Having to buy a ticket for a newborn sibling

[tigerpug]

I paid for a ticket for my 3 year old son to visit santas grotto at bluewater - £5 for a 2 minute meet, plus little toy. Fine, great, he will love it.

A few hours afterwards my brain kicked in, and i realised by xmas we will be a family with 2 children, not 1. Im due with 2nd child in december so should have a newborn baby by the time we visit Father Christmas, who will be somewhere between 1 and 3 weeks old.

I emailed the event company as they didnt make any reference to age on their website. Ive just heard back from them and they say that we will need to buy another £5 ticket for newborn, who will be given an age appropriate toy.

I know its only £5, but doesnt this seem a bit grabby?? And what age appropriate toy will they be giving to a 3 week old who will be sleeping in a pram or feeding through this 2 minute visit.

We are visiting another grotto just before xmas who said they wouldnt dream of charging for a newborn, as long as we didnt want a gift (of course not).

AIBU? Have mad pregnancy hormones made me react badly? Or is this as money grabbing as it feels?

YANBU - I wouldn't have even checked, I'd just have brought the newborn and said "What? Do you expect me to leave them outside?"

I would just turn up with the baby and 3yo.

Yanbu. that's crazy. I would just not buy ticket and walk in with new born in sling or pram. I expect you spoke to some jobsworth.

That's ridiculous!

Its money grabbing. I'd put money on no one even mentioning it if you just turn up.

Why are you visiting 2 grottos? Will that not confuse for 3 year old?

Normal. Annoying but normal. I remember having to pay £26 for DD to see the Wiggles when we took DS. She was 3 months old! We're doing Santa train this year and tickets are £20 - they have a concession for under 1s but they still cost £5. Sadly most children's event organisers are very grabby with regard to infant siblings.

Oh goody, i thought it was the hormones taking over.
In my heavily pregnant state i have become a little 'assertive' according to DH who is probably quivering behind the nearest sofa as i write this!

Thanks everyone, youre right, i shouldnt have asked them in the first place!

YANBU, a similar thing happened to me this year, well dd is 12 weeks but they wanted 20euro her, I said I didn't want a gift for her just dd1 aged 8 who I would pay 20 euro for and would pay a token payment for the baby. They emailed me back with "Santa wouldn't dream of not giving a child a present at Christmas" which for some reason really annoyed me so I booked elsewhere

2 grottos - one is a local santa by train place, its so lovely but FC is a bit ropey, its more about the lovely train ride. So i thought id do a proper grotto too, and with a newborn i thought bluewater would be easier than city centre, easy parking and all that

My 3 year old actually turns 3 on christmas day, so he is mega excited about that time of year, and hopefully young enough not to realise that FC can have good beard days, and bad beard days!

Magestic you should email back,'Santa wouldn't charge!'

I wouldn't have asked. Would have just turned up with baby.

Does seem grabby. Can you email back and point out that the baby might only be a week old and that he won't need a gift and it seems silly to have to pay 5

I know some events charge for newborns, i think In The night Garden charges for them and i remember being quite shocked about that. It all seems a bit ridiculous to me, but i guess some event organisers can justify it by saying a newborn and accompanying equipment takes up space. I guess its just something parents have to get used to/give in to.

I just dont see why i should pay for a 3 week old to be wheeled past FC in a pram.

Ta retroformica, i have just emailed them back and said that. And then my hormones got the better of me and i asked if they were charging £5 for unborn babies too.

YANBU for a 3 week old, but the thing is, these events are run for the enjoyment of very young children and it's probably easier for them to have a blanket charge rather than umpteen and one parents trying to get a freebie for an older baby who quite possibly should be paid for.

I really hate this. Had it when trying to book a show for dd1 who was then 4 but would have had to bring newborn dd2. I was told it was for fire regs that everyone on the premises must have a ticket. Fine, issue her with a ticket, but she'll be asleep in a sling the entire time so don't charge me £17.50 for it

Over 12 months I don't mind paying but charging for anything under is ridiculous.

If you have to pay an extra £5 you get an extra two minutes in the grotto with Santa. I'd make a point of using it.

Put the baby in a low worn sling, coat over him/her and basically its just pregnacy (4th trimester)

YABU. Some bonkers people will actually take a newborn to Santas Grotto as the only child seeing Santa and will be charged so they will charge every newborn just in case.

Why can't they run it like my local soft play? Under 2s are free with paying sibling, otherwise reduced price.

Just an update - i sent an email to the organisers of the grotto saying how crazy i think it is to charge for a newborn, and they rang me back within the hour, and on a sunday! The main organiser said she totally agrees with what i said, and thinks that it is money grabbing, and expects to receive lots of complaints BUT Bluewater (the shopping centre) have refused to change the policy and she cant change their minds.
She has given me her mobile phone no and said to ring her when we arrive and she will make sure we are not charged to bring newborn into the grotto.
She was really lovely, its just a shame that she has to do this for us because the shopping centre wont see sense