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?

People have always been available only to those who could afford them.

I imagine their fuel costs have risen as all of ours have. It’s a business, not a charity.

Activities, not people !

It really comes down to whether you're willing to pay. Yes, you can make magic at home, and we do, but we can't recreate a mile long light walk for £70.

Not everyone can afford it but I find myself asking "couldn I do it as well for less?" If not, spend the money guilt free.

We don't do regular day trips and save up for Xmas stuff so it's about priorities (not ignoring that not everything is in my price range)

They are fun though.

I've never been skiing or to the Caribbean but I hear people like that.

People have to make a living, and with everything now so expensive, they either charge enough to stay in business, or they liquidate. I can't imagine a business owner who has taken years or blood, sweat and tears to build up their business is going to be happy about losing their business because people demand cheaper prices.

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

They've always been reserved for people who can afford them. It's just only bothering you now it's coming close to what you can afford.

Make it a tenner for an adult, a fiver for a child.

This would still only available to those who can afford it.

But there is a tipping point, beyond which people won’t go. If that point is reached, numbers will fall and the business will suffer anyway.

There is a limit to what many people can afford.

We did one of these last year. It was around £80 for 2 x adult 2 x kids. I'd been out of by price for a couple of years before but heard loads of people say how amazing it was. And so we went and it was a nice walk through a beautifully lit trail with some really fun interactive bits. Was it worth the £80? IMO no and the adults appreciated it more than the kids but it was a nice evening with the 4 of us and I don't think the kids will want to hang out with us much longer. But I also appreciate the lights and the technical aspects won't have been cheap and there were so many staff which adds costs, things just are expensive now.

What annoyed me though was that halfway round was a hot chocolate van and fire pits to roast marshmallows. The hot chocolate was £4.50 and was being made with a scoop of powder from a giant catering tub and boiling water. That really hacked me off. And the marshmallows were IIRC £3 for 2, massive ones but even still.

But yeah YABU to think these things should be cheaper, we all just have to choose what we can afford and wealthier people will always be able to do more 🤷🏼‍♀️

We don't do Christmas events anymore because the cost is too great. All the Santa grottos round here are already sold out, including one with tickets for £90 per child plus £45 per adult companion. It's disgusting.

Particularly with little ones the low-key stuff is often better. My kids are older, but one year we did an awful Christmas steam train ride - very crowded, huge queues at the other end to see Santa, everyone freezing. The stuff they’ve enjoyed has tended to be with other kids, Christmas party in the house, park walk to find pine cones with hot chocolate, garden centre Santa, local town/church panto etc. it definitely helps if you are happy to host though. Even now I think I save myself tons in the holidays by having an open house.

Thing is all this stuff is a relatively recent trend. When i was a kid christmas was plenty magical without light trails, huge volumes of themed decorations, santa trains, Christmas 'experiences' galore?
30 years ago these sorts of treats would have been seen as real luxuries not necessary for most.
People's expectations have gone up that we must all be living an instagram lifestyle

You are not being unreasonable up to a point.
I do think it is a lot for the kids and young people.
I volunteer in a Museum which does events too. I've also been involved with Events in other ways too.
Kids should be free under 5 (think the charging 3 & 4 year olds is not in the spirit of Christmas).
5-16 should be 50% not 75% of the cost.
Having said that in my experience with Events they are not charging the high prices for make lots of money.
In fact what they are doing is controlling the footfall and making sure not too may people go to the point it becomes uncontrollable (so many you people & pushchairs can't see anything, the extra admin of ticket listing, health & safety).
So it's a way to filter out those who are really serious about going.
At my Museum we cap it to tours of 10 people every hour for 5 hours each day we are open otherwise its a mess.

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

Yes, that has always been the case since the beginning of human civilisation really. If you've genuinely just realised this you must be absolutely mind blown (and presumably very privileged if it's only just occurred to you!).

It is pricey though! By still going you're reinforcing that the price they're charging is reasonable. Vote with your feet.

The Christmas lights at Edinburgh Botanics costs £60-76 for a family of 4. (£20-£22.5 for single adult ticket)

It must cost a fortune to put on as the display is always spectacular.

Should they make it less spectacular in order to be more affordable?

This, folks only have an issue when it’s unaffordable or tight for them, if it’s easily affordable for them, they don’t care. Whatever th4 cost it is always only available to those who can afford it.

a d these light shows cost a fortune to put up and it’s a business, not a charitable endeavour.

Roughly where are you, OP. Blackpool Zoo Christmas lights are fabulous and admission gives you all zoo access (and play barn too, I think?)

Actually I forgot to say the thing my kids love most started when they were tiny. Xmas eve when they've got pj's on we would bundle them in the car and go for a drive round the big housing estates looking at all the lights people have up. Some houses really go for it. And we'd get drive by McDonald's chips. Total cost under a tenner and we all love it. So many happy memories.

I wouldn't book anything like that this early. What if the weather is awful on the day you've booked, you're ill, or invited to a family gathering on the same day?

Plus there's nearly always late booking discounts, BOGOF deals etc. We've been to a couple of these, I think last time we went to one at a local Wildlife park and there was a discount off the park entry in the afternoon, and the light trail was also cheaper, so it cost less than the normal park entry to do both. We only booked a couple of days ahead too because we didn't want to go on a day it was throwing it down.

They're expensive, but they cost a lot to put on. Plus they're not compulsory, there's plenty you can do for less and still have a good time. You can see Blackpool illuminations for free (other towns may have them?) for a start.

I remember going to an event with my brother's family. They got a family ticket which was about £60. I thought wow! Who can afford that. Being childless I was not aware hw much parents fork out for their kids.

I live in a village and the people with small children around set up their own Christmas trail, for free. Anyone who's interested can volunteer to join in, and the organiser plans a route. This takes in the houses with lights outside and Christmas decorations. The next village do one too. There's also a Halloween trail. If you live somewhere suitable, you could do this.

Our local National Trust is charging £26 for an adult and £16 for a child (age 3 plus) for peak time tickets, plus parking on top, which £8. That's £76 all in for a 2 hour experience. It's a lovely event and we've been a couple of times before, and we enjoy it, but it's getting too expensive now. I can justify that for a full day experience, but not for something that only lasts a few hours. Normally the tickets sell really fast, but there are loads left atm and I'm not surprised as families can't justify it.

If it's high quality then I'm not shocked. It's about what I would expect. I just checked the Blenheim one which I expected to be about the same from memory, then was shocked to discover it was over £100 for a family now!

Your post seems to suggest that this is a normal, traditional, expected part of Christmas. It really isn't. It's quite a new thing. We've done it very occasionally - but mainly NT as it is cheap if you are members. I think you can have just as much fun with young kids looking at lights outside people's houses, or with older kids going to see the Christmas lights in a nearby city.

@squashedsandwich

unless you & DH would go if you didn't have the baby, don't bother. Yes you can 'afford it' at the moment, but stick the money into an account for when you can't. If you're both on high salaries & maternity pay (or lack of) won't affect you then do what you fancy I guess, but your baby will not care & will quite possibly sleep through it anyway, they'd get FAR more enjoyment out if a walk around some streets nearby with lights up or lying under the Christmas tree with the pretty lights.

i do much the same for myself! If I spend a lot of money on something like a light display it spoils it for me & id rather go and see the local lights, village lights in other places, main streets in London.

It certainly does seem extortionate, op. The lights trail in Kew Gardens doesn't cost much more than that, and that's entry to the entire park with complimentary mince pies and mulled wine!