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.

The cereal advent calendar out of stock?! I was going to get one today!

I had one in my stocking - but unlike Zaphodsotherhead I had the whole pack . Obviously we were very flush!

Second the dads doing diy. I can't remember that we ever had a workman in. Ever. And this was Not A Good Thing. Df even bought himself a chimney sweep set out of the local paper. It did not end well as df failed to confess he'd lost the brush up the chimney and when a fire was later lit it ended in the fire brigade being called out

Oh, yes, ArcheryAnnie, you can't beat a stiff towel. Even better if they're at least 20 years old.

Same with duvets and sheets. They have to be worn in. The best night's sleep you'll ever get is the night before you put your foot through the sheet.

ok well worn in duvets are the best. so soft and smooth

Slightly rough towels dry your skin the best.

I remember those mini packs of cereal. They were for holidays only, and my brother and I used to fight over the Coco Pops. Coco Pops were also only allowed during the school holidays.

One thing that was a proper treat was when my DB and I stayed with my aunt at Easter. We lived in a tiny village, and she lived in a real live town, with a shop you could walk to to buy sweets. This was an amazing novelty. Anywhere with proper shops was terribly exciting for us. Multi-storey car parks were even more exciting.

LadyInCement and *TheSmallClanger^ you are my kind of people!

Agree too about the best night's sleep in a duvet being the one before you put your foot through. It's so sad! (I have a favourite one which is waiting for me to turn it from a double into a single, because the top split, fabric at that spot too thin to repair, and it's so lovely I can't bear to throw the whole thing away.)

Soft drinks, especially Orangina. We had supermarket own brand cola for special occasions. Fizzy water, especially Perrier.
Branded toothpaste. Shower gel or liquid handsoap (bars of soap only).
Patent leather shoes.
Going to the carwash instead of washing the car by hand with a big sponge.
Any toiletries or household items that were in any way "frivolous". Think coloured loo paper, patterned kitchen roll, scented soap etc. Anything cheap and brightly-coloured marketed at kids.
Buying food on the go instead of waiting till home time or bringing a packed lunch. (This did not include nice restaurant meals though: we did that quite a lot.) Anything prepackaged. I remember thinking my friend's mother terribly fancy for buying the little yellow bottles of lemon juice in the shape of a lemon.
Cinema. Takeaways. (We didn't do/get either.)
Taxis a rare treat. Having a mother who drove/had her own car and drove kids around.
Heating on during the day. Phone calls, and especially before 6pm. Cordless phones.
I remember the huge excitement of a school trip because I got to go to the shop with my mother and choose a Ribena AND a packet of cheese and onion crisps AND a chocolate bar for my special day-out packed lunch EVERY TIME.

Definitely the mini packs of cereal. These were considered a luxury because the only time we got them was when we were on holiday, normally staying in a B&B or self catering.

FIL still does lots of his own DIY. There was something electrical that needed fixing on their oven and he just did it himself. Neither myself nor DH would have considered tackling that ourselves.

I think Ribena genuinely was expensive back in the day, because it's pretty expensive now in comparison to other squash (but not so much compared to things like Bottlegreen elder flower presse or those organic low sugar squashes most supermarkets now stock)

I am now the proud owner of a cereal advent calendar (special trip to Tesco). The DC rather hopefully suggested I buy them one each, rather than one to share. I made a Daddy Pig noise and said they could take turns.

Incidentally £4 for 24 boxes is the same as buying the multipacks in the cheap shops.

Oh Zaphod you've made me so nostalgic for Christmas stocking cereal. Such a treat.

draylon
Just bought a couple and the date is 9 Sept 2018 which opens up the next issue which is.....what the hell is in them that they last best part of a year?! I am choosing to ignore that :o

Cereal always has a date of about a year on it. Look in the supermarket or on the boxes you have.

real butter

Eh? Normal cereal has a BBE date of 2-3 years I think.

I want one now

It's just dried goods so nothing really to go off. Especially as they are air sealed too.

Pickle onions only for Xmas!

Pickle onions only for Xmas!

Ah come on now. That's only civilised.

Brandy snaps were a delicacy only for Christmas!

Fizzy lemonade was only for Christmas.
Lemonade only, no cherryade or orangeade allowed.
Never even heard of cola or sparkling water.

Lucozade was only for the seriously ill.

Hair conditioner was exotic and interesting...never before had we thought or cared what condition our hair was in.
There was only washed/unwashed , brushed/unbrushed.

Dull, lifeless, fragile, bushy, over dried, brittle, oily....problems we didn't know we had :)

School dinners! We weren’t quite poor enough for free school meals but I was so envious of friends who got to pick up a sectioned plastic dinner tray and add a different item in each section. Especially when fist and chips or chocolate crunch with chocolate crunch were being served and I sat amongst the school dinner kids with my naff cheese sarnies and piece of fruit. Yet once a year, I was permitted to enter their world...on the Christmas lunch day. Oh, what a marvellous treat that was.

Tizer fizzy pop. Although my gran occasionally treated us to that.

Timotei shampoo. The tv advert mesmerised me but we were only allowed own brand shampoo.

Foreign holidays.

*fish
*chocolate custard

Haha I also had the experience of fresh juice only coming out at Christmas, if you asked for juice you were given squash, I now can't stand it!

My parents still to this day use tiny, thin towels. When I discovered (at university) that there were "bath" size towels that you can actually wrap all the way around you and cover your bum I was stunned!

They just spent over £10k remodelling the bathroom but still use tiny towels