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.

I remember the power strikes, and does anyone remember the bakers strike?

Mum was baking dozens of loaves each week, not just for us, but for my working aunts' families too. They all contributed costs.

I remember fizzy stuff and buying ice creams was something saved for special occasions, and eating out was so very rare.

Archery

My mum was having none of it. We even had a mini oven attached to the big one, ideal for such cooking, but no ...

Coke/fizzy drinks, we only had them at parties and when eating out (usually a once a year treat to somewhere like Pizza Hut). Today I drink close to a litre a day of Diet Coke

Takeaways, my parents still don't get them

Chocolate from vending machines

Buying anything to eat/drink while out

Getting new clothes unless you'd visibly grown out of everything you had (and even then the response was, can't they manage with what they have a while longer?). I didn't get to choose my own clothes, or buy more than one new item at a time, until I got my first job.

My mother was a chef so food wise we ate well on left overs. My uncle a gardner and many fruit and vegetables came.from his wast garden. Mum close friends with a fisher man so food we always had in abundance. I as a child tasted many things my friends had never heard off. Treats were also always available as was fruit and veg. Mother very much saw food as a way to show and express her love. Even now nearing 50 i struggle with leftovers due to having them so much as a child. Dh loves them and the kids eats them too. I have scrambled eggs.

Clothing however was almost always homemade or second hand. I had very little in terms of toys and only what was needed for clothing. Shoes were bought as cheap as possible a shoe shop was not until i was late teenager. I have terrible issues with my feet now i am sure this has contributed. Special shampoo or bath stuff was a no go. Own brand stuff wpild do just fine. Heating was not needed above 18C i can remember my stepdad telling me it was not cold as the hoise eas 17C. I have the heating on as much as I or the children want.

I grew up in South Africa in the 80s, any nice food was a treat.

I can remember every pay day (which was monthly) we’d each get a yoghurt, a packet of crisps and a can of fizzy pop. Loved that.

Buying clothes that fit. I got one school skirt when I went to secondary school, bought god knows how many sizes too big so it would last me the duration. On my first day my mum rolled up the waistband and put big kilt pins in it to secure it, so it wouldn't be sweeping the floor. How I hated that skirt.

LaLaLandfill you have singlehandedly made me feel less guilty about buying baked potatoes from the cafe downstairs! It's just me and my DS here, and for a long time we didn't have an oven at all, so we have got into the habit of an occasional baked potato from the cafe, because we both love them. I always felt a bit guilty about wasting money on a potato, but now see this as a wise investment to stop DS posting on a message board about his lack of potato in the future!

I thought that the correct way to serve a Viennetta was to count the swirls, divide by the number of people, and the server gets the perks of any odd sized slices?

Wine a bottle between 6 adults with special Sunday lunches and at Christmas

Sherry, gin and whiskey though was a different matter

McDonald's
Muller Corner
Viennetta

Buying a drink whilst out shopping in town. Even now, I have to reassure my mum it’s probably better to buy a 50p bottle of water than wait until we get home

Eating out, just never happened.
Anything to wear that you didn't really, really need.
Sponsoring someone and giving to charity.
Weddings- my dad brought up 4 daughters with the very often made remark 'Don't think I'm wasting money on weddings' (nor did he once).
School trips.
Tampax.
Pocket money.
Holidays.
All pretty joyless and most of it unnecessary.

It still amazes me that home knitted jumpers which were a sign of poverty when I was young, are now a sign of wealth, as people buy them in shops. Same with home made cake and biscuits.

@brasty I was the unfortunate owner of a homemade football strip...

Sounds amazing

I had a wollen knitted hoodie before hoodies were a thing

I remember picnicking out of the boot of my grandparents car on the front at Cleveleys.

That's when I decided to emigrate ASAP

Little Chef was our go to place when we went to Liverpool to take my Auntie out.
My brother would have the Porky Grill. Can't remember what I had. The free lollies were nice.

My Auntie always had a ham salad thought she was odd for not having chips or whatever.

@brasty my dear late husband got a home made Chelsea kit when he was a child - this was well before replica kits became all the rage and thankfully he loved it. Sadly, when he was playing the white number which his mum had sewn on the back came adrift.

Coke.

morningconstitutional Glad he loved it.

Eating at a British hotel on holiday in the 70s ... and feeling very special being able to order a tiny schooner of orange or grapefruit juice as a starter! The juices weren't even freshly squeezed but we thought they were the height of sophistication

Must admit some of this thriftiness has stayed with me as an adult, like:

Taking a bottle of water ( from the tap) when I go out for the day

Finding it really hard to throw things out and keeping things, ‘just in case’

Rarely eating out in cafes during the day

Taking own food to festivals etc

Switching lights off in the house

Using up leftovers if possible.

Not snacking or having crisps or biscuits in the house

Not bad habits actually!

Taking your own re-usable water bottle isn't being stingy, it helps the environment. More than 400 plastic bottles are sold in the UK every second.

I think a lot of these examples are actually just good sense and being kind to the environment