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.

Eating out was an indulgement and waste of money we would eat out once a year on holiday and have the chipshop maybe once or twice. Cornettos were for grown ups

cigars my mum offered to knit my DD a school jumper last year. We are frugal but not poor. I said no thank you, I will buy her one with the school logo on like every other kid in the school.
My mum is lovely, she just doesn't see that uniform means, well, they all have the same!

I think strawberries (and any fruit come to that) used to be a lot more seasonal and possibly a lot more expensive, I remember my Mum commenting on a classmates lunchbox content and saying (not to him of course!) that he was spoilt because had strawberries!

I can't remember anything specific as we never went without but everything was very much rationed, like Ribena being strictly one glass a day.

We used to get fresh cream cakes on a Saturday from the bakers up the road to eat with tea watching the Dukes of Hazard/Pink Panther. That seemed the height of luxury to me - I'm still easily pleased.

Special K for some reason.

Red Leicester because it was cheaper than Cheddar (no idea why)
Club or Penguin bars instead of normal sized chocolate bars, mostly Penguins because Clubs had more chocolate.
My mum would open a big bar of Bournville and make it last a month, it was her special mum treat kept in the booze cabinet where we weren't supposed to look (that cupboard was like Narnia to me).
Vienetta was a Sunday dinner pudding only (once I stayed home as a teenager when the rest of the family went away and I ate a whole one that I later found out was intended for my brother's birthday tea)
No Ribena, just very watery squash
My mum always brought the coolbox everywhere with one marmite roll each and a packet of unbranded crisps, maybe a satsuma. My parents would lug the bloody thing on coastal walks, it was ridiculous!
I don't think I knew what a taxi was until I was in my twenties
We occasionally went out for dinner and it was always to the same Italian place in the next village, it felt like the height of posh.
My mum used to buy the cheapest offcuts of meant and make stew that was pretty much just gristle. I would chew it up and keep it in my mouth and then spit it down the toilet.
My idea of a fancy birthday meal was bolognese mince and pasta shells.
Weirdly, we all got Bucks Fizz before school on our birthdays after the age of 12 though.
We weren't allowed to have Tampax tampons, had to be lillets ones that didn't have an applicator.

I still do lots of these things now, in years to come my kids will complain about:
Heating, reluctantly use it, just put another jumper on
Taking drinks/snacks from home on a trip out
Sharing bath water
Getting a chocolate bar from the shop means getting a £1 multipack and sharing (I'm not paying 79p for one bar😂)
Getting an ice cream means going in Tesco express for a multipack
Cinema is kids club £2.50 on a Saturday morning when the films already 2 months old
And dinner out is a £1.99 Burger King (no drink tho, bring one from home!)
We are on a low income, not just incredibly tight!

Yes fruit used to be seasonal when I was growing up so fresh straawberries were a real treat, although we used to have tinned strawberries on a sunday with ice cream I think I preferred them.

Real butter. Always had stork marge.

Brand new books.
I was only allowed what I could get in oxfam for 10p.

My Nan used to have a big biscuit tin with a big assortment. She would determine which biscuit I was allowed based on its value.

So whilst she sat there, stuffing her face with the double layered chocolate ones, I was allowed the custard creams.....

However, This was more to do with the fact that she was mean and selfish than anything else.

Tinned ham. We only ever had it at my Nan's on Christmas day. The rest of the year it was deemed too expensive.

My lovely Dad (RIP) was also very territorial over the heating and insisted (because he was wearing 4 jumpers) that it wasn't cold enough to need heating on yet. Once I actually pointed out to him that it was snowing outside.

Coke /lemonade from a can and not a Sodastream.
Crisps (we had family pack chipsticks but never individual packs of crisps)
Mars Bars and similar
Eating out and having coffees out
Buying new clothes .
Owning more that one of an item such as a pair of jeans.
buying packs of sandwiches

Christmas presents had an unofficial price cap.

One year I got a meccano set 3. Next year I wanted/needed a set 4. I’d dropped hints, said it could be combined with my birthday, just a couple of days before.

So Christmas came. Another set 3.

There was always 1 satsuma in my stocking too.

I remember my gran saying "a little bottom like yours only needs one piece of paper" I wonder what she would say if she saw the size of it these days

I just said the other week to a strawberry-requesting dc 'oh no, darling, not in October'. I don't do berry fruits out of season. Partly cost, partly air miles. (Dh getting in the way of this again - came home from the shop on Sat with several packs of reduced blueberries).

pantry

Baked potatoes. As we had no microwave it meant putting the oven on for an unacceptably long time

We go to a PYO strawberry farm once or twice a year, get loads, eat about half fresh, make some cheesecakes etc and make compote which comes out in winter to have with ice-cream custard. Almost (but not quite) nicer than the fresh ones. :)

ice-cream OR custard. Ice-cream custard sounds weird and wonderful.

Pantry

that reminds me - we had Izal at one point - does anyone remember that? I can still remember apologising to friends that came to the house..

Another one I just thought of. I live in a very hot climate. Our school bags hung outside at school. I used to beg my mum for a cold bag to put my lunch in like the other kids. I never got one because they were expensive and extravagant! By lunch time my sandwich was always sweaty and gross, I used to throw them out.
Now when I pack dc’s lunch it’s in a cold bag, with 2 ice bricks

A colour TV set.
We got ours for Princess Anne’s first wedding.
Now you can’t give them away.

Florida. My dad played the pools specifically to win money for Florida.

Love this thread!
Agree about eating out generally - this was for special occasions only, nowadays I just have lunch out if I'm in town and peckish... my mother would be horrified!
Specific items from my childhood which were highly luxurious included not-from-concentrate orange juice, any branded items, ice creams which were not mini-milks or sparklers (Calippos allowed on special occasions), and for some reason, gel pens...?!