Kaffee Zeit (Coffee Time)

Tuesday afternoon I hosted my first German Coffee Party. I had met the ladies from our street at the May Day party and decided it would be nice to follow up with a traditional cake and coffee gathering. I formerly invited everyone with the idea that it was my last chance to do a mid week coffee party, because next week I start working full time. My invitation was well received and all the ladies arrived promptly at 3 pm. I had baked a beautiful carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and nuts Tuesday night and was ready for a fun afternoon. To my surprise everyone brought little gifts for me. I didn't know what to say besides, "Das war Nett! (That was nice!)" As you can see in the picture it was anything from little flower/plant pots to meaningful sayings. I knew it was traditional to bring flowers or maybe some chocolates, but I didn't know little gifts were expected. Now I'm really glad I hosted the first coffee time otherwise I wouldn't have known! Ben said, yes it is traditional, but maybe they were also welcoming us to the neighborhood and celebrating your new job. Either way it was really a fun surprise. All of the ladies loved our brightly painted dining/living room and I think it was fun for them just to see the inside of our home. The carrot cake was a hit and all 8 ladies and 3 little kids seemed to have an enjoyable time. In the end I was glad that I spent nearly 3 hours laboring over my carrot cake! I'm taking on the "one and done" philosophy now and waiting for coffee invites from others.