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 🙈

@Usrr I was born in 1989, I always put it down to being from a working class background (are you working class if nobody in your family worked?)
we had no central heating until the late 90s, baths were a once a week, any fruit that wasn’t apples or bananas were rare, I never heard of dark chocolate even until my late teens
if it wasn’t for my aunt, I don’t think I would have ever read a story book outside of school
Saying that, we always had the latest tv set and phone

Frowning up watching North American films everyone just seemed so rich and polished, it’s like everyone is just born middle class (I know that’s not true)

I lived in Canada briefly about 10 years ago and couldn’t believe the culture, children go to restaurants regularly, houses are huge and so warm, people cook multi cultural food there and are good at it! I had my first avocado there.

I am far from my working class childhood now and these things are all normal now but I must say I do live in an affluent city/ neighbourhood

That meant to say ‘growing up watching North American films….’

Has anyone mentioned hair conditioner yet? Possibly one of the most underappreciated developments of modern times. The pain suffered by kids as their mother tugged a brush or comb through tangled hair after the weekly bath was tantamount to torture.

I'd have 'crystal and a spanish'

I’m intrigued! What is that?

Omg yes, definitely didn’t have this when I was a child but as a teen in the 00’s, I did

THEN: Elbows on the table during meal times.

NOW: What fucking table??

We had our TV and VCR from radio rentals as well! Telly only went on if you had checked the listings and wanted to watch a certain show. Then straight off again after. (These days my dm watches Love Island and all sorts )
Pizza was a special treat.. usually bought from M&S, ditto their lasagna. But both parents were keen to try all the ‘new’ foods that were becoming more popular (this was the 1980’s) so I was lucky in that regard.

Soft play. I knew of one when I was a kid and it was the most exciting thing ever, a very rare treat.

Surely 1975..?

Yes

I remember seeing the Carousel of progress in Disney and muttering about it, nothing like UK

I was born 1978. We didn't have central heating until I was 9, it was coal fire and hot water bottles until then.

New clothes - everything was from the church jumble sale or handed down

Mum didn't have a VHS machines until after I'd gone to uni in 1996.

One of my friends wasn't allowed to come for a play date as my Mum was a single parent in 1984. Her Dad thought this was completely scandalous and didn't want her influenced in any way

Oh and eating out. I can remember the first time going to a Chinese restaurant, it was for my 15th birthday and a very extravagant treat

Showers in a separate shower cubicle. This was the option when I was growing up.

My parents did not have a phone when I was growing up
As an adult I Paid for phone installation just to maintain contact when I moved away
Bought my mum a mobile she never uses it,won’t switch it on. Too much of faff.Apparently

My first flat in London on graduating in 2001 had one of these!

Christmas was a big deal. My dad loved it - it had been a big tradition for him growing up. Mum worked full time and dad did shorter hours so he did all the shopping and cooking, dressed the tree, while mum took care of prezzies and getting the house ready. I have lovely memories of Christmas as a child - including the TV on on Christmas Eve while we peeled the veg and got the turkey ready for the oven. Then Christmas Day when my uncles would visit with gifts and my nan would come for dinner. Our next door neighbour was a graphic designer and hugely artistic. For years, we would open the curtains on the patio doors to find a different paper mache Christmas animal waiting for us !! Haven’t thought about that for years. Just writing this has made me feel nostalgic.

Having a shower in your house was pretty rare among me and my friends families in the 80s, then people gradually started getting over bath ones installed. Before that we had the dreaded rubber shower hose that attached to you bath taps (and generally was impossible to keep on).
i’d never heard of an en-suite until I got to high school in late 80s, now pretty much every family home has one.

We had one of these on the bath taps. I seem to remember that if you ran the water too fast the hoses popped off the taps !!

They come with straps now, im moving to a pace with just a bath and was looking for a short term fix, cant cope without a shower

Cold weather, lol

Eating any food/snack/meal after dinner absolutely not allowed.
If you didn’t finish your plate you would be given it for breakfast.
Not allowed too much water when eating.

Wasn’t allowed anywhere outside the house after a bath even to the garden.

And I ironed my uniform and made my own packed lunches from about 8. Deffo not something I will make my own littles do when they’re that age!

Soft play, my mum said it was too far away but as an adult I know it was 15 minutes away. We were old enough to bog off on the play frame for long enough for her to have a coffee and read a book. Don’t know why she didn’t do that more!

Going out in the evening after work. You couldn’t just pop to the shop if you fancied something, once the cars were on the drive that was it for the night.

Takeaways. We never had them. I don’t have them much now so that was probably a good habit.

Am surprised about the baking . My mother always baked as did my best friends Mum . It was a very common activity with us all fighting over the licks !
I am definitely less inclined to bake and only bake for a special occasion.
It’s an expensive pastime now and I CBArsed .

We never went abroad. We'd go to Butlins when The Sun did vouchers, and that was it for holidays. I loved it and never felt I was missing out - everybody around me was also poor and I didn't realise there were financially-comfortable people in real life (not on the TV) until I went to university.

But now I go abroad every year and I take my mum.

Fruit cocktail in a tin (always for a special treat I now think it is yuck).

Mandarin Cheescake not fully defrosted from the freezer.

No phonecalls until after 6pm and then no more than 59 minutes

New clothes not hand me downs.

Showers - my parents believe whole heartedly that the shower was on its last legs for years so we weren't allowed to use it and only allowed baths instead.

Eating out was rare, takeaways weren't especially.

Being cold in our house was rare, my parents always said 'no matter how skint we are I am never coming back to a cold house'.

Getting away with paying the child price even when we were adults. I was small and constantly had to lie about my age to save money. I hated it.