To be shocked by the cost of this?

[squashedsandwich]

It’s £20.95 per adult to walk around our Christmas light trail this year. Tickets have just been released. It does look fantastic, but it’s only a mile long.

It’s £15.95 for a 3-15 year old, and free for under 2s.

They’re doing family tickets, 2 adults and 2 kids for £60.

I think it’s sad that at some point soon these activities are reserved for only those who can afford them. Maybe that has always been the case and I have been living under a rock but as someone who is pregnant with their first, I can’t see how families aren’t bankrupt over the school holidays and festive periods just simply from doing these kinds of activities! As with anything, the more DC you have the more it bumps the price up. I know you can intersperse them with free things to do, but I’m sure lots of families at Christmas will feel compelled to pay over the odds just to make it a nice and magical time.

We will likely go. It will be nice for baby’s first Christmas. £40 for us and an under 2 would be affordable right now but I can imagine when you have two in primary the cost must get crazy.

AIBU thinking these companies are taking the mick?

I think it’s sad that at some point soon these activities are reserved for only those who can afford them.

That's how businesses work. What else do you think should be free? Or rather free for you, as somebody would have to pay.

£60 for a family to walk around and look at some lights?? Absolutely no way I'd be doing that.

I never said free. More reasonable though, absolutely! Something like that you could have as many people paying as possible with no upper maximum capacity. Make it a tenner for an adult, a fiver for a child.

Most activities are reserved for people who can afford them, that's how it is so yabu

That is a lot!!

Our National Trust used to do them for free for members and now they make everyone pay £20 per adult and £11 per child - even if you’re a member. Their trail was also less than a mile long

Expectations are higher and therefore the events costs more money.
When I was young Santa was a rubbish set up in the shopping centre and you got a pound shop toy wrapped up. The experience was free or very low cost.
Now everything is £20+ a ticket each but it’s so much more if a production.
There are positives and negatives to that.

As with anything you aren’t obligated to go. More kids could do with genuine magic created for them that comes from creativity not money. Last year we filled a flask of mulled wine up for us and a chocolate milk for the toddler and looked at all the local houses. It was lovely and we probably had a better time than driving 40 mins, queuing for the carpark for 20 mins, paying another £25 on drinks there because it’s freezing out etc.
I mean I’ve booked those kinds of things too before, but it’s not the only option.

We will likely go. It will be nice for baby’s first Christmas.

If you’re still pregnant then your 4/5 month old baby will not care about Christmas lights and won’t find them special.

That’s a lovely idea!

Plenty of people couldn't afford £20. According to you that's unacceptable.

Do you realise why companies charge this much? This is why: We will likely go.

A local stately home charges £104 for 2 adults and 2 children and I’m not sure that includes parking.

YANBU. The cost of everything's skyrocketing and soon they'll price themselves out of the market as nobody will be able to afford to go.

I think a lot of places have, historically, done 'local fete' type things, realised they can charge an entrance fee, or maybe even needed to to cover basic costs, then just got greedy.

In your shoes, I'd leave it a year or two so that baby is old/aware enough to appreciate the atmosphere. It's a lot of money to fork out for someone who will be oblivious to it all!

I’m sure lots of families at Christmas will feel compelled to pay over the odds just to make it a nice and magical time.

The point of these sorts of activities is not that everyone should expect to do them though. The idea is that you decide whether you want to go on a Christmas light trail, or on a Santa train or to the pantomime or iceskating to Christmas music or (runs out of Christmassy things) and then budget accordingly. It's the expectation that people should be able to afford all these things that is skewed - they are occasional-off treat activities, not an everyday thing.

I imagine the light show is expensive to put up and run, and that they have to limit numbers. This will drive the price. Although I've seen some light shows adopt the business model that they are much cheaper on "random mid week day in November" or after Christmas, which I guess makes them more affordable to some.

OP's children are too young to appreciate this event anyway, and many smaller children will find glow sticks in the garden to be just as magical.

That does seem expensive, OP.

Is a private company?

