Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to blame people who constantly pay high prices for food and drink at events for keeping those prices high?

139 replies

Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 00:53

Went to watch The Hundred the other day. Got the cheap seats (restricted view - £12.50 per adult and £5 per child). We took food and drink. Bought some drinks from the bar but waaay too expensive to have as many as we'd have liked.

Husband took little one off for a promised ice cream (it was hot and young children love an ice cream treat). It was £8 per ice cream (one was a Cornetto, the other two scoops in a pot). Wtaf?! I don't know how anyone can justify charging that. I also wonder how on earth people with more than one child are meant to afford it. Had hubby realised the cost, before promising the little one an ice cream, he wouldn't have said ice cream was on the cards! Won't be doing that again, for sure.

AIBU to blame people who repeatedly pay such exorbitant prices for these prices being maintained? If everyone took a stance and refused, surely they'd have to come down.

I wonder if it's some sort of sick joke to see how much can be charged and people will still pay...

OP posts:
PollyBell · 13/08/2026 03:45

So you know the in and out of their business and all the costs involved to know what they can afford to charge and also make a profit and pay wages? with eveything else?

Softcream · 13/08/2026 03:36

I think maybe the ice cream van will have had to pay a large fixed fee to be there so they're trying to make their money back (which obviously doesn't apply to an ice cream van on the street). So I say blame Lords rather than the customers!

ShetlandishMum · 13/08/2026 03:30

User0311 · 13/08/2026 03:25

Our local park has an ice cream van which is £7 for a 99!! We have gone to the park less and less now as having 3 young children they’d all like an ice cream but who can justify that price! It’s a shame as the park is one of our free activities to do

We pass a supermarked on the way to/from the park. They have nice ice cones £1.50 each.

JesseDavisGonnaHangOnInThereNSoul · 13/08/2026 03:30

Aren't the pitch prices notoriously high at events.

User0311 · 13/08/2026 03:25

Our local park has an ice cream van which is £7 for a 99!! We have gone to the park less and less now as having 3 young children they’d all like an ice cream but who can justify that price! It’s a shame as the park is one of our free activities to do

AyeupDuck · 13/08/2026 03:15

I was at the Hundred.

Beer was £6.60 a pint, I don’t drink but as it was 7 hours the friends I was with sunk 5 to 6 each. I had 3 samosas for a tenner which were gorgeous. We did take loads of snacks and soft drinks and I also bought along a huge birthday cake I made for my mate and shared it round about to about 8 other people in the stand.

You are allowed out of Trent Bridge at anytime as long as you show your ticket and there are lots of takeaways across the road. Plus the Spoons next door.

I am off to Southwell races on Sunday, I assume the drinks will be loads there but again it’s ok to take stuff in apart from alcohol.

OnlyMabelInTheBuilding · 13/08/2026 02:56

Our local ice cream van is £4. It was £5 in London at the weekend.

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 02:27

AngelAngelAngel · 13/08/2026 02:12

Im in London and my local ice cream van charges £2 per ice cream so yes I think that’s a lot, it’s only £4+ if we go to the larger parks. But the one that visits the local playground is cheap.

I was starting to think I'd gone stir crazy and imagined ice cream being an affordable treat!

That said, I can still remember ice cream being less than £1 but Magnums hit the magic hundred pennies... Would never ask for one of those!

OP posts:
Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 02:25

Meadowfinch · 13/08/2026 02:09

Judging by the number of pubs, venues and festivals going to the wall, they are not covering their costs. They need to charge more.
Wages, insurance and raw material costs have shot up since covid. The costs of marshalls, h&s provision, utilities, venues, performance licences etc are huge.

I paid £6 for a Cornetto from an ice cream van in a (non-London) park last weekend. It’s fairly standard now.

Edited

It becomes a vicious cycle though, doesn't it - venue struggles to cover costs so puts up prices, not as many punters can afford new prices so the numbers drop and revenue falls, venue struggles to cover costs so puts up prices.

That aside, I clearly haven't been buying ice cream frequently enough to have seen ice cream inflation.

