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.

On the subject of individual packets of cereal...I was in Asda a couple of months ago when I saw these on sale for ONE WHOLE POUND. I got extremely excited, and was telling my incredulous 3 year old she could have some as a special treat, but not to expect them all the time, and that I had always wanted them as a child but never ever been allowed them.
A woman of around my age unexpectedly clapped me on the shoulder, and enthused 'Me too!! We were only allowed them once a year on holiday!' I had obviously struck a chord. She probably brought up her resentment the next time she saw her parents.

Until I went to school I thought all Plasticine was purple. My older sibling had mushed all ours together before my birth so effectively that it was all one colour. Shock when I got to school and saw it in many different shades.

Someone mentioned Alpen. We had that too, the concentrated muesli that was so super-nutritious that two tablespoons were enough for breakfast, according to my mum. Ribena was also concentrated. A millimetre-thick film covering the base of the glass was enough! We grew up drinking purple water. When the ready-to-drink version finally came on the market we at last tasted what it was supposed to be like.

We never had takeaways, very rarely ate out.

Also mini multipacks of cereal aahahhahah

Also mini multipacks of cereal

God yes. We craved these but it was an only-on-holiday treat here too. I've copied that though...my kids get them on holiday as well :)

Cleaning with wet wipes, as a kid they came in a tube and usage was heavily policed by my dum, now I use wet wipes with abandon there nothing they won’t clean

Dum=dm=mum

We must have been spoilt as we had treats, take aways, new clothes, foreign holidays and my parents had a car each. But we were never allowed pot noodles
I still feel my mums disapproval when I have one now and she’s 200 miles away

Fizzy pop was 2 bottles at Christmas for the whole extended family and guests (upwards of 14 people), although that's probably a good thing as my teeth have suffered from overindulgence as an adult . Similar goes for takeaways, meals out, sweets, biscuits, etc.

We had books from the library every week, but only ever bought new if you'd had a book token as a Christmas or birthday present. I remember what a thrill it was to go to WHSmith and smell all the clean new books

When I started my first job my mum bought me two smart skirts, two blouses, two pairs of tights, all from an actual shop (not the market!), and said "right that's you started, anything else you need, you're earning now" :) she gave me a load of jam jars and a marker pen and showed me how to put aside money each month for board, share of the council tax/phone bill, transport to work, savings and spends. I was earning an absolute pittance, but weirdly never ran out of cash for the essentials because of the jam jar system.

I vividly remember finding a bar of Lux soap on a car park once at the supermarket that had obviously fallen out of someone's trolley and been run over. My dad said we could keep it and 6 year old me felt like the Queen of Sheba having baths for the whole time it lasted

Absolutely the height of luxury were Viscount biscuits, only ever bought for Christmas or an adults "big" birthday. They're currently on sale in our corner shop, a 14 pack for £1!

Putting the heating on.

New shoes. We had to wait until ours were broken.

Mum did relent when I got accepted for the Youth Orchestra at 15, but I then fell foul of a rule about shoes there that no-one had explained.

Mum used to buy this horrible cheese called Cracker Barrel that was meant to be a treat at Christmas. Dream Topping was also considered a wonderful treat for some reason. Both disgusting.

DParents and PIL have strong opinions about how my generation spends money, eg on furniture which was cripplingly expensive when they were newlyweds in the mid-1970s (before IKEA). I note this morning that their first houses are now worth £400k and £300k respectively

Ok so my parents divorced when i was like 4 and i remember certain things from which ever one i was staying with at the time;
DM-
Shopping on a thursday, i was allowed a small pick'N' mix that had to last until the following week.
Bath 1ce a week
Take-away was very rare
one slice of wafer thing ham per sandwich
mixed mini cereal packs were for holidays only

DD
Never ever used fabric conditioner, the towels were like cardboard
50p pocket money - i felt rich ( this was the 90's)
microwave meal to watch while i was watching gladiators (best part of staying for the weekend)

*to eat while watching

Viscount biscuits, only ever bought for Christmas or an adults "big" birthday.

Oh yes! in their shiney green paper

Tescos are doing a mini-box-of-cereal advent calendar, just so all you similarly-deprived 70s children know... One bowl every day!

Tescos are doing a mini-box-of-cereal advent calendar, just so all you similarly-deprived 70s children know... One bowl every day!

Sad how many of us thought those selection boxes of cereal were a luxury! We used to get one (small box, not the entire selection) in our Christmas stockings! But my parents really were quite hard up for most of my upbringing.

Just to save anyone else searching, the cereal advent calendar is out of stock.

my cousin was never ever allowed things like cocopops or sugar puff ans oneday when she was staying at mine she said she was too excited to sleep as we were having cocopops for brekki! xx

Any fancy cereal/breakfast food. We had bran flakes or weetabix.
Being lactose intolerant made this much worse for me, as my parents didn’t buy milk substitutes so I had to have weetabix and water (mildly less awful than bran flakes and water).
On a Sunday it was porridge. Also made with water.

Ice lollies were also an unknown. We made our own with a tiny bit of lemon squash and some water, so it was basically like licking a large ice cube.
The first time I had a commercial ice lolly the syrupy flavour blew my mind!

@MrsHathaway they had loads in my local Tesco yesterday so it’s worth looking in store

Thanks @LaBelleSausage that's a good tip (and a great NC ).

Mine, too, LaBelleSausage and MrsHathaway! They weren't even particularly flagged-up, just a big cardboard unit on a corner full of them. (Saw them yesterday.)

lastnamefirstfirstnamelast same with the fabric conditioner, but it had the opposite effect on me - I actively like air-dried cardboard towels (they are so bracing, as they used to say about Skegness), and find fabric-conditioned, tumble-dried towels weirdly greasy!