Be honest....do you take your own snacks and drinks when you shouldn't?

[Gardenwalldilema]

I do, 99% of the time.

Just arrived at a children's activity without anything as the afternoon went a bit off schedule and now I'm wincing at paying for a drink and snack for them when I've loads at home.

I'm not sure when this happened, but I've become inexplicably tight. Perhaps I enjoyed not shelling out £20 a week on kids snacks during lockdown and just can't bring myself to do it again.

Do you BYO, where do you draw the line?

I take my own when the entrance fee is >£15 pp. soft play/cinema etc I buy their snacks (within reason).

Zoo/theme park/expensive farm park, I take a picnic. I don't mind spending £10-15 on drinks and snacks in venues where the entry fee feels like good value for money.

I don't often spend money on food on holidays though beyond a food shop and cook at home.

@StylishMummy isn't it funny, I won't spend a quid on some Pommebears at softplay, but wouldn't dream of cooking on holiday and will happily spend hundreds to avoid it.
Maybe we've all got our quirks. I'm quite sure lockdown has made me a Scrooge though

Yes because we have multiple allergies. Where questioned I tell them this and they are happy enough. Saves them having to cater for our allergies.

Soft play? omg that feels like a dim memory as our was shut for total move in lockdown and it's a while until its finished.

If its soft play I take snacks and drinks but still buy shot meal for DC and a few teas. at days out like a zoo I mostly take a picnic but ice cream and teas etc.

Its too expensive with four dc to eat out on days out in the outside like legoland, zoos etc but a bit to cheeky to bring a three course meal to places where picnics are discouraged

I always do. Toddler DS has allergies and I can’t always guarantee there will be an option that suits him or that there’s a separate area to prepare his food etc. I’m happy to pay for a coffee/tea if I can

I always bring snacks, entry is enough! I will buy a cuppa for myself if the other mums are having one otherwise will drink the water I've brought with me. I see a lot of people doing it so it isn't just me.

Some of the soft plays around us have more teen/adult stuff going on so the cafe doesn't always suit my children

Yep. I even smuggle sweets and cans into the cinema in my handbag.

Local cinema that charges a reasonable amount ie £1 for a bag of malteasers I buy their and other local cinema that charges £3.25 for the same bag I take my own.

There*

I wander in quite happily anywhere with a Poundland bag of snacks and no shame.

@FlyingBattie

Yep. I even smuggle sweets and cans into the cinema in my handbag.

You don't need to smuggle stuff into the cinema (if you're in the UK) just FYI. It's fine to bring your own.

I'd rather take my own food and drinks as it's cheaper, less waste involved and I know exact what I'm eating!

You don't need to smuggle stuff into the cinema (if you're in the UK) just FYI. It's fine to bring your own

Is it? I haven't been for at least 5 years, but I'm sure I heard somewhere it's not allowed!

I went one further and took a tin of gin to the panto once . Genuinely did not know that’s not allowed . It was only yapping with usher at the end who said they thought folk were taking in their own booze as audience got louder and louder - ‘oh! Aren’t you allowed to do that then?’ ... nope, they can lose their licence apparently ... genuinely did not know !!

These days I don't go to the cinema often so I think paying £8 for a thimble of coke zero is part of the experience.

Softplay atm, I don't take snacks etc as they've been closed for so long I want to support them where possible.

Yes. Nearly always. I don't mind takeaways? eating out, or paying for some doughnuts at Thorpe park fir the as a treat, but I'd always bring drinks, sandwiches, crisps, choc bars. Why pay £30 when I can buy from sainsbury for £8?

Cinema - always. Soft play - sort of depends on how often we go, how expensive it is and what’s for sale. Other things - also depends. Given that my toddler is happy with a cheese sarnie, apple and Babybel I do tend to take packed lunches for her, plus it saves issues around queuing/not knowing what’s available/food served at nucleus temperatures.

I always take our own BUT I have a child with food allergies. There are only a few places where I'm sure I can get something that he can eat.

If the place is independent and you’re sitting at a table ( thinking of my local soft play with a cafe area) then I think it’s not fair to whip out an entire lunch and expect to occupy their seats. I would supplement something bought there with snacks and a drink though. The cinema I use is a chain so slightly different but I buy something to drink and popcorn but supplement with water and usually healthy snacks if need be in addition.

A family member always takes a stack of sandwiches on any day trip, and marches everyone back to the car to eat at lunchtime. Somewhere like Alton Towers thats something like a 1hr round trip. It depends on budget, when the children were young we were pretty broke and took snacks everywhere. Now as a special treat day I would rather buy lunch there than faff about. For walks we always take water, coffee and biscuits, but not to a Theme Park, the food is part of the treat for me.

Cinema yes absolutely, I wouldn’t if they charged sensible prices, but the prices of sweets at the cinema is extortionate.

Never.

I love taking mine to the cafe for a treat!

Our cinema is only a fiver each...... So I buy ds a snack tray for £5 which includes a drink (( coke, ice blast or whatever)) popcorn and a chocolate bar.

I go to homebargains for a drink for myself tho, buggered if I'm paying above odds for a drink. I usually just get a bottle of water as it's quite warm in there. And maybe a packet of chewits or haribo depending how long the film is.