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 🙈

No talk or acknowledgment whatsoever of periods in front of my dad. Tampons and sanitary towels were kept up high (and I’m a shortarse) and out of sight in the bathroom or in my bedroom. It completely blew my mind when I met DH that his mum and sisters kept open packets of tampons on the window sill in the bathroom within arms reach of the loo. And that his dad openly remarked on his sister needing to take her evening primrose oil or she’d be a complete nightmare next week 😂

And a good one. Conker collecting. We would go every autumn to the woods and collect as many as possible. Pick out the best looking ones, experiment with them being put in oven or vinegar to make them stronger, try to get the best hole to put them onto shoelaces and have conker tournaments in the living room. We did this well into my teens, but my kids lost interest after 20 minutes and wanted to do something else. But it was a big annual event for me as a child.

Dessert.

Juice.

Roast dinner. My mum would go on and on about the effort required. But then would never do Yorkshire puddings and rarely do stuffing. Sometimes no roasters. In my world unless it has most of the trimmings it doesn't count

Extended amounts of TV I.e. 2 hours or more

Keeping everything for “best“

Lifts. My parents HATE giving lifts. Ironically super keen to get lifts now from me. I'm obviously not forthcoming -they don't have any mobility or driving issues they just CBA

All doors shut constantly.

Big towels. Would be an issue in my house now as lm heavily pregnant with twins and my husband is 6'3 tall!

@NeverDropYourMooncup same here - solidarity sister - and sending love and a hug. I really hope you have all these things now.

When we were little (1980's) it was always a big deal when we went into ankle socks and sandals.
I was at infant school and my mum would never let me wear them until the weather turned really warm.
I loved going to Clarks to have my feet measured up for new sandals.
One summer I chose a red pair and it was the best feeling ever walking in them to school on the first summer's day, and wearing ankle socks after months in tights.
Summer dresses were a big deal too.
I don't think open toe sandals are even allowed in schools now for health and safety.

The issue with baths and heating was the cost.

Fresh fruit. So rare in our house, we maybe had it once a year. The rest of the time it was tinned fruit, or if we were lucky it was tinned fruit cocktail with the one cherry in it.

The phone. My parents first got a phone in 1995. About six months after we got our first car, a three-wheeler as my mum only had a motorbike licence. And she used to scrutinise the phone bill and complain to the phone company if she disagreed with how long they said she'd used the phone that month. Every month.

Stickers. We weren't allowed to stick them because it would waste them. So we ended up with quite a few sheets of unused stickers that we were only really allowed to look at.

School. I was the first person in my house to finish school at 16, everyone older than me dropped out at 14 or 15. I was also the first person to get A-levels or go to uni and the hoo-ha about me leaving for uni was unreal. My mum really didn't want me to go.

We only ever had fresh orange juice on a Sunday. I remember staying with some friends of my parents who lived in CroydonWhich I thought was very posh.We were offered Orange juice every morning, and I remember when they fist offered it I exclaimed "What, Sunday Orange?!"
We also only had yogurt once a week, as a treat on shopping day.

Not everyone's childhood was like this in Britain in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. But threads like this always seem 1950s to me. So maybe my childhood was unbelievably cushy compared to others? Maybe people who weren't strangers to baths and central heating, meals out etc as children don't come on these sorts of threads?

@ColdHandsHotHead ah ok. Very different worlds then. Was that the same for baking? Everything was made and baked from scratch in my house. Not because store bought alternatives weren't available, but because my mother was an amazing cook and baker as were most of my family. So a store bought cake was a real novelty for me. Roast dinners were never a thing back home. I didn't grow up with them, so have never understood the fuss and excitement over them. But I do love one now. Only have a roast dinner a few times a year though.

