry.

I must have a weird family because we just had a family reunion and a h.s. graduation without alcohol and no one boycotted, no one went into withdrawal because they had to spend 6 hours without gin.

Are you guys really that big of lushes that ifyou got an invitation to an event and there was no alcohol you wouldn't be able to survive or you can't have a good time without a beer?

 

[jodifla]

Well, I just laughed out loud when I read this thread. The thought of my HS class having a reunion without alcohol.....is, well, pretty hysterical.

At our 30th, there was alcohol at EVERY event, including the family event. Nobody got drunk or made any fuss. Those who didn't want to drink simply didn't drink.

The events had cash bars, except for the family pool party, where one of our classmates rented a cabana and decked it out with food and drinks.

 

[Acklander]

Are you guys really that big of lushes that ifyou got an invitation to an event and there was no alcohol you wouldn't be able to survive or you can't have a good time without a beer?

Being that I drink maybe 1 or 2 glasses of wine a week and many times have gone several months without a drink just because I never got around to pouring one I'm sure I could go 5 hours without a beer. What I couldn't do is spend 5 hours with a group of people who feel they have the right to shove their morality on me, and feel they have the right to tell everyone what they can and can't drink. Being that the majority had posted their displeasure on the reunion facebook page and the organizers chose to delete their comments instead of rethinking it I wouldn't go. In essence they are saying my way or the highway - this isn't the organizers party - it's the class's party. I think they forgot that

 

[pixiechick]

Being that I drink maybe 1 or 2 glasses of wine a week and many times have gone several months without a drink just because I never got around to pouring one I'm sure I could go 5 hours without a beer. What I couldn't do is spend 5 hours with a group of people who feel they have the right to shove their morality on me, and feel they have the right to tell everyone what they can and can't drink. Being that the majority had posted their displeasure on the reunion facebook page and the organizers chose to delete their comments instead of rethinking it I wouldn't go. In essence they are saying my way or the highway - this isn't the organizers party - it's the class's party. I think they forgot that

and that sums it up.

 

[DebIreland]

Maybe I should start asking party places if they're going to server Pepsi (my soda of choice)... if it's Coke, I'll stay at home.

Um, that comparison only works if people were insisting that they serve Jameson Irish Whiskey i.e. a particular brand of alcoholic drink and they got annoyed if they only had other brands of whiskey (gin, vodka, beer etc). In this case, there is no alcohol at all i.e. the equivalent of no non-alcoholic drinks in your case.

I really don’t know how one can compare a stripper at a class reunion to enjoying a cocktail?

I know. It's hilarious.

It just seems strange to me that people that are almost 40 years old MUST have alcohol to "have a good time".

Put any other beverage in place of alcohol and it just sounds ridiculous...I really like sweet tea, should I be upset if an event only serves unsweetened?

Here we go again. Not one person on this thread has said that they would insist on a certain type of alcoholic drink. Like I said above, the equivalent for you would be if the bar only served alcoholic drinks. Would you be upset then?

I would not base my decision to attend on whether or not there was alcohol. However, I would base my decision to attend on the organizers dictating to me what I can and cannot drink at a dinner party in a public place.

Exactly.

It makes me laugh when someone associates alcohol with people falling down drunk or getting rowdy.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. It's sad really that people can't imagine having a beer or two or a couple of glasses of wine without picturing everyone getting sh!tfaced drunk.

You made it quite clear that one adult legal activity is totally normal to you and even necessary to a good party while the other one is in a totally different category *to you*

Yeah, that's right, I'm the only person who thinks stripping is different to having a glass of sauvignon blanc. ROFL!!

YOU make one okay and normal and the other inappropriate to the event.

You're hilarious. Honestly. Next time I'm having my almost 80 year old MIL to dinner, I'll omit the wine but I'll get a male stripper to perform for her instead. We'll soon see if it's the exact same thing.

You do understand that just because alcohol is on offer at some functions, it doesn't mean you absolutely must drink don't you? It's called choice!

I don't know how some people can get so hysterical about the thought of an evening without alcohol.

Hysterical?!! Bwahahahahahaha!!!

I have never met anybody that finds adults enjoying a drink as "offensive."

I know. It's bizarre and more than a little sad. I guess some people have no self control so if there's alcohol there they feel they're obliged to get rat-arsed drunk. Very sad.

I know if it was my class. . .forget the after hours party. . .it would be an alternate party. Everyone skip the dry event and meet at such and such club for a reunion where they can choose to buy a drink if they want.

Now that sounds like fun!

Well, today's the big day. We're about to head out to the family event.

Have a great time!

