Etiquette expert Anna Musson says that dressing appropriately is the most important thing for making a good impression when you meet your partner's parents.

It can also pay to bring a treat along to endear yourself, but as one Sunrise viewer tell us, if it goes bad it can scar your relationship forever.

One Sunrise viewer who contacted us, Ian Campbell, has a less than ideal meet the parents experience. He says he had to spend an entire week with his new girlfriend's family just a fortnight after starting the relationship. And her father was less than talkative.

"They invited me on a ski holiday after just two weeks, and I thought I'd love to go snowboarding, plus her mum's paying... so I said yes."

"Plus, it could be good to meet them family also!"

"On the way we picked up her grandma, so for hours it was me, my new girlfriend and her aging grandmother watching our every move."

 

"When I arrived it was just me and sixteen family members - spouses, cousins, aunties uncles, the whole lot, and what do I see when I first walk in? A picture of myself on the fridge. Very weird."

What do you think are the tricks to meeting the parents?

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Meeting the parents has many challenges that Anna Musson says you need to face bravely with a gift. She also says to speak positively, be polite and do your homework.

For Ian, it didn't get any easier - especially when the awkward silences started. "Her mum was warm and friendly but her dad was cold and steely. I was told he was quiet but I had no idea what he thought of me. He said one word to me the whole week."

"It started with a flacid handshake when I thrust my hand forward. I then went to chat to him alone on the verandah, just me and him, standing there."

"I said, ‘It must be quiet out here when all the relatives are gone' and he literally."

"I think our relationship has been scarred but it has improved since then."

From the soapbox

Gretta, QLD - My older brother and father are the most protective
people alive. I brought my boyfriend over for dinner to meet the family.
We all sat down for dinner and my boyfriend got stuck straight into his
dinner. Once my brother was sure he had a mouthful of mashed spud, he
asked my boyfriend to lead us in grace...