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.

So you ordered food to their house before you had arrived and they started eating without you?? What do you mean they cut up the salad?

This is bonkers - did they not offer you any other courses?

We took lots of fancy wine when invited to stay to
meet my friend’s future in laws. The dad hid these in a cupboard, and kept one under the table for him, whilst serving us much cheaper wine. They were very well off too

I bought supermarket pizzas, the 550cal individual ones. plus tomatoes and salad leaves and peppers and cucumbers. My husband took them all around whilst I was working and I followed on a little later. The agreement was they would cook and he would help whilst the kids played.

That's crazyyy
It's not just stingy, it's outright mean and disrespectful

but also very stingy to turn up to someone’s house with a small jar of peppers

I think it was meant as a gift - one that I would appreciate.

Disgusting of them!

Please could you pop round and cook this for me now? I’m feeling poorly 😂

We have friends who we loved hosting get on well all lovely yada yada. Come to realise there are never any return invites, also notice no wine/flowers/any token of appreciation given when they came and increasingly they compliment our food and say they have "starved for a day to come to us as there is always so much". Nothing said we start to quietly reduce number of invites. They then start to bring a dessert when invited - great we think - nice gesture- until they arrive insisting on cutting the dessert so we have tiny portions and then boxing it back up to take back home with them. Still reader we kept on with this nonsense until a Sunday roast where I'd cooked enough to plate for my DF who was quite unwell at the time, told them we had overdone portions so we could freeze some for quick meals for DF and enough for him for a plate for that day. 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. Sorry appreciate it's a host tale not a guest one!

I remember going to a group event where despite lots of ingredients being provided the person cooking made enough soup for us all to have about an eggcup full each. And breadrolls being shared. Luckily there was a takeaway nearby.

Went to a party, they had invited whole families and said come at 5.30pm. By 7pm it was obvious there was no food, we had all offered to bring food and were told just bring drink .... needless to say we all left en masse to find food at 7.15

My mum telling me I owe her 20p for something she photocopied for me (and no before anyone asks if I ever borrow money off her and say maybe she was making a point nope I never ever borrow money off her or anyone) and yes she was being serious and no she isn't struggling financially and wasn't her last 20p 🙄

Did you manage to salvage your DF's plate? Sorry to hear! So inconsiderate

I read it online but this couple flew to another part of the country for their sibling and sister in laws house for thanksgiving. A few days later, them and everyone else who came for the thanksgiving received an itemised bill.

And this is despite the fact it was a family tradition for different people to host and no one else had sent a bill to others before for food reimbursement in previous years.

They were a rich couple as well. If they wanted contributions they should’ve been upfront about it, to give their family a chance to decline.

I had a (very affluent single bachelor) friend who would always do pot lucks when he had dinner party- never just hosted a “normal” dinner where he’d supply all the food. And he’d be very specific in what he wanted eg.” 6 hummingbird bakery cupcakes and a bottle of wine from you please” so it wasn’t cheap 😂

So they hadn't contributed any wine?

Invited to IL's for Boxing Day 'buffet' 6 adults 2 primary children and my baby who I was breast feeding at the time. MIL served 4 roast potatoes.... nothing else not even a drink. There were no places open to get food from it was a miserable night.
They had been to mine for Christmas dinner full works 3 courses IL's didn't even offer to bring anything no dessert, drink nothing.

I've never eaten at their house since, even when we visit I've never been offered a cup of tea.
It's just bad manners, never has anybody visited my home that didn't get offered at least a drink. I just don't understand the lack of manners from some people.

At a wedding, tables of 12 at the meal. One roast chicken and two salad bowls per table. That was it! We had to eat on the way home!

Invited to IL's for Boxing Day 'buffet' 6 adults 2 primary children and my baby who I was breast feeding at the time. MIL served 4 roast potatoes.... nothing else not even a drink. There were no places open to get food from it was a miserable night.

At which point I would have upped sticks and left.

Stingy people get away with this behaviour because no-one challenges them.

I am at the age where I don't care if I upset someone by going home if I am hungry and haven't been fed. I would just say "It's been lovely seeing you. We are all hungry so we are going home to get something to eat".

That said no-one in my friendship circle or family would ever be this mean spirited anyway.

Both of mine relate to weddings.
Wedding no 1. We go to the pub where the reception is being held. Think something like a Harvesters. We have to pay for our own meals. I wouldn't have minded if we had been forewarned but we hadn't.
Wedding no 2. The evening reception consisted of cheese and crackers. Nothing else.

A wedding one where, post church we had to trek 15 mins through a grassy park in 30°c heat (all on heels) then arrived at the hotel to be given a measly half glass of cheap prosecco before waiting two hours outside, no seats, no shade, until we we were finally seated for the worlds most disappointing lunch.

I’d have happily paid for drinks but there was no paid bar until lunch and we weren’t allowed in the venue, just awful.

For me, it would be the time I went to see a friend at her house for a catch up and wasn't offered a single drink whilst I was there. No cuppa, no wine, no squash, not even water.
I'd taken some cookie with me, because I think you should always turn up with something.

We all went to a wedding and we all had a plain paper gift type bag with our name on it containing a cup and saucer and a small side plate. That was our wedding meal a cup of tea or coffee some sandwiches and cake. I alcoholic drink eachas the brides father was an alcoholic and they didn't want him drinking too much - so we couldn't drink

Oh my @Feelslikeeverest that was horrendous....
So your aunt reared a woman who is soooo mean and says nothing to her 😮
Your aunt must be a doormat. ☹️

Ist year at uni, stayed with boyfriend at his digs for the first time, somewhat unplanned. Quick shower and then home to change as dawn broke. 🙂

Met him for lunch two days later and he tried to insist I paid for his lunch because I'd used his shampoo in the shower. 😧

I'd have turned round and gone straight back home.