Invite the new family twice
The first invitation is often declined out of uncertainty. The second is the one that establishes it was real.
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Why it lands
A family newly arrived on a street or in a country is frequently invited once, politely, and declines because they are unpacking, unsure, or cannot read whether the offer was genuine. The inviter reads the no as disinterest and does not repeat it. Almost every account of settling somewhere well includes one person who asked again, which is the entire difference.
How
Ask a second time a few weeks later, and be concrete: a date, a time, who else will be there. Say explicitly that the first was not a formality. Offer something low-stakes — a coffee, a walk — rather than a dinner party.
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