To think this wasn't good value?

[UndertheCedartree]

I took my 10 yo DD and her friend to a Christmas market today and payed £20 a head for a Christmas craft and treat decorating class. It was for 2 hours. I was rather disappointed. They made slime - this was grey and sticky/slimy - it looked like slugs. Not sure exactly what went wrong but we've often made it at home with no problem. They used glue, bicarb, contact solution and green food colouring. They also had one of those thin wooden ornaments (plywood?) to colour in with felt tips. Finally, a mini gingerbread man and cheap fairy cake to decorate with icing and sugar strands. I mean, I guess I got childcare for them both for 2 hours but would you have expected more?

I would expect that if you review their accounts, their 'income' will include the membership fees + event fees.

If you remove the event fees, they will make less money.

Every business has increased costs - gyms in particular have very high energy costs - so reducing their materials costs will help the bottom line.

I think you sound a bit naive about how businesses operate, putting on almost any event generates additional costs.

YANBU. If I'd paid £20 a head for a 2 hour session to make a christmas craft and treat, I would fully expect them to come back with an actual christmas craft. Like a decorated bauble even or a little christmas ornament or just something that was actually chrsitmassy. Not Slime! And definitely not slime that wasn't able to be played with.
Slime is a toy, not a christmas craft. There are sooo many crafts that could be done for little cost that would have been a million times better.

And the cake and gingerbread man look awful (not your childs decorating, they did a fab job on the gingerbread man considering what they had to work with there!). I would of expected a proper sized gingerbrad man, with proper decorations, like sweets for buttons.

Sounds like a rip off to me. No way can they justify £20 for that.

My DD went to something similar a couple of years ago, pre covid and it was £10 a head for an hour and a half and she made a little tree with lights. Which was basically a piece of paper made into a cone shape. Some clingfilm over the paper. Then plain white string wrapped around it which they had dipped in glue. When it had dried they removed the paper cone/clingfilm and they had a little tree shape to paint and decorate with little sequins for baubles, and then wrapped one of those tiny little wires with led lights around it. It looked fab, and we still bring it out every year. The materials for that would prob have been in the region of perhaps £3 all in with the lights.

They also made a little christmas picture, I guess while the glue and paint etc was drying on their trees. The picture was a pre printed template which they stuck little mosaic type pieces of shiny paper onto, and that was pretty decent aswell.