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.

I had a friend who invited our group out for a celebration meal. He made it clear it was his treat. When we arrived he said we could have two courses from the set menu (definitely the two course option, not the three) and if we wanted extras, i.e. the third course, something not on the set menu, or even a drink that isn't water, we had to pay him the difference. He sat with the receipt at the end of the meal and worked out what we all owed. Me and DP have taken the group out for a meal before - but we made sure it was somewhere that we could afford for everyone to eat what they wanted!

Bloody hell some of these are mind-boggling. I can't belive people actually pull this shit.

One previous poster suggested that they thought the wine that had been brought was a gift and they as a host had to provide other wine ie not use a present, intended for them, to feed others, which I can understand. Some of the confusion about hosts 'hiding the good stuff ' can be explained by this thought process. Though I am sure there are many who are simply tight! Best calls on tightness are from those who know the people well

I would have treated myself to a nice night out and left him to it. Id be pissed

I used to work in one of the most impoverished areas of the UK. Most of my contact was with people who didn't have 2 coins to rub together but unfailingly, every single household prepared something to eat for my visits around Christmas. My colleagues who covered some of the wealthiest parts of London would be lucky if they were offered a cup of tea...

Not me (thank goodness) but a friend and her husband and their two kids had travelled to the other end of the country intending to visit friends while they were there.
Friends invited them over for the evening. I don't know what the kids were given, but for FOUR adults the hostess produced some plain cooked rice and ONE tin of Stagg chilli. No sides, just that.
My friend is a fantastic cook, it's complete hospitality when you go to them. When they left, her husband started the car and said "Find a bloody chip shop!"

@Popworks that is just awful. Unfathomable behaviour. So glad your mum gave them a bollocking.

Went to stay with my brother in law’s fiancée while he was on his stag. They had 3 kids by then, I had none.

I’d brought some Prosecco, she offered to go get a takeaway as they lived rurally so I handed over a £20 note to comfortably cover more than half and off she went at about 6, saying the kids were night owls but happy with tv and she’d sort them later.

I waited and waited and waited. She had no phone signal. It got to 8 and I put 3 kids to bed- no mean feat! I was actually worried so had texted my husband on the stag.

She arrives back at 9:30 with the (cold!) food i’d ordered and explained she’d waited for the takeaway in the pub next door and got chatting! There was no other food, sge then went to the kitchen to make herself an oven pizza as she didn’t fancy takeaway?! So the whole errand was really just to get away from the kids as far as I could see!

The next day my husband told me when I’d text he’d given his brother £20 to cover takeaway too as he knew money was tight for the wedding 😅 She got an evening out and was probably nearly £30 up by the time I’d left but it wasn’t perhaps the bonding session his family wanted us to have! I never went back and they split a few years later.

I arrived home with 6-month-old twins on Christmas eve - I'd been veggie for 15 years - my mother said I hope you brought some food with you - I have nothing to feed you. My mother always had a great way of showing me exactly how unimportant I was. I never spent another Christmas with her.