There is quite a difference between getting offened because some naked woman is rubbing her breasts in your (or your dh's) face and getting offened because someone is having a rum and coke

DH wants to point out that because he doesn't drink and declined alcohol all those times I was drinking, he's owed quite a few breast-rubbing striptease acts. All those times he attended functions where there was alcohol he had no idea there was an alternate on offer!

 

[ms.yt]

We're back from the family event. It went fine, I guess, except it was super hot! My husband and I noticed that everybody just kind of hung around in their little cliques (according to him) from high school. I'm sure that's the way it's going to be tonight as well. At my reunion, everybody talked to everybody, but I guess that's because my school was much, much smaller than his. Again, I would think that a beer or glass of wine would help that from happening tonight, but alas, we won't get the chance to find out. I think we've decided to skip the cocktail-less cocktail hour and just show up for the dinner. Hopefully we'll hear some details tonight about any after parties.

 

[sam_gordon]

What I couldn't do is spend 5 hours with a group of people who feel they have the right to shove their morality on me, and feel they have the right to tell everyone what they can and can't drink.

Here's the difference. Those of us who are saying a non-alcohol party is "fine" (maybe unusual but still ok) are looking at it differently. We're just saying (for us) alcohol is not NECESSARY to have a good time. Do you feel Walt "shoves his morality" on you by not allowing alcohol at MK? Yes, I'm sure that's not a valid comparison either. Numerous people on this thread have said "no alcohol = no fun".

Those who say "it's the principle of thing" (that someone is FORCING them to not drink) is where the "invalid" comparisons come up. People are upset because the organizers aren't giving them the CHOICE to drink, right? Well if someone decides to serve Coke at an event and not Pepsi, they're not giving me MY choice. Same with the unsweet vs. sweet tea.

Maybe the organizers made a bad decision. Maybe only 5 people will show up and the rest will go to the "anti-reunion". My point is simply that the lack of or allowance of alcohol won't be the sole determining factor on whether I attend an event.

 

[goofy!]

Here's the difference. Those of us who are saying a non-alcohol party is "fine" (maybe unusual but still ok) are looking at it differently. We're just saying (for us) alcohol is not NECESSARY to have a good time. Do you feel Walt "shoves his morality" on you by not allowing alcohol at MK? Yes, I'm sure that's not a valid comparison either. Numerous people on this thread have said "no alcohol = no fun".

Those who say "it's the principle of thing" (that someone is FORCING them to not drink) is where the "invalid" comparisons come up. People are upset because the organizers aren't giving them the CHOICE to drink, right? Well if someone decides to serve Coke at an event and not Pepsi, they're not giving me MY choice. Same with the unsweet vs. sweet tea.

Maybe the organizers made a bad decision. Maybe only 5 people will show up and the rest will go to the "anti-reunion". My point is simply that the lack of or allowance of alcohol won't be the sole determining factor on whether I attend an event.

I am pretty sure nobody said they absolutely HAD to have alcohol. Just that a drink or two is more enjoyable for them.

The only boycotts I saw were mentioned as due to a small clique dictating morality in the face of majority opinion, NOT over the fact that they will perish without alcohol.

I see it the same way as the condiments at a barbecue. I could eat my hot dog plain, it is perfectly acceptable, though not very tasty. It is ever so much better with the condiments.

I see a drink at an adult party as a condiment to my enjoyment. Do I have to have it? No. Does it make things more enjoyable? Yuppers.

 

[YodaGirl]

My husband's 20 year class reunion is tomorrow, and there is a family picnic type event in the afternoon and a meet and greet/dinner tomorrow night. This was a class of around 100 people. At my class reunions, both 10 and 20, and at his 10 year, the family event was no alcohol, but the evening event provided the option of having a drink with your meal. Apparently, some ultra-religious folks took over planning the event and decided that there would be no alcohol available at any of the "official" events. They claim is it because of some incidents that occurred at the 10 year reunion and because several members of the class are members of the clergy. We weren't married then, but my husband attended the 10 year reunion, and he doesn't recall any incidents.

Now, we aren't big drinkers, but we (and several others in the class) thought it was odd the way this whole no alcohol thing was presented. In the information they mailed out they made a point to state several times that there would be no alcohol permitted at the events, which prompted a big debate on the class FB page.

Has anybody else heard of a class reunion with such a stipulation?

I, as well as *several* of my classmates, had hoped for a family event for our 10 yr reunion. It was even brought up several times to the reunion committee.

Instead, there was one event held at the local Country Club. It was a dinner/dance with a cash bar. DH and I opted not to go. After seeing the pictures and hearing the stories on Facebook, we decided that we made a good choice.

The vast majority of attendees were part of the partying/preppish group from high school. They consumed large quantities of alcohol and behaved like, well...a bunch of partying high school kids. There were pictures of lap dances in the middle of the dance floor, and stories of way worse.

