[steeljack]

Have to admit I hug my kids when I see them ,usually once a year , (we live on different continents) I also hug my daughter-in-law, the son-in-law is a bit too 'Prussian' for the emotional stuff on greeting, a hand-shake works well (bothways) but a hug is okay on saying goodbye (who knows if its the last time).
Re. the grandchildren , hug the Grand-daughters , shake-hands with the Grandsons first, then a hug (in the traditonal formal German way) .

Meeting friends on social occasions ......depends on where they come from , if they are Brits/Aussies/Canucks ...its ..hey how you doing , if they are mainland Europe its the double kiss for the ladies and handshake for the guys , Americans ...handshakes for both, on first and subsequent meetings until you class them as friends then a 'hey hi how you doing " works unless you live in different States and don't see them that often .... then hugs are okay (I suppose) ,
Would never presume to hug a guy older than me , but if they want to show familiarity , its okay to go along