If it’s one of those big fancy ones, the cost to put on the show must be enormous. Design, the lights themselves, all the equipment and cabling etc, electricity generators, transport, installation, official licenses, running the event etc. I agree that it’s a shame when the costs are prohibitive for many families, but if nobody will sponsor or subsidise the event, the money has to come from ticket sales. I doubt whether they’re making excessive profits.

I grew up never expecting to go to any kind of event that had to be paid for, because my parents couldn’t afford it. Other families could. It’s unfortunately how it is.

Our local National Trust is similar with very little discount for members.

Go if you want to go and think it’s worth the money but don’t go for the sake of your baby as they might just sleep through it - mine did at 5 months.

Totally agree the prices are crazy now. Our local lights & meet Santa tickets were released last week and we’ve paid £50 as it’s £22 per adult and then £12 per child but £6 for 0-4. It means for a family of 4 with kids in primary school you’re basically at £70 for what is basically just an hour of Christmas fun and there will undoubtedly be loads of things to pay for when there, flashy lights/snacks/drinks!

These events still seem to be ridiculously busy every single year though so it can’t be pricing many people out.

You've been under a rock, OP! Activities such as you describe have always been out of reach of those people who can't afford them. That's the sort of activity that only people with money to spare can choose to do.

People on a very tight budget/low income will have never even thought about attending something so money-sucking as a light show.

It’s always been a matter of who can afford it/ would pay that much. Personally although we can afford that, on principle I wouldn’t pay it for an activity that my 5YO would run through in 20 minutes. But it’s a lesson learned - don’t get me wrong we’ve paid for this kind of thing (though not that much!) but I’d rather travel further to an activity and pay more if I’d personally view as more cost effective.

Some families would prioritise that £60 going to the zoo for an entire day for example than £60 on an hour max. Some won’t be able to go at all. I think it’s always been this way but once you have kids you notice how much people tend to ramp up the maximum profits (knowing if your child’s friend has gone they’ll beg to go/ if your social media is full of festive family walks etc).

If it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth then I think you know you’re probably getting ripped off for what’s being offered and you can decide if you want to pay it for the memories this first Xmas or not. But if you think you and your partner will enjoy the experience with your baby then I don’t feel bad, we’ve (probably) all done extortionate things for our kids! I paid £12 for a candyfloss character head my child begged for- he took one bite and decided he didn’t like candyfloss after all (luckily I do but my god that was an expensive 5 seconds of joy!).

Christ that's cheap. Our local one is £31.50 for an adult, £22 for 3-16 year olds. Family ticket is £104!!

That's just for the outside light trail. It's more expensive if you want do to the inside bits too.

I grew up never expecting to go to any kind of event that had to be paid for, because my parents couldn’t afford it. Other families could. It’s unfortunately how it is.

Me too. And it was the same for my own children as well. We simply couldn't afford it. My grandchildren, however, have been luckier.

I think you must be local to me. And no it doesn't include parking. You need to pay another £10 to park. They also offer an "afternoon tea" add on and then there's a fairground at the end that is also £££.

Quite frankly it's all bullshit and unnecessary. I have got to over 50 without ever visiting one of these and I seem fine.

I know someone who works on these Christmas light trails. The larger ones take months of planning, with whole teams working on a single display within the event. Then there’s things like insurance, electrical safety, qualified people to put lights in trees etc.
It all has to be paid for somehow, and for H&S there’s no way they could allow unlimited people in on cheap tickets as suggested above.

Aren't all paid activities reserved for people who can afford them? Like even £1 entrance us still reserved for someone who can afford it. That's business.

It's £32 per adult at our local one, but them it's London prices. We have 2 disabled people in the family so we get free carer tickets, which makes a big difference. It gets sold out every year so the price doesn't put people off, but then there are families with huge incomes here. We will probably go this year, but we don't do it every year.

I thought the same when I saw your post. They have just got greedier each year. We always used to the buy the annual pass as it’s handy to have somewhere with off road walking if the weather is awful, but not any more.