To get the kids to pay for their own cinema tickets?

[OneBlueOneGreen]

4 kids
I'm skint after Christmas. They want to see Paddington 2.

The local cinema is £5 each.

They all got Christmas money so AIBU to take £5 from each of them to see the film?

Or is that mean?

I'd missed the memo where cinema trips come under the banner of essentials

If they are all in agreement about spending their own £5 I think it's fine.
Spending money on an activity such as a film is just as good as an actual physical 'gift'.
My local cinema is £7 for kids and £9 for adults, costs a fortune for us to go so rarely happens.

If one or more decide that they don't want to spend the fiver, is there anyone to supervise them while you take the others, or is it a majority vote thing? If the latter, and the vote isn't unanimous, then you're going to find yourself in a tricky situation.

Blimey, who need a houseful of yet more toys and crap to dispose of at a later date?! I bought my dds tickets to things for Christmas, presents don’t have to be material to exist.
A cinema trip is not an essential, they have money to do as they please with.
Op is making a suggestion to them that if they want the treat, they can pay themselves. It’s not in any way a hardship, they didn’t work for that money, it’s a present. Is it only considered a suitable spend of present money if it goes on toys/books?

I'd say it depends on whether you usually pay for cinema trips (apart from on birthdays etc). If you would normally pay then I think it's a bit mean to expect them to pay out of their own money now - unless of course your children are lovely and understanding and would respond to the "as it's Christmas I've had lots of extra expenses, so if you would like to see the film that's fine but you will need to pay out of your Christmas/Birthday money" type conversation. Not sure mine would have at that age though!

Why would it be mean bigblue, to me it seems like a perfectly logical way.
Op more than likely doesn’t want to go (I know I wouldn’t!), she’s only going for the dc, who have more than enough money to cover the costs themselves. It’s a very small amount and a brilliant present.
Sorry, I’m not being goady or anything, I just see it that the op is skint, the dc want to do something that is out of reach financially so if they dc want to do it, they will have to pay themselves. I would far rather dc spent their money on doing things than buying sweets/yet more makeup/clothes of which they have plenty of!
Each to their own though, I think it teaches them that money is not infinite, parents are not a bottomless pit.

Perfectly reasonable. They were gifted the money to spend on themselves, they want to do a cinema trip so they can use some to pay for that. I can't see how this is mean at all, it sounds to me like a good use of their Christmas money.

I'm luckily not skint but even so if my dc asked for a treat we hadn't planned then yes, I'd be happy for them to pay for it or at least contribute and they would expect to. Imo cash gifts, like pocket money, are a good way of teaching the dc about getting value for money, budgeting and saving. If it just sits in their money box while their parents pay for everything how will they ever learn to spend/save sensibly?

I’m sorry but if I gave a child money for Christmas I wouldn’t be to
happy for the parents lend the money and not give it back under the guise of they buy snacks and things all year round.

Asking the children to use their own money for tickets is fine

ilove, I don’t understand, how would the parents be lending their children their money?
Lending the money to who? Have I eaten too much chocolate this morning?!