What was a HUGE deal in your house growing up that is normal for you now?

[Bakingmamma]

Various things in my house.

A big one was baking. Although we
usually had the things in the house, wanting to bake was such a big deal and we could only do it on special occasions. Possibly did it once or twice a year.

I’m not talking about big extravagant bakes either! I’m talking about 12 bog standard cupcakes with some basic icing on!

It was only when I reached adulthood that I realized I could cook some basic cupcakes in 20 minutes and it wasn’t a big deal at all.

It takes longer to do a load of washing!

What was a huge deal in your house that you’ve now normalized for your own children? I can’t be the only one 🙈

Central heating.
Chillies
Huge salads (versus one lettuce leaf and a quarter tomato).
International recipes.
Garlic,

Having a bath
Going out to eat

Going to a restaurant

Eating out.

Christmas food and goodies being allowed to be open and eaten throughout December.

Not saving anything, clothes, toiletries or anything nice “for best”.

Having visitors

Orange juice - served in a tiny glass carefully measured out by Mum as a treat every now and then!

Having the heating on

Grapes. They were almost exotic when I was a child. Then again at two boxes for £3.50 they might be going that way again!

Eating out
Grapes and Strawberries
Central Heating
A car
New clothes
Lots of birthday/Christmas gifts

Sunday roast! My mum slogged away in the kitchen aaaaallll day to much fanfare when the roast appeared. Tbf, it was delicious, and my mum was the best (also a minx who was probably in there drinking wine and reading a magazine while making sure we didn't come near her all day 😂).

Realised later in life that it doesn't take much time or labour and you can do it around other things in the house

Eating out, my dad and step mum ate out occasionally, for their birthdays but that was more or less it and we didn’t do it as a family

Toys or gifts outside of birthdays or Christmas

Definitely things we’re kept for best

Being allowed the hot water on to wash my hair. Have issues now and absolutely have to wash it every day or feel dirty..
Once even got dd to help me wash it at motorway services whilst travelling abroad to a holiday..
Never refuse the dc opportunity to shower /bath or wash hair...

Oh and we didn’t have double glazing or central heating. Didn’t have a house phone until we moved when I was eleven and the phone was in the hall on the wall.
One television

Olive oil when it was needed for a recipe (very rare). Had to be bought in Boots in a teensy tiny bottle.

Eating out
Heated bedrooms

Takeaways - may be twice a year.

Pancakes, only ever once a year as they were such hard work. Now make them for my kids a few times a month, still love them!

Alcohol at home not just when out on special occasions

TV during the day not just after 5pm!

Also baking, very occasionally we would do a box of those supermarket fairy cakes but even that was a drama. My mum was actually a good cook too, so no reason why we couldn't have baked together.

New clothes, pretty much everything was hand me downs and anything new was rare. We often had to wait for even the most essential things. Nothing wrong with hand me downs but I'm so glad I can take my dc to buy a coat or new shoes when they need it without any drama.

Holidays, well we just didn't have them.

Having the heating on.

Decorating, it would take months just to finish one room and nothing ever did get finished before it all needed doing again. We just get on and do what needs doing around the house.

Days out, again, we didn't have them, if we did there was always several changes of plan and we'd arrive too late missing the best part of the day.

Fruit! We got an apple, tangerine and banana in our Christmas stockings (plus the rest of the pack appeared in kitchen) and when it was gone it was gone. We picked raspberries or brambles when they grew and sometimes apple's from a relatives garden but never bought fruit any other time of year.

1970's / 1980's
Eating out
Getting a take away
Going out for the evening
Parents throwing a party. I remember the one and only NYE party / any sort of party my parents hosted. All went well.

Putting curlers in my hair (because I didn't know how to blow dry my hair) and getting a row because I hadn't done it properly.

I purchased a hairdryer and I taught myself how to blow dry my hair as a teenager. I was blown away a few years later that my husband's mother had been blow drying her own hair for years.

Pate and hot buttered toast in front of the fire for tea. Very nice but wtaf was that about ?

Washing the bloody car. To be fair it was the 70s and my Dad did all the maintenance, but he was always trying to guilt trip me or my siblings into vacuuming and washing it, making it into a big song and dance because we were so lucky to be in a family which actually had one and he or my Mum would drive us anywhere we needed to go so the least we could do was clean it. Now I either don't bother for months on end or take it to the car wash if you can't see through the windows. Sorry Dad

Baking for us as well. It was a monumental occasion and apparently even basic cupcakes needed planning weeks in advance and would take up most of the day.

Grapes.

Salmon - never fresh, always tinned. An occasional tin of pink salmon during the year, and if we were lucky, a tin of red salmon at Christmas or Easter.

Shop-bought cakes. They were a rare luxury in our house.

Making a phone call. Only allowed after 6pm (cheap rate) and DF was never far away looking at his watch timing the call.

Grapes and strawberries were exotic luxuries

Holidays abroad

Having a personal screen and watching films on a plane - mind blowing

Eating in restaurants - so rare I remember both occasions it happened and exactly what I ate.

Takeaways
Fizzy drinks