Packed lunch is sad

[Ribrabrob]

I went to a theme park with a friend recently, fully prepared to buy lunch when I was there however arrived to pick her up and there she was with a bag full of homemade sandwiches and packet of crips each I was grateful, of course, for the time effort and money on her part but I couldn't help feeling a little dissapointed - what's the harm in buying food out?

Its always been the case that I can't help but feel a little sad when I see families on a day out at a theme park, zoo for example, sat on a bench eating (warm?) sandwhcihes wrapped in foil with a fruit shoot.

I had the type of childhood where this was common place - packed lunch for every occasion, no need to eat out becaus there was 'food at home' or it was 'too expensive' (despite no money worries) etc so I suppose it's kind of stuck with me and I don't want that kind of life.

Aibu to think that if you can afford a day at the zoo etc, then spending a little bit extra on some food is no big deal? Aibu to think that life is too short to spend time making a sand which/salad to take on a day out, when really you can just spend a bit of extra money and have the hassle taken away? It just seems so strange to me and as though people try and suck all enjoyment out of life.

I never buy food out and always take our own packed lunch. That way we know what we are eating and it is healthier because I use a healthy balance. It also lessens the risk of food poisoning.

We never give a second thought to what anybody else may think. Life is too short.

They took their own sandwiches to Heathrow, which is about three hours drive from us, to eat before their flight. That did strike me as odd

Odd? The food in Heathrow is beyond a rip off, insulting so, and shit. I take food in my bag if I have a stop over there after getting swizzed far too many times. The cheapest thing in T5 is a Pret and it's shit. Or Boots sandwiches. Boak.

but you are right it just doesn’t seem as exciting!

I genuinely can’t see what is exciting about overpriced, soggy convenience food eaten rammed into a “restaurant”

I love a good meal out but I'm equally excited about my packed lunch. No one makes a sandwich to my tastes really and it saves a fortune. I bring double Sandwiches, crisps, banana, flapjack, sweets, crunchy spicy chickpeas etc whatever takes my fancy. On my last holiday abroad my friends (2 adults 1 teen) spent 25 quid on the plane on rubbish food for 3 while I sat munching my tasty packed lunch, quids better off for it. Can't beat a good packed lunch 👍 😂

I take a packed lunch if I go to a theme park or zoo, not because of cost but because the food available in them is usually absolutely awful.

This thread brings back a strong memory for me.
We weren't a wealthy family, and for us it was always packed sandwiches whilst we looked longingly at people eating in restaurants. When I was ten my dad won £200. It was money we weren't expecting, and after much deliberation between my parents we blew it on a theme park with lunch there. We were beyond excited. We'd never been out to a meal before, nor a theme park. My dad ordered the biggest burger on the menu. You could see it was really difficult for him to spend a weeks good budget on one meal. It was disgusting. Greasy, cold, congealed. He was at first disappointed, but finally elated that we'd never been missing out at all.

Last time we had a picnic we took:

Fresh crusty bread, cheeses, ham, crab pata, olives, bits of pepper etc, beetroot, kettle chip type crisps, a whole homemade Victoria sponge for pudding and a bottle of wine for the grownups. Happy days. Definitely not a disappointment, and less money than cafe food.

I love a good picnic.

If your picnic is joyless then you're doing it wrong! My mother made awful picnics when we were kids (I still shudder at the pallid, beige chicken legs with that hideous jelly under the skin) so I've made a real effort to up my game for my own kids.
We have a selection of fancy baskets and bags, chiller blocks and blankets, plus flasks and so on. Everyone gets to pick something to put in, we make a special shopping trip for ingredients and it's all great fun and part of the build up to the day out. We don't have soggy sandwiches, nobody has to queue for ages and we can snack as and when we want to.
Memories of sitting on the grass at Blackpool Zoo while the kids chatter about the animals and then play around us are some of my most joyful. We bought them ice creams too, but they wouldn't have thanked us for being made to eat the fairly dire food on sale there.

I prefer to eat out at zoos and attractions. Saves the hassle of lugging it round with you in a cool bag or trekking back to the car at lunch time.

And I hate the hassle of making picnics! And the wasps and struggle to find a table.

This thread has inspired me to buy a picnic basket! I’m so looking forward to some lovely days out this summer... 😊😊

The sandwiches on sale are made to look visually exciting by concentrating the contents in the centre and then cutting the bread diagonally. It’s a con. The reality is a sandwich that is not even half as good as a home made specially designed one.

Re my friends taking a picnic to Heathrow before a fight to New Zealand, I’m a really fussy eater so that’s why I’d eat a big meal at the airport before a long flight, knowing the chances are I wouldn’t eat much on the plane.

I always take sandwiches to eat in the airport the one time I didn't was very early morning and tne cheapest option for me and 1 child was 2 muffins and 2 drinks which cost a whopping £12 never again.

I enjoy eating out but find the food at theme parks extremely overpriced and bland. My children love having a picnic as a treat and will often get an ice cream at the park afterwards. Families are different what some like to do others don't. I wouldn't be judgmental about a picnic.. can't imagine a child wouldn't enjoy a fun day out because they have food from home,

Yabu. Everyone has different priorities.

I'm guessing the OP is a teenager who dosent have the reality of feeding several children on a day out.

I can see OP's point, to an extent. Yes, you might get nicer food that's considerably better value if you bring your own, but people who are needlessly and loudly frugal can definitely be joysuckers. If your childhood picnics were value lunchmeat on stale sliced white, with a soggy apple to follow, while all your little playmates were buying chips and hotdogs and icecreams, it's understandable that you would feel the way OP does, especially if your parents never stopped going on about how pretty much anything you wanted was a waste of money despite being more than comfortably off.

Have you considered that those people may have saved to take their children to the zoo etc because they take their own lunches? We are such a family. I can not afford to buy lunch out, nor to I want to. Part of the fun is making the picnic which they choose. Same with cinema- I take our treats with us. You are being very judgemental over this.

A local theme park by me is 8 quid for a small burger and small chips with a coke. X 4 or 5 people.. Plus an ice cream and no doubt a snack if there all day. Added £50/60 on crap.

Definitely got for the insulated backpack! YY, Dribble, we have an outstanding selection. We fed them at Burger King a couple of times at Butlins or chips at the zoo just to put them off and it worked a treat, the food was rotten!

I fly long-haul once a year to see family (this time skipping Heathrow) and still take my own food along rather than pay to eat in that airport (exception for Schipol, which does have a Maccie D's in terminal D). That food in there is disgusting.

Yes YABU. I think the enjoyment of life is sucked out by standing in queues for reheated overpriced crap.

We use a cool bag with ice packs and take rolls with a selection of fillings, mini sausages, quiche, cherry tomatoes, yoghurts an assortment of fruit and maybe some cake.We don't have warm sandwiches and crisps.

But we always queue and pay for overpriced ice cream (which is usually lovely!) .