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These monster shaped chips were the hit nineties nostalgia appetizer... especially with a dollop of homemade guacamole.

The question of what to wear to a dinner party is hard enough.

Then, there is the question of what to wear to a dinner party, theme…. The 1990s.

The soirée was the brainchild of my friend A and her friends. It was a pretty goofy event and for me, an incredible insight into the childhood of my friends.

I quickly learned that the American cultural invasion was already in full swing when we were growing up. Though we were an ocean apart, for the most part, we had grown up with a lot of the same TV shows and the same cultural icons.

A and some of her girlfriends wanted to be just like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson. For my part, I admitted to having been part of their ‘Official Fan Club’ at the time. They collected Beanie Babies and Pokémon cards, just like the kids in my class.

I did have to laugh about some of the translations. I grew up watching Full House, the sitcom about a recomposed family living in San Francisco. Anne So and her friends watched it, too, but with the title 7 à la Maison (Seven in the House.)

Even the food we ate taught me about childhood in France. We had little aperitifs made with sour Haribo gummies and the appetizer was guacamole served with the little chips made in the form of little faces. I could just imagine my friends munching on those for their mid-afternoon snack in elementary school.

I also learned a lot about their elementary school experiences. When we cut the cake at the end of the meal, we goofily celebrated the Fête de Rois tradition (Three Kings, or Epiphany, celebration) by hiding a little chocolate candy in one piece. The youngest person there hid under the table and designated who would get each piece. The lucky winner, who had the fève– the little Trois Rois token (in this case the candy)- was crowned Queen.

My friends swapped agonizing stories about celebrating the tradition in elementary school. Winning was an absolute horror because you had to choose your ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ to be crowned alongside you while all your classmates giggled and plotted to tease you about the choice for the whole rest of the year.

I think that primary school kids are alike everywhere (the photos they shared even showed the same cringe-worthy outfits… side note: I decided to wear regular clothes to the soirée… I had left my floral leggings and scrunchies in the US).

But there was one big difference between our experiences.

As we swapped stories about primary school, I was the only one there who could say that in the 1990s… I didn’t speak French at all.