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.

YABVU. When I was a kid we were able to have days out as a family because we took packed lunches. It would've been too expensive for all of us to have lunch out as well, and packed lunch enabled us to have a fun day at a theme park/zoo etc. Yes, it is a PITA to cart around, but my parents put up with that so we could have a treat.

Blimey, OP. You have no idea and are very snobby bitchy

Food in theme parks is usually shit. Not a “treat”.

We do a mix. The food at the theme parks close to us is just awful. Stodgy fatty tasteless crap. We tend to take a lot of fruit, cut Vegs, cheeses etc. We might buy hot chips or the like for lunch but more likely to stop somewhere with better food on the way home.

Agree with PPs. We're going to a zoo today so I've made a picnic. We can't afford to go out to the zoo and buy lunch once there and aside from that the food available is mostly junk type food. I'd much rather my fresh, healthy lunch kept cool in a cool bag with ice packs than buying lunch out for the sake of it.

Food at Europa Park in Germany was nice, mind you, and fast.

I do know what you mean op. My parents who I love dearly were awful at packed lunches when we were little. Which is weird as we had lovely food the rest of the time. Tepid Brown bread sandwiches with marmite (I don’t like marmite!), never allowed nice crisps, warm orange juice in cartons, we could never have wagon wheels or clubs, always harvest bars or trackers.

We now normally do a combo of ham/cheese sandwiches, crisps, fruit and cookies that we take with us, and then buy coffees and ice creams and maybe some chips whilst we’re there. If we do eat out at a NT place or something we just get their sandwiches which aren’t too expensive and are usually quite nice.

I far prefer a picnic. I can have food I actually want and I usually go to the shop and buy some "treats" that I wouldnt have on a normal lunchtime (nice biscuits, sausage rolls etc.)

I wouldnt choose to eat out on a day trip for many reasons such as

• having to queue up
• sitting in a noisy cafeteria
• limited selection of food
• school dinner level of quality or prepackaged sandwich- Its not like the zoo cafe has a chef knocking up high quality meals
• cost

Prechildren if we had picnics I'd go to the local delicatessen, buy a selection of nice cheeses, cured meats, pâté, salads and quiche and have a very nice picnic. With the kids these days we still have falafel, melton mowbray pork pies, spanish omelette, houmus, a nice selection of salad ingredients, fresh fruit etc etc. No soggy sandwiches (surely that's what you end up buying in the restaurant in a lot of these places).

We have a high income so don't have to worry about costs particularly but a day out can either be a EH property (free for members) plus a picnic (no more expensive than eating at home) or a day out that easily costs £100 by the time you pay entry for 5 plus food in the restaurant that the kids won't eat anyway. It's no contest.

I used to take two younger relatives for days out. The cost of the food was sometimes more expensive than the admission! I once went to a place that was £18 for 2 adults and 2 kids, had lunch there (jacket potatoes, sandwiches, tea/squash, fairly big standard) which came to £27

Now I have my own children, I'd rather take a packed lunch and put the difference in their savings account, quite frankly. We'll eat out every now and then but not every time. We can afford it but we both consider it a waste when we can take better food from home. We take nice sandwiches, fancy pasta salads, homemade sausage rolls, fruit plus treats (crisps, chocolate, biscuits, etc) which is often nicer and a fraction of the price.

Do people really get excited about 'eating out' at theme parks? An overpriced, undersized hotdog and a carton of nachos? That's not 'eating out'. We love picnics. We don't do them because we're short of money (though frankly, why should it matter if we were) we do it because we enjoy them and they're infinitely better than the food on offer. We also have meals out - they're not mutually exclusive! But there's nothing better than sitting on a blanket in the sunshine chatting with friends and family. Except maybe a barbecue. Please don't feel sorry for us op - I think you need a bit of perspective.

I get you OP!!!

I love a picnic! Food out at theme parks tends to be rubbish and overpriced. We tend to have a nice pub meal on the way home though

I love a picnic! My favourite memories are a trip to the zoo or elsewhere with my granny, eating a ham sandwich and drinking a little carton of orange juice, finished of with a KitKat!
Thanks for your post, haven’t thought about those days in a while 😊

We are not struggling for money. I don't really have a budget for food shopping, just buy what we fancy.

We also have quite a lot of days out at theme parks or similar. We ALWAYS take a packed lunch.

Because when it's busy we don;t have to queue for ages.
Because the kids can have a snack whenever they fancy without having to go to a shop.
Because we pack things everyone will like.
Because even though we can comfortably afford it, food is often very pricey for what you get, and poor quality.
You can still stop later in the afternoon for coffee and cake.

We did 3 weeks in Florida last year and took packed lunch most days.

I get your point as I'm rarely a fan of other people's packed lunches being a weird fussy eater. But the food at theme parks is revolting and ridiculously expensive. And I say that as someone who eats total junk too much and also wouldn't think twice about spending £40 on not much in one trip to M&S food, just because I like it.

We've started taking DD to a few places this year with rides etc and even at Disneyworld I was getting pissed off with forking out for shite food.

I think I mostly take packed lunches because of convenience, not cost. It means I’ve got food to hand as soon as the kids get hungry without queuing for ages, and it’s something I know they’ll eat. I don’t understand why sitting in a cafe eating crap is more ideal than finding somewhere for a picnic.

Yabu the food at theme parks is normally rank, a rip off and fast food
I often take a picnic but yanbu that sandwiches are grim. I like a buffet type picnic

Yabu. I have a large family so when we go on days out to expensive places, we'll pack sandwiches, drinks and crisps. It's not that I can't afford food out just that I'd rather do that as it saves us a lot of money on overpriced food. I do buy food out now and again but usually taking a packed lunch is just easier as well.

That’s an odd perspective.
We do both buy packer lunch is often better to avoid queues and know that the kids will eat the food. Nothing more annoying than queuing for ages, paying £5 for a sandwich which then your child won’t eat because it’s got a tiny bit of mayo in or whatever!

I can afford food out but I will be one of those families eating sandwiches from foil on a bench in a quiet spot.
Our son has autism and sensory issues and can't cope with different food or smells .
Don't feel sorry for his neurotypical sister either as she loves a picnic

I can see where you are coming from OP. I have a similar horror of sharing food and possessions which is a hangover from childhood with two siblings where we always had to share everything!

I think your friend, while making a lovely gesture, should have told you before about her lunch plans and checked you were on the same page.

Equally you could have let her know before that you were planning to treat her to lunch out.

I'd have eaten the picnic with good grace and then maybe treated her to dinner in a pub on the way home?

Yes I’m not tight but if I’m spending it, it has to be a treat. I actually like food.

We have always taken our own food initially because buying food out would almost double the cost of the day out. Now its because we don't usually like the food on offer.

Don't judge me at a theme park, we've got annual passes so are usually at Legoland/chessy/Thorpe park once or twice a week. If I bought lunch each time that's easily £2k/year! We treat the places more like a soft play than a big destination.