To ask for a 'discount' on my ticket to this Christmas party?

[GloriousGomez]

A hobby group that I am part of is holding a Christmas party. Tickets are £25. The invitation specifies that they are NOT doing this to make a profit, it's just meant to be a social occasion and the ticket cost is purely to cover the booze and food - apparently there is going to be lots of booze

Normally I would happily pay the £25 and make sure I drank my money's worth but I am pregnant so obviously won't be drinking.

AIBU to ask for a discount?! Or will that make me look petty?

Obviously if it was for a charity or something I would pay regardless of whether I will be drinking or not, but that's not the case and the organiser has specified that the party is not about making money..... I'd be happy to pay say £10 but £25 seems a lot as I'll probably just drink a glass of orange juice and have a mince pie.

Also my friend I am going with is not a big drinker and will only probably have a glass of wine (2 max) and she won't be asking for a discount. Am I being cheeky?

YANBU. I wouldn't feel happy to subsidise everyone else's drinking if the only food on offer was a few nibbles.

I think it's just part and parcel of being in a social group and doing things together- and it makes things easier for the people who are organising it.

If I was short of cash or whatever I just wouldn't go.

Presumably teetotalers wont be asking for a discount. Yabu

Yanbu if that’s the food. I’d suggest to the organisers half for non drinkers, plus making sure there’s going to be nice non alcoholic drinks?

I don't see why the OP shouldn't go - why should she miss out?

I'm intrigued as to how they come up with the figure of £25. Do they not have any concept of money and how much things cost?

They're either going to be buying high end booze (champagne, endless different types for cocktails), or they're going to be buying enough normal stuff to be absolutely trollied if it's all coming from a supermarket rather than at bar prices.

I don't see why the OP shouldn't go - why should she miss out?
because those are the rules of social engagement. If you're not one of the organisers then don't make their life hell. Just decide if you're going or not. They can't make everything custom size. Next time, get involved and you will have a say.

Ooh look..... a few yanbu in the back of the latest drip feed!!

Agree with most voices saying don't ask for a discount BUT what I would do is drop the organisers a quick note asking what drinks will be available for those not drinking so they don't forget to lay in some nice non-alcholoholic options - it would be miserable to pay £25 and find you are being offered nothing but Tesco value cola...

(NB The costs will presumably also include room hire/ decorations/any entertainment/table clothes/cost of clearing up afterwards etc so don't assume it's £2 on cheese straws and £23 on Stella!

Running, what do you think was a drip-feed? Not the 'it's not a meal' thing? That was fairly obvious from the OP, no, when she described it as a 'party' with lots of booze and said she'd probably just have a mince pie.

You'll be drinking non-alcoholic beverages, presumably, not just tap water. They cost money too. You should pay the same as everyone else.

Make sure they get really fancy soft drinks, though - some can be really pricy. Not just 2l bottles of pop.

As a non-drinker of over a decade, I can almost guarantee that the non-alcoholic drinks will be of the lowest quality (and probably insufficient too). The food might not be anything special either. Everything is based around the needs of the heavy drinkers and no one else says anything because they hope it won't be that way and they don't want to look mean.

I'm pretty sure Xmas parties in other countries are not like this. 25 pounds for a meal in a high quality place would be fine. But for a few nibbles whilst you watch people getting blind drunk?

The thing is that even people who are not that bothered about getting drunk will end up going for it because it's there and they've paid for it. And anyone who isn't getting drunk will be thinking exactly the same as you.

I'm pretty sure if you asked these people if you could have a whip round because you fancy sniffing loads of coke you wouldn't get a penny out of them.

Unless it's a club for drunks, the organisers are well out of order.

They're either going to be buying high end booze (champagne, endless different types for cocktails), or they're going to be buying enough normal stuff to be absolutely trollied if it's all coming from a supermarket rather than at bar prices.

A mix of the two I imagine. Mostly the latter - some people can consume a hell of a lot of booze. And fuck you if you're not of that persuasion seems to be the theme.

£25 for a decent meal, YABU to not pay up.

£25 for mince pies and cheese straws, YADNBU!

I think it's fair to ask if there is a booze free price. If they're reasonable they will instantly say yes. I drink like a fish at these events but wouldn't expect to be subsidised by the mother to be!

This is the reason that I don't do Christmas meals etc - as a non-drinking veggie I'm not prepared to pay £25 for a goats cheese tartlet and an underwhelming dessert plus a glass of tap water (in my experience you don't get soft drinks with the meal instead of alcohol.)

£25 seems a lot unless its at a restaurant or similar? Or a 3 course meal? I'd struggle to eat that many nibbles and drink £25 worth even from, say M&S (assuming not hugely expensive wine!).

I think it may come across as petty to ask for a discount though. I'd just ask what there will be for non drinkers as someone else said and see if that prompts a discussion about it. If you do pay the £25 just drink loads next year to make up for it

I wouldnt go OP to the meal.
I dont drink and am a vegetarian and I've had enough of this myself so I can sympathize. So I either dont go or pay for exactly what I've had if its a group thing.

Just don't go. I wouldn't.

YANBU. I'd ask.

Sounds very overpriced. I'm playing less than that for a two course meal, wine and disco for a local Christmas do...
I'd definitely resent paying full price, but my solution would be not going!

I don’t drink (never have) and it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind to ask.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes people have stopped me paying my “share” at a meal before now to take account of the fact I don’t drink, but I would never of suggested or begrudged it otherwise. I guess it’s swings and roundabouts, there will always be people not drinking for various reasons and there will always be those who drink there fair share ...look at it as making up for “getting your money’s worth” in the past.