I would be glad if our next reunion was "dry".

 

[sam_gordon]

I am pretty sure nobody said they absolutely HAD to have alcohol. Just that a drink or two is more enjoyable for them.

You might want to go back through the thread...

I wouldn't go. I enjoy a cocktail while socializing.

The only way I'd go to another reunion is if massive amounts of alcohol were involved. LOL

I'm not sure I can think of a more boring night......

(I should probably say I would never go to my reunion anyways!)

I'd just buy a coupls small bottles to put in my purse and make my own Rum & diet cokes!! Never heard of a class reunion without a cash bar.

The only way I could get through my class reunion is by drinking plenty of alcohol.

I wouldn't go to the reunion if there was no alcohol being served.

It's perfectly normal to have a drink at an adult party and pretty weird if there's no alcohol. I wouldn't go.

The others "boycotting" as you say are upset they don't have a "choice", that the party organizers have made a unilateral decision, right? You don't get a choice of alcohol at MK, I don't get a choice of Pepsi at Cracker Barrel. Not every place has sweet tea. IMO, just because those "choices" are "limited" doesn't mean those places aren't worth going to.

What if the organizers decided NOT to have a dance floor or had a DJ instead of a band? Would those be valid reasons to skip the event?

 

[Planogirl]

We attended a few alcohol free family reunions held at public halls but a cousin or two always had a stash in their car trunks. My cousins kept disappearing in groups and while I didn't drink, the people out by the cars were a lot more fun than those inside. And no, no one got drunk.

 

[mum4jenn]

It IS possible to have a good time and not have alcohol involved.

The functions I have been to where drinking was allowed there always ends up where several have too much to drink and make an a$$ out of themselves and act very inappropriately.

You also have to look at lawsuits involving drinking. Suppose someone drinks and then drives and causes an accident and they try to sue the group that had alcohol available...it happens.

 

[shortbun]

your husband and his friends should volunteer to plan the next reunion. Take a flask or go to happy hour before you attend. I don't drink at reunions; too much fun watching those who do and much better conversations when totally sober, lol!

 

[mdsoccermom]

It IS possible to have a good time and not have alcohol involved.

The functions I have been to where drinking was allowed there always ends up where several have too much to drink and make an a$$ out of themselves and act very inappropriately.

You also have to look at lawsuits involving drinking. Suppose someone drinks and then drives and causes an accident and they try to sue the group that had alcohol available...it happens.

And yet, there are also functions with alcohol held every day without incident.

 

[YodaGirl]

And yet, there are also functions with alcohol held every day without incident.

And yet, it's impossible to know in advance if there will be an alcohol-related incident. The chance is there.

 

[Becky2005]

Is the dinner being held at a restaurant, or at a club, or other function hall? I just wonder if the venue might be alcohol free/not have a liquor license, which is why they're so insistent that no one bring alcohol.

Seeing it's at a community center, it could just be more of a PIA to deal with hiring a bartender, police officer and the insurance liability you have to provide. I know at our local community center, IF you are serving alcohol there is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE restrictions on what exactly you have to follow and depending on the laws can come back to bite the organizers if someone does something stupid like driving drunk and gets in an accident.

 

[gina2000]

I think it's pretty hilarious that people can't have a legal drink if they feel so inclined. Personally, I've been to many events where no liquor has been served...and I've walked into the bar and ordered a drink. I don't get drunk, I don't embarrass myself, I don't do anything that could be construed as improper or inappropriate. If I feel like having a glass of wine, I order it and pay for it. The last time I looked, I discovered I was an adult and I behave accordingly.....i.e., I'm allowed to order a drink and I am expected to behave with decorum.

Our family even has beer and wine at wedding showers, baby showers, and christenings. I have never, ever seen one guest who was inebriated. Ever.

Don't impose your rules/your expectations on me, and I will be happy to attend your function. Had the organizers decided not to serve alcohol because it was a dry hall, because it was too costly, because they couldn't obtain a license to do so, I would have had no problem with it. These people try to impose their opinions on other adults. I don't accept that as appropriate adult behavior.

(Written by someone who has had a glass of wine with dinner among friends...)

 

[Swan4Me]

One year, my DH's boss "found religion".

We walked into the regular hotel venue for the Christmas party-there was solumn christmas Choir music being played and no beer & wine, as there used to be.

We turned and walked out and didnt attend the next year's party either-then he changed jobs.

 

[DawnM]

So this was a public school? Sorry, I haven't read the entire thread. That does seem odd.

I went to a Christian school, so it isn't as unusual not to have alcohol. Some drink on their own but it isn't served.

DH's reunion had cocktail hour, then dinner, then open bar. Just one big drinking fest. DH hated high school anyway, so we didn't go.