Things your parents led you to think were 'special' or 'expensive' that you now take for granted?

[VladmirsPoutine]

for the po-faced

Growing up my siblings and I were wary over using too much kitchen roll - we'd get a sheet and fold it in half to tear before using, the faff was a PITA but to this day I still get a bit territorial over my kitchen roll.

We also had 'special' China plates, cups, cutlery, that sort of thing. Only used when we had guests or at Christmas - I didn't carry that into adulthood but whenever I visit my DM I still fondly look at the unit containing all those 'special' cups

My dad died when I was relatively young but prior to this death he used to always take us (siblings&I) to our weekend clubs when we were young, on Saturdays one of my sisters and I attended clubs that finished at similar times and it was always Saturdays that mum worked nights so the 4 us: dad+siblings would always get McDs and think it was basically gourmet dining.

I didn't have a deprived childhood by any definition but I do find those quirks quite funny looking back.

Yeah, I was an adult when Magnums came out!

I also never write on the tag and am unreasonably happy when I am given an unwritten gift bag I can reuse, I never realised we were a group!

Munchies were a big deal
Walnut Whips
Fry's Turkish Delight bars

Ice Gems were a big deal in Dh's family

Liquid soap was posh.

Didn't go to the cinema much either. Went for the first time when I was six. I was born in 1984.

Went to a soft play type place when I was 9.

Buying a sandwich. My mum still thinks that this is a shocking waste of money & will endlessly tell me how cost effective making your own is.

Buying water or any kind of drink that you should have brought with you in your own recycled container or a flask.

Not reusing all packaging, tinfoil etc.

Readymeals - when you could have some disgusting gristle stew with a few vegetables floating in it for a third of the price?

Anything pre-made - all a shocking waste of money. That includes all soft drinks that come pre-made (Coke, fanta, lemonade etc)

Squash & cordial - why would you add anything to water?!

DP makes me write in gift tags

Bikes, scooters, Lego, Sindy/Barbie dolls, felt tip pens in non-primary colours. And biros in any other colours except red, green, blue and black.

To be fair though, some of these really were expensive and/or scarce in the 70s. Half the fun of a Spirograph set (another pricey toy) was the coloured biros.

Many of these are quite familiar to me!! Although mostly my parents were rubbish with money rather than being frugal.

Amazing to think how different kids' lives are today. On a very ordinary school holiday Monday we went to soft play, had chocolate milkshakes AND McDonald's for lunch. There is not a time in my whole childhood that those things would have happened in the same 6 months, let alone day!!!

Going to make vegetable soup for dinner as it was probably quite an extravagant day I think now, reading this thread. Although MIL would say I'm extravagant for using stock in soup instead of just plain water...!!

We used to make our own gift tags at christmas from old cards and christmas cards.

Colour TV!!!! We didn't have colour TV until I was 10 and the whole universe had it, except for us.

Heating. My overwhelming memory of winter in childhood is how cold the house was.

Snacks - who had them? Eating between meals was a capital offence.

Regularly laundered clothes. There was a decrepit twin tub out in the garage, which was terrifying and used to give electric shocks, so we just didn't have regularly washed clothes like I do now. By the time I was about 9, I remember being embarrassed at how grubby my school jumpers were.

Bath sheets. Never had them either. Just had ancient, bald, small rectangles of materials, that were apparently towels.

Bubble bath - shocking waste of money and certainly not for children.

More than one coat!

More than two pairs of shoes in a year - one for winter, one for summer

Trainers - only ever had plimsolls

A duvet - I remember that these were seen as the height of luxury and again didn't have one until most other people couldn't still believe anyone was still using sheets and blankets.

Regarding soft play though this was not really a thing in my town in the 70,s and 80,s

I still do that, The80s!

I didnt take ds1 to any soft play areas as i worked full time and they were not around - ds2 went once and didnt enjoy it , so we didnt bother much although a lot more places were springing up by the end of the 90s/ early 00s. Maybe they will moan that they never went anywhere like this in years to come!

Its a good idea with the tags, saves the environment and you can add your own touch ( and make the back big enough to actually write on!!)

Holidays and eating out. We went to the Royal Show at Stoneleigh once a year and stayed in a B and B but it was more a bus man's holiday since we went to see the dairy cow judging. I envied people who went to Spain.
We went on picnics and it was always the same. My mother dashed into a shop and bought tomatoes, ham and bread and things like frozen arctic roll. Looking back it was lovely though.
Horse. I always wanted one but wasn't allowed.

Oh gosh yes, colour TV! We didn't have one until 1980. We weren't poor either, though my parents did favour school fees over new furniture.

I did have a few riding lessons once ( dad worked with a lady with a horse that was in stables and she charged a pittance/ mates rates) however, my mum said ' its a rich mans sport, we cant afford the hat, boots, lessons and you will never have a horse' so i never did learn properly. I cant afford lessons now even. it is one of those hobbies you do need a fair amount of cash for - i had to stick with going to the library , that was free!

Tissues - again seen as highly wasteful. We had hankies. Eugh, soggy bits of cloth you had to stuff up your sleeve. To this day I hate hankies with a passion.

When I was young, soft play was just being brought in for severely disabled children. I remember taking some severely disabled children to a soft play room in a centre for disabled children.

There really were not many commercial things to take kids to when I was young. Cinema, theatre, zoo, a few theme parks. Kids spent most of their time playing with other kids, without adults getting involved.

we had hankies, that were boiled to death in a copper pan on the hob.
they did go over to paper ones eventually, but my dad still uses a linen hankie! I think you can still buy them..

We got a colour tv in around 1978 which my mum and dad rented I remember I was watching Cracker Jack and they came with the new colour tv and suddenly stew pot was wearing a yellow t shirt! I think my mum and dad might have rented the phone too

Toblerones
Family meals out fo no particular occasion
Fancy Xmas ribbons and rosettes, and nice paper were all saved for next year

I've thought of another one! Plasters. We got a strip torn off an old sheet, carefully wound around the injured part (usually a finger), with the end of the strip split in two so that it could be tied off.

We always had shoes in the winter and sandals in the summer do people still do that ?

Take aways

Hair cuts for children at a salon

More than a pair of school shoes, a pair of non-school shoes and a pair of trainers (to be worn for sports only)

Hotels