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 if you can afford it

I would provide alcohol but perhaps not spirits, beer and wine and they can help themselves.
If they really want spirit get it as a Xmas pressie and it's up to them when they drink it.

We don’t generally buy alcohol, so if my student DC want any, they get it themselves.

I think provide reaonsable amounts of plonk and non Premium beer/cider for the M-T drinking. nd when it’s done it’s done til the next shop.

Nice wine and spirits for when it’s the weekend/an actual holiday, not just random midweek drinking.

Any other spirits for them to provide. They are barely out of teens. They don’t need Hendricks and Sancerre of a Wednesday night.

Granted I’d happily provide it for a family dinner or Bord game/movie night because I do believe that it does help keep you together through those early/mid teen years but not if you go to bed at 10.30 cos you’re working the next day and they are in Holiday mode and DGAF

Early/mid twenties years!! Not teens 😃

B!!

I definitely would never have presumed to drink my parents booze cupboard dry as a student.

I would have been offered (and accepted) wine with dinner, the odd baileys or g&t etc but there was no draining a bottle of gin dry.

A

A. I absolutely loved coming home for Christmas in college and bring spoiled so il defo be doing the same for my chap when he's older. Hope they get you some nice Xmas pressies 💕💕

A. You are still meant to support them during holidays. Drink away children.

My children are welcome to whatever we have - and the older 3 are a little out the other side of this at 25, 26 and 28. When they are in our house they are welcome to drink what they like, but they are well brought up and generous so would always contribute or reciprocate now they are working.

They are home for such a short time. It's when my son used to leave the tonic lid loose so it went flat really wound me up!!

A. I absolutely am-and delighted to do it-geting all the DC home is more and more fleeting and am happy to treat them!!

I would be worried they were abusing alcohol, but that issue aside they are students and this is their home. It would not occur to me to charge or have them replace.

A

I can't remember ever contributing towards the cost of alcohol when I lived at home .

But our DS's Christmas presents to us last year was alcohol - he knows what we like .

A, come on, it’s Christmas.

A. I always completely took for granted being able to come home in the holidays and be fed and watered - my parents always encouraged me to have friends over and would thrust food and booze at us all the time. I would only really budget for term time, knowing that I wouldn’t need to think of anything along those lines when I was at home.

I have 3 at home at the moment and I do A

However there is no way they would finish a whole bottle of something like gin without at least volunteering to buy the next bottle

My 22yr old DS and his GF are far, far wealthier than I am. This year they're staying with me for Christmas and although I'm providing all the food, I've asked them to bring whatever alcohol they want. I don't drink anyway so I think that's fair.

I am definitely voting 'A' - so many lovely comments on this thread from people appreciating the food and drink their parents provided when they were at uni. Must admit I was expecting what can be the usual MN 'miserable' critical response but A seems to won hands down.

[quote AMerryNickelChristmas]

I'd just get cheap stuff in

100% A
Mums and Dads should still treat their kids even as adults!

I totally think they should be getting their own and not boozing the bit out in their parents house. I can't think of any of my friends (who all loved to drink) who would think it's ok to go home to their parents and empty the drinks cabinet. If you had a wine cellar would it be ok for them to work their way through it like a plague of locusts. I would tell them what they can drink and what they can't. Helping yourself to food is different you need to eat but not helping yourself to your parents Alcohol. It's a definite no from me.

A. It was amazing how much DD got through as a young student but we still supplied it free. Now that she's in a responsible full-time job, she drinks very much less when she's home and I'm glad we treated her when she was a student.

And I’d be the same about food. Knock yourself out with the fish fingers and bread and cheddar cheese but leave the Christmas cheese board selection til the big day, please.

Slightly different here as I don’t drink so DH doesn’t often. We will provide some alcohol for ‘Christmas’ over the 2 weeks but expect them to provide some of their own too. Particularly spirits. Although they’ll sneak the mixers on to the shopping list!