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.

Do I want to queue up with my small children to pay exotionate prices for something which more than often isn't very nice? No thanks. Don't get me wrong, there's been plenty of times I've bought food out but most of the time I've regretted it.

YABU.

It just seems better than warm sandwiches or lugging a picnic. Then there is hope that the food is nice

Why would it be warm sandwiches?!

Make nice picnic. Leave lunch in coolbox in car. Retrieve when lunchtime.

Easy.

I am totally with you Ribrabrob, and thought I was the only one.
A ‘day out’ picnic is one thing (though I never enjoy it sitting on a beach, sand maybe?) but dragging your lunch around all day then finding a bench or bit of scraggy grass with a handy bin surrounded by flies? No thanks.
I prefer to keep topped up with ice cream, doughnuts etc. and stopping at a good pub on the way home if the food offering is poor.

I can afford theme park food but imo it's over priced junk.
I love a pack up summer and winter. It's cheaper, healthier and I know my DC will eat it.
Will go back and rtft now

We take a packed lunch because we prefer to. It's cheaper, we take food we all enjoy and we have the flexibility to eat when and where we want. We once ate out at a theme park and the food was awful - over cooked nuggets and stale chips. So, we take our own now.

The money we save in eating out, goes towards another trip out.

We still will buy ice creams and other small treats when we are out, so it's not like we are going without.

Like others I can afford to buy lunch out but when it comes to a trip to the zoo or a theme park I can't think of a reason I'd want to! These places invariably have a limited menu of overpriced, greasy crap in breadcrumbs plus chips. It wouldn't be appetizing even if we ate meat which we don't. Definitely not something I'd call a treat and my dc wouldn't either.

I'd far prefer to pack tasty food we do like and you have to be very unimaginative to think picnic = warm sandwiches . As to dragging your lunch around all day it's hardly a huge effort to carry some food in a backpack or shoulder bag, most of us aren't feeding the five thousand!

Nink may I point you towards picnic backpacks for your perusal 😝😁

‘Packed lunches are sad’ is one of the weirder views I’ve read on MN, and there are many many weird views!

I haven't read the full thread, but enough to see that I'm very much alone in agreeing with you somewhat, OP. I had a similar upbringing to yours - my parents would take me and my brother on days out but would always bring food and drinks to eat when we got there, and my main memory of these outings is sitting in the back of the car in the pissing rain while mum tried to distribute the contents of the cool box around us all without tipping coffee down the back of dad's neck. And although she was good at cooking generally, she seemed to have an issue with making the sorts of sandwiches you'd look forward to - luncheon meat and wafer-thin chicken slices featured all too often. Even when we went to the seaside, we had to lug the cool box there instead of being allowed fish and chips like practically everyone else!

I do like to get lunch out when I go somewhere now. A picnic is lovely under the right circumstances, of course, but there has to be somewhere nice to eat it (a bench next to the adventure playground or a bit of scrubby grass near the bins is not nice) and the weather has to be right. And you don't want to do what my mum used to, and pack egg sandwiches in the picnic so that everything else ends up tasting of it and your brother throws up in the car because of the smell

I think theme park and zoo food is sad

I would happily pay for tasty food, but lukewarm chips fried in ancient fat... no thanks

Food at theme parks is usually limited, long queues and takes up too much time. We take our own so we can eat it as and when rather than having to stop to go and eat. The food even for fast food is usually very poor.

I've never eaten more expensive or unpleasant fast food and in unpleasant canteens than at certain theme parks and attractions. Perhaps doesn't help that I'm vegetarian so there is usually little or no choice.
I would far, far rather take tasty, healthy food from home and find a quiet bench to eat it on.

A meal out for 4 or 5 people could be very expensive, especially as children are often very fussy; there are often long queues, and you may well be rushed to make way for others.
As a child a 'picnic' was considered exciting. I am also puzzled about the 'warm sandwiches' comment. I often take sarnies with me, out walking in the hills. I am more concerned about them being sqaushed!. A sandwich should last fine until lunchtime.

Make nice picnic. Leave lunch in coolbox in car. Retrieve when lunchtime.

Would have to walk back to car and buy and store a cool box. It really is each to their own.

If I eat the type of food usually served in these type of places I usually end up ill.

I went to the zoo a few days ago, just me and 3yo DD. I thought ‘oh we will just buy food there, I can’t be arsed with packing a lunch.’ What. A. Mistake.
It cost me £5.50 for a kids lunchbox which was HALF a sandwich with a small carton of juice, a mini muffin, pom bears and an orange. It was tiny.
Then a further £5.75 for a very ordinary chicken tikka sandwich for me.
I knew it would cost a bit more but honestly I was shocked 🤣
Next time I’ll be taking a packed lunch, especially if my DH and DS are there as well.

Whenever I've been to a theme park or zoo etc all I seem to find are fast food places or things like chips or burgers. It's not healthy and it's all full of additives etc. We know where our food comes from and we take our own because it's nicer. Also it's over priced and makes a day out double the price. As others have said I would rather two days out with a picnic instead of one day out eating crap food that no one really likes.

I'm the same with school too. My son starts reception in September and will take his own lunch daily as I've seen the school dinners menu and would not want my son eating it five days a week. Plus what is it teaching him about being self sufficient and knowing his own nutritional needs?

I was back in uk visiting over Easter with my boys and one of the very favorite things we did was have a picnic at Drusillas zoo!

The kids were delighted, I was delighted! We can afford to eat out at a theme park if we want to but there's something so wonderfully nostalgic for me about pulling out the sandwiches, chocolate bars and crisps - I think my favorite memories in childhood outings involved lunch, smooshed marmite sandwiches, or if my mum has made some, egg mayo.

Happy days - we live in a small island so don't have the variety like the uk. One of my great joys when I come back is browsing the food section at M&S and seeing what new sandwiches are in. Fuck I'm sad...

I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to food. Couldn't bare to eat that fast food junk and would much rather make our own healthy lunch.

www.wayfair.co.uk/garden/sb1/soft-sided-cooler-bags-boxes-backpacks-c1802509-a131722~441893.html

In case any of the naysayers are tempted to try picnicking after reading this thread . Plenty of affordable, lightweight coolers available so you won't feel like you're lugging the weekly shop with you! Lots on amazon too.

I'd never take a packed lunch to the seaside because I would want fish and chips,its the law!
I can understand why a lot of families do it on days out though especially large families.We are a family of 3 and that's expensive enough in theme parks etc nevermind if we had 2 or 3 children.

This thread is MN gold! An opportunity for everyone to proclaim that a burger and chips is processed filth, and I'm still laughing at the "lashings of lemonade" post from the start of the thread

Gone are the days where a cool box is the size of a volkswagon, it really isn't that hard to carry it.

@SeasideSoul I like a good McDonald’s as much as the next person! But if I’m going to eat junk food, then I want nice junk food. And I wouldn’t put typical theme park fare in that category. (With an obvious exception for the freshly cooked sugared donuts of course!)

You're being bloody ridiculous.