Would you expect to provide all alcohol over Christmas for your young adult children?

[MacNTosh]

DC’s all at Uni are home for Christmas and it’s lovely to have them all here, but I’m feeling a little miffed about them drinking any booze we get in ie. bottle of gin was drunk in one night, I had two drinks they drank the rest. Dh and I have cut down the amount we drink over the last couple of years which has coincided with the dcs being older/going to Uni. I can’t work out if I’m being a bit miserable and should just accept that they’re enjoying not having to live on a budget at home and just let it go or if they should be getting their own drinks at this age.

Christmas Day/Boxing Day will be covered as various family members are all bringing wine etc as are we.

They have part time jobs so have money in theory although one has spent everything this month.

What do you think?
A. It’s Christmas, they’re students, provide all the booze
B. They should buy their own some of the time

A, it’s lovely coming home & having food and drink on tap after scrimping all term

I think have a stock in ....but maybe they could buy some too or at least buy and make a couple of meals for you all whilst they are home ...

I never bought any food or drink when I was home for the holidays as a student but then I probably didn't yank a whole bottle of gin.

A few beers/wine with dinner, any more if perhaps taking the piss.

Have to say my daughter doesn't drink....so was never an issue !!!

Are they free to help themselves to any other food or drink in the house? In that case they probably assume that they can also help themselves to any alcohol.

A. It's Christmas and they deserve to have lots of lovely stuff to eat & drink after a term on a limited budget.

Having said that my own DD can only manage a couple of gins, not a whole bottle...

Personally I'd have cheaper options (beer, cider, wine) available for them to drink as they please, but tell them if they want to drink spirits then they can buy their own.

Yes - but most of a bottle of gin is crazy. I’d be a bit pissed off at that sort of volume!

A

I provide all the alcohol, but I don't expect my young adults to drink a lot.

It's reasonable to supply food and drink but if they are drinking the whole bottle that's excessive and they need to replace it. Same for eating all the chocolate etc

A

Choose how much to get though and when it’s gone it’s gone. Maybe buy wine and beer rather than spirits.

@GiltEdges

Personally I'd have cheaper options (beer, cider, wine) available for them to drink as they please, but tell them if they want to drink spirits then they can buy their own.

I agree with this. I wouldn't restock the gin, but have beer, wine available.

A. Nothing lovelier than coming home at the end of term when it’s all baked potatoes and no butter, and sinking into the warm parental cocoon of posh carpets, free booze, full cupboards and central heating on full whack.

A whole bottle isn’t excessive if you’ve several children and pour strong measures. Just switch to cheap supermarket spirits!

How many of them drank the gin? I would be chuffed the kids were happy to Hang out and see each other
Still cheaper then taking them to the pub for two glasses of wine each
Maybe ask them if they want you to get anything for them when you're going to the shop and offer to pick it up with their money (if your finances are tight) otherwise don't do that

I wouldn't ever expect to be rationed with booze at my parents house and I'm 29 I would be really insulted
I bring some nice bits and always have when I could but when I was at uni I had hardly any money and my mum and dad would never have expected me to contribute financially to the food and drink

I can’t ever remember consuming vast amount of my patents alcohol!! Maybe a leant a bit heavy on the Baileys occasionally, but a bottle of Gin?!!! Errrm no.

A. I did it for mine and they massively appreciated it. It also meant they kept coming back year after year.

Now they are married with their own young kiddos and they always bring excessive amounts of food and booze to ours at Christmas 😂 very much looking forward to them all descending on us in the next few days

Yes.
Because my parents always have, I would aassume to do that too.

Yes, but they're expected to have basic manners - they don't glug an entire bottle of something without asking, or get obscenely drunk and spoil things for everyone else. If they did I would not take it lying down!

They're 17 and 19, one's a uni student and all his money comes from us anyway, the other is at college and has a part-time job but I don't expect him to contribute to the Christmas expenses. He does buy stuff for parties etc for himself.

I was into my twenties before it occurred to me to bring booze for Christmas. The process of separation from mummy and/or daddy is a slow one!!

I have never drunk my parents alcohol. They liked different stuff to me though. Ds1 is 15 and doesn't drink yet.

My parents are coming for Christmas.

There's enough booze in my kitchen to sink a bloody battle ship. They'll probably bring more...

gonna be a very long four days

Used to drink loads of my parents' booze when I was young! I would ask though, not just down their spirits!

Definitely A!

My parents always had fully stocked kitchen and booze cupboard when I came home from Uni (and even after that!) and it was really appreciated. Now that I'm an adult, when they come to me I also make sure that I've got everything that they like in the house in terms of food and drink for them, and I love doing it

Having my kids home from uni after a horrible 18 months is absolutely wonderful and as far as I'm concerned it's open house. I'm their parent, I love having them home, and treating them to lovely food and some beers/wine makes me very very happy.