Things you thought were posh/exciting/unattainable as a child that are actually everyday items

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I'm just searching for scotch tape on Amazon ready for Christmas. It got me thinking how double sided sticky tape was but a dream back when I was little. Blue Peter used it all the time but it was something I'd never have. The same with play dough. I only ever had plasticine. Scotch tape was fancy too, we only ever had yellow sellotape. Ribera. I'm sure I'll think of others.

As a family we went to view a house to buy. Late 1970's. It had a long pile creamy white carpet in the lounge. Very posh and so unlike our short pile brown and orange swirly one!

Going out for a meal at Little Chef!!

We didn't have much money growing up so lived frugally. I remember in primary one girl was telling others she was having 'chips for my tea'. I was so envious, I was only allowed bread and jam when I got home as 'you had a hot meal at school'.

I always wanted the real item, not the market knock off. All new clothes not some from jumble sales.

I wanted what I thought were feminine shoes but had to wear thick soled shoes as 'they will last'.

Hearing about people who went to France on holiday or ate out blew my mind as I had no idea why anyone would do either (I was little!)

Holidays.

We were quite poor, though to be sure as a child, no-one went "abroad".

Fisher Price toys

French Fancies from the cake isle.

Not exactly everyday items, but my neighbour had white loafers with gold chains and I thought that meant he would be hugely rich. Early 80s.

Matching curtains and duvet sets. Colour schemes in general rather than a sort of matches but not quite look like our house was.

Earring out definitely. My aunt used to go shopping with her dc on a Saturday and have breakfast at Brown's. I was amazed. Although we usually had a cooked breakfast of bacon, sausage, egg, fried bread and fried potatoes for weekend breakfasts so some might have thought that posh.

When we lived abroad with access to cheaper alcohol I once gave my parents a bottle of Remy Napoleon brandy, about the only spirit they kept in the house. Later in the year my mother told my brother that she had made the Christmas cakes as usual, she had used that brandy because she'd never heard of it and didn't want to waste their usual Martell. He took her shopping later in the week and took her down the alcohol aisle, she almost fainted when she saw the price of Remy brandy, not even Napoleon!

I still remember the BT advert with Maureen Lipman as Beattie, (the pun on the name never occurred to me for years) where she thought you had to roll the original up and poke it into the machine's wire! She never got an ology.

I agree @mam0918 ! My mum says that when she was little in Jamaica, often there was an abundance of avocados, so the ones which would fall to the ground / were bruised on picking, were given to the pigs. Even to this day she refuses to buy bruised or over ripe avocados because of the connection. Meanwhile 60 years later today across the ocean in the UK & Europe, avocados can be very expensive and a class signifier (health and wealth). Whereas it still is a humble food in the Caribbean ( as commonplace as an apple over here).

The 'crazy coloured bathroom obsession' did produce, as well as the avocado etc, some amazing colurs, a dear friend until recently had the most beautiful rich jade coloured bathroom suite. It was beautiful, far less cold-looking than the trend for all-white bathrooms or, even worse, the fifty shades of grey!
I recall in the 70's the builder of the house we bought said he was having a row with another customer who didn't want any of the colours he offered, they wanted white and he didn't supply it.

As a young child I remember being in awe of the fact that 1am, 2am etc were technically morning, and would be so so excited on the rare occasions I was awake to see them (New Years, travelling etc) as I thought it was so exciting and grown up to be up so late. Now as a FTM to a baby who still wakes in the night I’m very familiar with those hours, and much less enamoured by them 😅

My dad grew up quite wealthy, but in a country where supply chains were constantly interrupted by war and sanctions and imports were strictly limited. He never quite got over the sheer variety of products in British shops.That not only would say, toothpaste or tomatoes be definitely available, but there were several different kinds all slightly different. And that was in the 90s. If he'd lived to see the Tesco megastores of today it would have been like another planet to him.

Driving and owning a car

Little Chef motorway restaurants. We never went to them so i thought they were the ultimate luxury.
Pot Noodles. Not allowed so I thought they'd be snack heaven.

Coke Floats.

The ultimate tea room treat

Ah that reminds me of when we moved house and I was around 15, and my parents let me choose how my bedroom would be redecorated. I had matching/contrasting curtains, wallpaper and duvet set from Next. It was early/mid eighties…I think the wallpaper also had one of those contrasting borders along the joint with the ceiling as well. All my choice… a sort of stone/terracotta combination - I must have been going for the Roman Palace look 😂

crinkle cut chips. I used to have tea at a friend's, sausage, beans and crinkle cut chips. it couldn't actually believe it.

Lucozade (glass bottle wrapped in cellophane!). Was only allowed it if I was poorly and I thought it was so nice!

Artic roll, Angel Delight, pasta that wasn't in a tin and supermarket Pizza!
I remember the first time I had Pizza at a friend's house, I was 15 and not completely sure what my feelings were about this "foreign food" 😂

child of the 70's /80's - Lasagne/ Curry / chinese take away

And they were called “continental quilts.” It was a good 10 years before people started calling them duvets.

Strawberries
Raspberries
Prawns
Smoked salmon
Delivery pizza
Contact lenses
A car under 2 years old.
Home broadband
Regular hair highlights
Gym membership