Mines another wedding one.
Invited to friends wedding, it was an all day wedding , starting with then getting married early in the morning, reception straight after , reception was to last all day and night until about 1 am.
When we arrived at the reception we were all offered a very small half class if prosecco... then nothing else. They said the bar will be open at 2pm we all just chatted and walked around without drinks or food until bar opened at 2pm... it was extremely awkward! My partner & I were starving and thirsty , it was a very hot summers day. Bar opened 150 guests trying to buy drinks at the bar was mayhem, alchohol was running out fast. Again no food served .. it was odd as they had proper wedding tables for us to sit at , place names etc. Noone wanted to say anything to each other about it as it was just so awkward and we didnt want to offend bride and groom... luckily we decided to leave children with parents or we would of been like the many other guests we saw with children looking miserable. Speeches came at about 5pm... they asked everyone to make sure they had a drink from the bar b4 speeches for a toast! Guests started leaving to go to Macdonald and supermarkets to get thier kids food , saying they will be back for the evening disco, to which the bride had a hissy fit and her sister came outside shouting at saying she was disgusted that people were leaving the wedding to go and get food & they were all very rude as a buffet would be provide in the evening when disco starts. At last I thought , we will eat.
Disco started at 8pm , watched 1st dance etc , buffet was put out, it consisted of about 50 cocktail pasties, some bread rolls, no butter , a bowl of salad , a plate of cocktail sausages , most if the male guests took anything that was laid out, I got one cocktail sausage. We would have left shortly after but we had a lift with other guests and it was out in a rural area. The bar was running out of drinks , people were looking very miserable z bride stormed off to her room saying my wedding is ruined as people keep leaving to get food... it was utterly bizarre. I went to her room to check she was ok ( as she was a friend) and her room was full to the brim with presents , bottles of champagne, cards , balloons, including the expensive gift my partner and I had got them. I always wonder how she didnt understand how wierd this was. I believe each bride and groom should have whatever wedding they want .. but why on earth weren't we all told there would be no food during the day? Why have an all day wedding and not provide anything, most of the guests had travelled really far and paid for hotel rooms and b and bs , I just found it so embarrassing for her , so rude! They again have alot of money and live in a 5 bedroom house over looking the beach in devon.
In comparison the best wedding I ever went to the couple who were very hard up, gave us an option , if you would like to come to our wedding your welcome , however it's a small do, evening buffet and pay your own drinks, it was one of the most fun, down to earth wedding I've been to, being pre warned and honest upfront gives guests a choice, she also said no presents as you are all paying alot to get here and stay here and we just want to see you. In all honesty that couples buffet was huge and lots and lots of food left. They were generous.
Some people are just tight, regardless of whether they are skint or not. The no food wedding has really put me off weddings !

I also remember a friend/old house mate asking me and our other housemates (there were only 3) for 30p each. She’d bought washing up liquid!

Two SMALL - so a smallish spud cut in half. I'd usually have three medium (so a large spud but in three). Once sliced of roast beef not two, limited amount of veg. And I'm a moderately active size 12.

I was nearly as hungry when I got up as I had been when I sat down.

Are you SIL?

My friend threw a bday bash at her house, I arrived with a bottle of wine that she put in the fridge, she then said she hadn’t been to the shop to get booze. The first guest arrived and she offered them a glass of the wine I’d bought! Throughout the night guests arrived with their own alcohol and my friend never did go to the shop…

Actually my grandmother who was finishing- schoolish would never use the wine brought as a gift. She said this was the correct etiquette as the wine being served ought to have been chosen specifically to complement the meal being served ( which obviously the guest couldn’t necessarily predict) and also, if red, needed to breathe the correct amount of time before being drunk. She used to get very eye-rolling when my dad used to bring things and open it ( and which prompted her to explain all this to me!?) I think she accepted times were a- changin’ but she would never have done it herself and I suspect this could be the background to why some people don’t open the alcohol brought.

Thanks so much OP! Making the chicken tonight!

I could honestly eat about 10 roast potatoes. They are the best part!

I think this is the cruellest example of meanness of all of the accounts here.
I'm so sorry.

I imagine you don't have a lot todo with them now.

It will go against the grain, I'm sure, but maybe when next you invite them 'model' their idea of hospitality back at them.

I'm wondering whether I'd be able to do this myself, if I were in your shoes, but know that after making my point I'd have to relent and revert to normal hospitality mode.

Parents told me to put away the wine a guest brings as it's poor form to bring it out to drink with them (unless close friends/family)

I think people are sometimes just weird about food and how much other people need to eat. I went on a youth group camp where the leaders took it in turns to sort the catering each day. One of the leaders fed the (teenage) kids one wholemeal pitta, a slice of processed cheese and some lettuce each for lunch. Bearing in mind that the camp was extremely active - think rock climbing, ziplining, kayaking etc. I think he was worried about the budget.

The only thing that stops me finishing them all off for seconds is the thought of having them cold with salt!

Yes. Appalling.

Or fried in butter for breakfast!

If the hosts are knowledgeable about wine, they might have carefully chosen wines to complement the food being served, which is another reason why the guest's wine might not be drunk.

Yes we cross posted I think. In my grandmothers generation it was poor form. You were supposed to provide a carefully chosen offering to complement what else you were giving them.