OP posts:
AngelAngelAngel · 13/08/2026 02:12

Im in London and my local ice cream van charges £2 per ice cream so yes I think that’s a lot, it’s only £4+ if we go to the larger parks. But the one that visits the local playground is cheap.

Meadowfinch · 13/08/2026 02:09

Judging by the number of pubs, venues and festivals going to the wall, they are not covering their costs. They need to charge more.
Wages, insurance and raw material costs have shot up since covid. The costs of marshalls, h&s provision, utilities, venues, performance licences etc are huge.

I paid £6 for a Cornetto from an ice cream van in a (non-London) park last weekend. It’s fairly standard now.

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 02:00

Danikm151 · 13/08/2026 01:55

It’s captive pricing just like at the airports. The same at concerts… £7 for a small tray of chips that you could get for £1.50 anywhere else. £5.50 for a 500ml fizzy drink - i took my son to a gig and we shared 1 as I couldn’t justify the price( the tickets for the gig were free)

It is extortionate but people will pay it. Usually those that aren’t on a budget.

Utterly mental, isn't it.

I see all these photos online of people's numerous days out and I do wonder how tf they afford to keep doing it!

We've stopped going to concerts / gigs like we used to... £100+ for shit seats and only a couple of hours' entertainment... Nahhh!

Appreciate i will sound as though I'm no fun or stingey (maybe a bit poor at times but that's different!) and, genuinely, neither are true but I don't like to feel ripped off / taken advantage of.

Currently being creative and finding alternative ways to enjoy the things we like.

OP posts:
Danikm151 · 13/08/2026 01:55

It’s captive pricing just like at the airports. The same at concerts… £7 for a small tray of chips that you could get for £1.50 anywhere else. £5.50 for a 500ml fizzy drink - i took my son to a gig and we shared 1 as I couldn’t justify the price( the tickets for the gig were free)

It is extortionate but people will pay it. Usually those that aren’t on a budget.

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:40

30DegreesHighAndRising · 13/08/2026 01:27

It's the same as cinemas though, they don't make money from the ticket price, the profit is in the popcorn and drinks. So you could be happy that the people paying for drinks etc are subsidising the costs for everyone else.

That's a good point.

Thanks, suckerrrs 😆 Jokes.

Actually just booked some cinema tickets - £5 per ticket and then £4 total for a large drink and large popcorn. Don't think that's bad at all 🤷🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:38

Petuniapetals · 13/08/2026 01:25

When I was younger and poorer I would take cheaper alternatives if we went out e.g pop into Asda for some sweets before going into the cinema.
Now I’m older and more comfortably off, I factor into my calculations that things will be a rip off but just enjoy my night and treat myself if I feel the urge.
To be honest, I think you’re getting yourself a bit worked up over nothing. It can’t be much fun for your husband and kid if you’re so uptight and moany. Live a little, it’s only an ice cream.

That's how we were brought up, too. The day out would be the treat and we'd take stuff to eat / drink. I was always taken aback, even as a child, by how much stuff people would be buying on days out.

As you do, I factor in spending money on days out. The cricket was an extra trip we hadn't planned for so we were doing it on a dime (until DH chucked £16 at two ice creams!). Even with all the money in the world, budgeting £8 an ice cream just seems crazy.

Not worked up. Lying here having a giggle at some of the comments (mostly my own 🤣). Just find it incredulous how expensive some things are and that people accept it and pay, ultimately justifying the crazy prices and keeping the cycle going.

I didn't (and don't) moan ☺️ I'm definitely not uptight. In fact, I'm frequently told I'm a very happy and fun person to be around - how nice is that?!

OP posts:
Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:30

Theboymolefoxandhorse · 13/08/2026 01:24

Might depend on where you live but I bought my daughter an ice cream for ice cream van when in the south east a few weekends ago go - £4! Then she decided immediately after it was purchased she didn’t want it 🤣🙈 jusy a big standard ice cream and a cone that was - up north it is more around £2. Agree it’s disgustingly expensive at £8 but also your original question was it it the fault of the people who are paying the inflated prices which despite you blaming your husband for buying it - your family unit are also a part of. Perhaps everyone going doesn’t want to upset their little one on a rare day out? It’s not right but no different to prices being inflated at the airport or petrol stations - they know they’ve got you buy the balls as you’ve got nowhere else to go :/

They're just so incredibly loveable at times, aren't they 😏

And I blame them all!!!!! Hahaha!

