As a guest, what's the stingiest thing you've ever experienced?

[Marssuri]

Just that!
I'll start

I invited friends for dinner at mine. I made traditional dishes from where I'm from, sausage rougail, chicken cari and dessert.

A few days later they text me telling me to come to theirs for some food at dinner time.

I show up and bring a small jar of chilli peppers. One of the people who invited me goes "is that all you're going to eat?". I was confused and asked what they meant. They replied "It's everyone brings their own food."
I told them I thought they had invited me for dinner and they go "yes, we invited you to come to the house for dinner!".
They saw my face and said "don't worry, we can share some food with you!" before cutting a couple of raw carrots, aubergines, cherry tomatoes with some white sauce and putting them in the middle of the table.
They then served each other the meal they had made for themselves and digged in.

Note from MNHQ - we've had lots of nominations for this thread to be moved over to Mumsnet Classics and, as we're very generous hosts, we've done exactly this.

Yeah I was thinking the same. 4 roast potatoes. Surely anyone would just burst out laughing if that got put on a table for everyone's dinner. 🤣 surely at the least it must have been 4 jacket spuds, still not a great dinner party meal but different to 4 actual roasties.

@Minimili why didn't you say to your sister that you had brought the champagne and the cheeseboard to be consumed that day, and not as a gift?

I don't understand why people are so passive around stuff like this. If I had been invited to a meal by some of the "hosts" described on here I would have left early. I wouldn't be rude about it, but I won't put up with shit hosting.

Nothing awful has happened to me, but I have a v stingy friend who will insist on paying her ‘share’ of a meal if you go out (this has been v cringy in big groups) and a few years ago a few of us we were at another friend’s house getting a takeaway and she baulked at chipping in at a tenner each or something for the food.
The reverse of this also annoys me in that I invited friends of dh round for tea and I baked cakes etc (am a decent baker) - the wife (who is lovely) - when we at sat at the table, to tell me she wouldn’t be eating as she was off sugar or some such. I have no issue with people on restrictive diets but I would’ve appreciated a heads up beforehand. Her dh said ‘don’t worry I’ll have her portions.’
Tell me before you come ffs!
Annoyingly I always get roastie proportions wrong though - it’s not stinginess, I’m just not good at judging 😆

I remember I was a bit hurt when at our wedding some people were hiding bottle of wine under the table in case we ran out….

(we had organised 3 bottles per person plus unlimited beer and soft drinks, so their fear was unfounded 😁 , but only halfway through the evening did my friends confess they were hiding Bottles until they figured the supply would not end)

I still feel paranoid if that means they thought we might be stingy, or if they’d been to other, under catered weddings….

Many years ago my then bf and I were invited to his friends house for his birthday party. Not really knowing this friend I asked my bf should I bring anything....wine, nibbles etc. He assured me there would be plenty of food and we just brought a few bottles of wine. When we arrived the party was in full swing ....music playing, drinks flowing but not one bite of food. The host had a rather large dog that was enjoying getting fussed over and he was telling everyone that the vet had put it on a diet and all it was eating was these dried pellets of dog food. I had remarked to my bf that at least the dog was getting fed. Unfortunately a while later with tongue loosened by too much wine on an empty stomach I was heard to loudly exclaim "I'm so hungry I could eat the dogs balls"

Because I’m an idiot! But then so is my other brother who used to take them out or pay for a take away at their house and it’s never been reciprocated.
What finally did it for me was when we were invited to a birthday bbq. I took a dish my brother likes . He cooked the meat whilst we were sitting inside, DH went out after a while to find brother and his partner chomping away. There were 12 of us there and he had only cooked meat for 6 and there were no salads, potatoes or rolls. We ended up sharing out the dish I had made.

Went to a friend’s house for dinner and took some wine. His gf poured us all thimblefuls and put the rest away in a high cupboard. Later on asked if I could have some more and she rolled her eyes, went and got it, poured another thimbleful and put the wine away again. Wouldn’t mind but they were both big drinkers at our house, very odd.

They snaffle through their own generous portions as I start to look for Tupperware to portion DFs I find them tucking into the plates I had set aside for DF! I may have told this tale before but it still really annoys me.

What did you say to them at the time? And hopefully, now you're wise to them you don't invite such bad guests any more? 🌹

I had bought an M&S ready meal for lunch in work and left it in the work fridge. When I went to use it someone had taken the 50p off your next meal sticker off the front of the packet

Sunday lunch at SILs. By the time the DC had been served their roast potatoes, there were two small ones left per adult. There wasn't enough of anything. Meanest Sunday lunch I have ever had.

😂😂😂

OP: can't help wondering - did they serve the aubergine raw as well?!

We went to an easter Sunday lunch years and years ago. It was hosted by a colleague of DH. We obviously brought lots of wine and flowers.

The meal was tinned tomato soup, normal sliced white bread and cheese slices. Then plain vanilla ice cream. All served at the most beautifully laid table with crystal and Villeroy and Boch (sp?) and gorgeous wine.

I found it odd- but actually rather charming as well. It gave me such Enid Blyton vibes and I really rather loved it!

Some of these are obviously embellished, or more fool the poster for accepting it.

