to think 20 quid too much.

[whyme2]

Dd 1 and 2 attend rainbows. They came home last week with a letter asking for 20 pound each so they could spend the night in the church hall where they have their meetings and have breakfast there.
Is this normal? It seems a huge amount of money for nothing imho. I am contemplating what to say to the rainbow leader next week.

I didn't realise Rainbows was for the rich. I'm sure baden Powell would turn in his grave.

So AIBU to say to the leader that it is prohibatively(sp?) expensive.

Jeez, thats very expensive. You sure there's no special thing being laid on while they're there?

It's not for the rich, but they've got to cover their costs. I would assume it's to cover the insurance they'll need. But £40 for 2 kids is more than I owuld stretch to tbh.

That is very expensive. My dd went on a brownie 2 night trip in a guide centre and that was only £30 for 2 nights and 5 meals!

way too much!!

cub camp doesnt cost much more than that....and thats 2 nights at an activity centre!

Seriously, I would ask the leader (politely) to clarify what the £20 covers - presumably hall hire, breakfast foods and perhaps some craft items may need to be purchased but this does seem excessive. My DS has just attended a three night camp for £25.

Insurace will already be covered by normal subs.

ask what it's for - you already pay your subs.

Thanks for that. At least I know it's not me and DH being tight.

There is no special event - the only meal is breakfast.

I used to be a brownie leader and I took 20 girls to the lake district for 3 nights for that amount. (was 10 years ago though)

They love rainbows but we can't afford these kind of activities.

I think I will ask - I've told my girls they can't go on the trip but I've yet to tell the leader.

Feel like the poor relation having to say no.

We did rainbow sleepovers for £10 ish. We used to have mcdonalds takeaway and soft play then an hour in the park before going to the hall for craft activities & a night walk. We then had supper. In the morning we had breakfast. £10 probably only just covered it when you included hall costs & food for the adults. Though we bought our own tea.

£20 to sleep in the church hall? That's extortionate!
I have no money worries whatsoever but there is no way I'd pay that for my child to go.

Are you certain its not a typo and should have said £2?

When you ask make it clear that you have experience in organising (and costing) Brownie Pack holidays and that you find the cost very expensive - ask for clarification of what the £20 covers.

Alternatively, there should be help available for families who cannot afford it -although I still think this is ridiculously expensive for one night.

Brownie camp recently was £40 for 2 nights.

Have seen some v expensive things advertised for guides (area stuff) and most of the groups I'm linked with opt out as they think it's too much

I'm sure it only cost DS1 £2 to sleep in the scout hut.

I do Rainbows and wouldnt expect much response from parents if we charged that!

Our girls pay subs and for out of the ordinary things (like trips) we usually subsidise part of the cost. Like recently there was a Centenary year princess party, we charged parents £2 though the actual cost per girl was £7.

Could they not do a fundraiser if the cost really was £20 per girl... That seems a bit much to me...

Seems a bit much - our Beavers does all-day fun days including food, crafts etc and they only cost £2 (adn we're in London). Is it a fundraising activity?

We paid £15 for DS's cub camp and that was three days-two nights away.

I would ask what they plan on doing thats going to cost so much!

I am a brownie leader and unless they are renting a super expensive hall there is no way everything would come to £20 per head.

I definitely think it is a typo.

That's a daft amount for what amounts to a sleep-over!

I would say 'No' at that price too, not because I can't afford it, but simply because it's far too expensive for what they are offering... where is the extra money going?

I'd rather invite all the Rainbows to our house for a sleep over - dinner, breakfast & DVD's/games etc - you could do all that for £40 and I'm sure they'd have a great time!!

Or take your two out the the movies/10 pin bowling/pizza/zoo - there's loads you can do for £40 which I'm sure they'd enjoy even more.

Disclaimer: Unless they have something super brilliant booked for the evenings entertainment!

I agree it's way too expensive - my dds went to Brownie camp for 3 nights for £35! I'm a Rainbows leader and would be way too embarrassed to charge that amount for a one night sleepover, unless something else (big) was planned for the evening!

Must be a typo. My DD is in guides and most of their sleepovers are covered by subs, including a fish & chip supper and cold breakfast. A big overnighter in London was over £100 but they did fundraising for that and it included some entry fees. The most we've ever paid for a sleepover other than that was £5, and that was for a big campfire with organised activities.

£20 is way way too much for Rainbows.