I just wonder what the limit is. Would people continue paying if they were £15 each, or £50 each? At what point does it stop?

OP posts:
30DegreesHighAndRising · 13/08/2026 01:27

It's the same as cinemas though, they don't make money from the ticket price, the profit is in the popcorn and drinks. So you could be happy that the people paying for drinks etc are subsidising the costs for everyone else.

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:25

DressOrSkirt · 13/08/2026 01:21

You could have drunk tap water!

Show quote history

I had been. All day. And I didn't buy the drink - it was bought for me without me asking. I wasn't going to buy one.

OP posts:
Petuniapetals · 13/08/2026 01:25

When I was younger and poorer I would take cheaper alternatives if we went out e.g pop into Asda for some sweets before going into the cinema.
Now I’m older and more comfortably off, I factor into my calculations that things will be a rip off but just enjoy my night and treat myself if I feel the urge.
To be honest, I think you’re getting yourself a bit worked up over nothing. It can’t be much fun for your husband and kid if you’re so uptight and moany. Live a little, it’s only an ice cream.

Theboymolefoxandhorse · 13/08/2026 01:24

Might depend on where you live but I bought my daughter an ice cream for ice cream van when in the south east a few weekends ago go - £4! Then she decided immediately after it was purchased she didn’t want it 🤣🙈 jusy a big standard ice cream and a cone that was - up north it is more around £2. Agree it’s disgustingly expensive at £8 but also your original question was it it the fault of the people who are paying the inflated prices which despite you blaming your husband for buying it - your family unit are also a part of. Perhaps everyone going doesn’t want to upset their little one on a rare day out? It’s not right but no different to prices being inflated at the airport or petrol stations - they know they’ve got you buy the balls as you’ve got nowhere else to go :/

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:23

REDB99 · 13/08/2026 01:17

At the point I realised ice cream was £8 I would have said we’re not getting one. 4 is old enough to understand that some things are too expensive. Your post is odd, you paid high prices but want other people to boycott paying high prices?

I didn't pay anything and, yeah, I'm pretty sure I would have done the same as you.

It was a very rare family day out and the kid had been promised an ice cream as a special treat (which he'd been looking forward to since the day before). Kind of sad to then say no (was my DH's take). We have a family day out like that once or twice a year.

OP posts:
DressOrSkirt · 13/08/2026 01:21

Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:12

He absolutely didn't and I thought he was a bloody idiot for doing so.

On the fence about upsetting the kid, though.

The drinks weren't 4x what they'd cost outside the ground. And one drink over 6.5 hours... Need to stay hydrated and we'd got through everything we could carry!

Show quote history

You could have drunk tap water!

Original poster
Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:19

MrsTerryPratchett · 13/08/2026 01:16

Who drank ‘some drinks’?

Maybe have a word with DH. Rather than us…

Show quote history

My Dad bought a round of drinks - one for each of us (not the kid).

I did have a word with DH. He got the (muted) "wtaf?!" reaction. His response - he couldn't let the little one down and, as he was already paying £8, might as well pay £16 🤦🏼‍♀️ DH logic 🙄

I do largely blame him for ice cream inflation, and exorbitant food and drinks costs at events, nationally, but it's not 100% on him... He's not rich enough to sustain that sort of spending.

OP posts:
REDB99 · 13/08/2026 01:17

At the point I realised ice cream was £8 I would have said we’re not getting one. 4 is old enough to understand that some things are too expensive. Your post is odd, you paid high prices but want other people to boycott paying high prices?

MrsTerryPratchett · 13/08/2026 01:16

Weeeeeeeeeee · 13/08/2026 01:12

I didn't - I didn't buy anything.

Show quote history

Who drank ‘some drinks’?

Maybe have a word with DH. Rather than us…