Four roast potatoes? Immediate , "oh sorry we need more food than that "

Kids being given full breakfasts whilst pregnant women given half a bagle? Again "Could I have that please? No problem if not but I will need to leave to eat more "

As for putting chips in the oven that had been bought by yourselves..that's a fix "excuse me, could you actually serve those please, they are for now"

Thankfully I dont have any stingy friends

However we had to go to DH Nephew's wedding a few years back in a top notch hotel in Belfast, was really looking forward to it, a bit of 5* luxury - we were staying overnight

Arrived for the reception, half a glass of sparkling something or other and the tiniest bit of shortbread ever and as soon as everyone had their one glass, the rest was taken away ( This was at 1pm ish - been out on the road since 7am )

In for the meal, sat at tables of 8. Speeches start and we are all invited to toast - we all have empty glasses

So first course is served as is wine, 1/3 of a glass per person - that was it, luckily two didnt drink so we shared theirs out :)

Main course was tiny, pre plated and steamed back to life

Dessert - trio - three bite size bits

Evening reception, a small cone with about 4 chips and a goujon

It got worse. On arrival we were told we would be having breakfast laid on in one of the banqueting rooms. Seriously I have seen better fare at a premier inn. Self service even to making your own tea from a machine

All fur coat and no knickers sprung to mind. They spent the money on the venue and cut the costs on the catering, seriously the most depressing wedding I had ever been to

I’m on the side of the FIL who has coeliac. If any one of us had it we would be a gluten free household. No one needs to eat pasta or bread if you don’t like the GF version.

My BIL/SIL are stingy. We’ve been known to sit around the corner from their house before in the car and eat. They won’t give you drinks and they will suggest takeaway for dinner and expect you to pay theirs as well.
They have a large house and have had several parities over the years. They buy no food and no drink. I went to one where people were rummaging in the kitchen for crisps, SIL was furious. I don’t know how you invite 40 people and buy nothing.

I worked with a horrible woman who always used to get someone else to pick up her lunch as she was too lazy to go out. Asked a colleague and then screamed at her because she had ripped her off 10p, she was a thief blah blah. Turned out prices had gone up. Colleague chucked 10p and said no one is buying your lunch again, so we didn’t.

I have countless tales of one ex friend who is usually the guest and behaves like a complete parasite. However once after many very very pointed remarks she pretty much at our demand invited myself and a mutual friend to hers. I stuck it in the calendar in front of her. The day arrived, I was at work. I texted to find out what time and should I bring anything (inwardly hating myself for even offering). No answer. I phoned. She was allegedly outraged that she hadn't heard from me or the other friend to confirm details. We didn't hear from you either, we assumed it was happening. She said she was furious and now because of the late hour it was too late for her to prepare food. I suggested a takeaway in that case. She said fine, I can bring one along. What budget I asked? She said don't worry about her, she's got leftovers so buy myself whatever I want. Oh and the plumbing is broken so stop at the pub if I need the toilet on the way. Oh and her new boyfriend is over so can I grab some booze for him too. Thanks.

Ugh. I made my excuses. Well actually I didn't. I said no thanks.

Well, I've certainly learnt how to get rich from this thread!!!!

KnitnNatterAuntie's Clan . . . . there will be no more M&S sandwich platters, quiches & salad, vegetable sticks, cherry tomatoes and hummus, cheeseboard, gateaux, cheesecakes and thick chocolate biscuits in the future. It will be cream crackers and very thinly sliced cheese, two crackers for an adult, 1 for the children. And a rich tea biscuit for dessert . . . .

This is a bit surprising to me - is two potatoes per person not enough? How many would you usually have?

I was invited to an evening wedding reception of a friend. There wasn’t much notice so I said I could go but I’d have to come straight from work then travel straight there after. Hour and a half journey. Arrived at the town and picked up another friend who also had just finished work. We got to the venue, a pub, and no food was served at all. I thought there might be a buffet. We asked at the bar if we could order some food but they said no, only crisps to buy. Absolutely hungry now we left the reception early as I thought we could get some food at the restaurant attached to the hotel I was staying only to get there and they’d just shut the kitchen. We ended up at a McDonald’s sat there in our evening dresses. What’s more annoying is my mum who lives in this town invited us for some casserole before we went but we said no as we would get food at the reception.

I don’t think they’re unreasonable to not keep in an allergen that would make your FIL really unwell…?

I hope you stopped hosting her! That's just meanness. 🌹

God, I've got so many.

Invited to lunch. Which was a 4-egg omelette. Split between 4. No bread, no side-dishes. Just a quarter of a 4-egg omelette per person. i.e. an egg. We went to KFC on the way home.

Went to stay with a friend at the other end of the UK for the weekend. She made toast one morning for breakfast. For every other meal, she contrived that we were either too far from her flat to eat there or disappeared around meal times for hours so that we eventually broke and went to a cafe, after which she'd magically reappear.

Christmas day - me and DP guests in my parents house. we split a bottle of wine between 4 over christmas dinner. my father goes to get a 2nd bottle of wine and my mother says "you're not going to open another one?!." So he didn't, and that was it. Christmas over at 3pm. It was the last time we spent Christmas there, and hell will freeze over before we do it again.

Yes absolutely. I wouldn't expect someone who has an allergy to get something in with that allergen in for my family. I work with a young man who has very severe celiac disease- he has to have a separate toaster, utensils and 1 work surface is kept gluten free for him as even a small amount would make him very ill.