Oh and we couldn’t have cooked onions, my dad hated the smell and he liked liked plain food, wouldn’t eat stew, chicken or pork although he ate bacon.
My stepmum would make stew for us but without onions, basically stewing beef, carrots and potatoes with an oxo cube chucked in. Nothing spicy no pasta, nothing foreign.
You always knew what day it was by what was for tea.
Fish only came out of a tin, red salmon at Christmas, pink occasionally and never tuna.
I enjoy cooking and I make all different types of food 😊

Another 70s / 80s child here:
No take aways ever
Not eating out - except McDonald's
Being able to get food from the kitchen after 6pm - at that time the kitchen would 'shut'.
Not being able to go out if the washing machine was on doing a cycle - the clothes then had to be hung on the washing line in a very particular order. I still feel 'naughty' when I just hang things up any old way!

On holiday if we hired a car my dad would spend at least an hour practising driving it in the car park before going on to a road.
My mind was blown when I first went on holiday with DH and we hired a car and he drove off almost immediately - I was completely amazed that he knew how to drive a hire car - I had thought that they must be so different to normal cars

Central heating in the 80s wasn't ubiquitous at all in the uk

I remember my nanas council house having it put in

It also was tuned off every night in out house - because we went rich - so ice inside windows wasn't unheard of

We also didn't get a phone until late 80s when grandad was really ill - it was just too expensive

Went - > were not

Eating dinner in the living room in front of the TV. Just wasn't done unless REALLY ill or possibly maybe just once over the Christmas holidays because there was something really special on TV in the evening.

Everytime there was something on or we were going away. there was a huge massive task of cleaning the house. no matter what you had on you had to participate and there was holy war if you didn't do it right. meant that trips away were stressful and atmosphere dreadful before we even left. if sick stay in bed and don't move. only allowed to watch what daddy was watching on TV nothing else. only one I do keep is getting dressed can't bear wearing pyjamas all day..doesn't make me feel good

I remember when I was six (1981) being invited to a friend's Birthday at McDonalds.
It was the first time I'd ever heard of it. My mum told me there would be a clown there, and we would have hamburgers and milkshakes.
It was a real novelty as I'd never experienced anything like it.
We sat on tables and chairs within a huge "boat".
There wasn't much choice in menu - just basic hamburger, fries and milkshake, but it was the best treat ever!

Pancakes, they were strictly reserved for pancake day and served instead of normal tea. This meant that while they were a massive treat, they also weren’t very filling and we were hungry an hour later.

No idea why! Pancakes are one of ds’s favourite foods and I make them for breakfast every weekend. Takes ten minutes. Does mean he looks at me like I’m barking when I’m excited for pancake day mind 😂

I remember house "for sale" listings in the late 80s/early 90s in the newspaper, when OFCH or GCH (oil or gas central heating for those who don't remember) were listed as selling points because you couldn't assume a house had heating! Then DG (double glazing) was the Next Big Selling Point.

Eating out, I grew up in the 70’s so it wasn’t normal
Forrin food, father wouldn’t allow it
Bath only once per week
Children having a voice - apparently it was never appropriate

@Usrr we didn't get central heating until 1989! Heating water for a bath was a major exercise and the water tank lost heat very rapidly so you had to plan when exactly you wanted hot water, switch on the immersion heater a few hours before and remember to put it off again.

Practically everything was a big drama when I was younger. I’m much more chilled out.

Putting the central heating on. My dad had it installed then refused to actually have it on due to cost, lol. A Chinese take away was a big deal a few times a year - always the same dishes ordered too, it was a ritual. My parents hosting a get together. They had people round for a party once and I remember it so well as it was so rare.

Wine/alcohol in the house. Parents occasionally went and got some sherry and perhaps some shandy, then drank it in front of the telly. I’d say twice a year or so, and at Christmas. The idea of getting a couple of bottles of wine in every week would be unfathomable to them.

Broccoli. Only came caress this when I was a student in the mid-80s.

Going out to have your Sunday dinner in the pub. Again, I only experienced this when I went to university and my friend’s parents came to visit her one weekend and they all did this and invited me along. Never knew such a thing was even possible.

And another one here saying central heating. Our council house finally had it installed in 1989.