The cost of an ice cream!

Is it me or are ice creams becoming really expensive? I'm not talking about fancy stuff - just a regular cone from an ice cream van or local café.

We were far from rolling in it when I grew up, yet we could always have an ice cream on the way back from the park, or on a hot sunny day when the van came around. It was a favourite childhood tradition.

We tend to go to the woods for a lot of our playdates now and I have resisted the natural urge to round it off with a visit to the ice cream van to buy DD and her friends an ice cream. It would make playdates really expensive! I would very occasionally treat the mindees to an ice cream, but not often.

Do you treat your mindees to an ice cream in the hot weather or do you save it for special occasions when it's just your family?

I tend to have lollies/ ice cream in the freezer for when we get home. If I’ve only got a couple of minders with me I will get one sometimes.

Special treat for the mindees here and if i only have a few. If im at the park i find it cheaper to nip iceland than go to the van.

Dh took dd1 and ds2 to Twickenham yesterday and he nearly fainted at paying £9 for them to have an ice cream. £3 is a snugburys visit not from a van up here

Yes, Fussy, that's about the price I was moaning about! Glad it's not just me who gets a fright, lol. Hope they enjoyed Twickenham.

By the way, just googled snugburys as I had never heard of it! Looks lovely.

Nope. No treats here from the ice cream van, price too high and the taste not what it use to be. Always leaves a film coating in my mouth.
I buy ice lollies from the supermarket or the children make their own to freeze overnight.

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Originally Posted by BallyH

Nope. No treats here from the ice cream van, price too high and the taste not what it use to be. Always leaves a film coating in my mouth.
I buy ice lollies from the supermarket or the children make their own to freeze overnight.

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I agree, plus we see he ice cream van once in a blue moon, as he doesn't come down our way!

I do however, treat mindees occasionally to an icecream from a local shop that make their own amazing ice creams. Even i have one, and i don't really like ice cream! ( but it does have to depend on which mindees i have with me! ... only those that will actually EAT it have their own! Others, i usually buy an ice cream in a tub and they share, along with a wafer or 2! )

i usually have frozen juice lollies or mini milks in the freezer, or the fromage frais tubes. We've started to make our own 'ice cream' - assortment of frozen fruits and either milk or juice, in the blender - to make a REALLY thick smoothie ... mindees then eat it with a spoon and are always excited to be eating icecream that they made! :D

Brilliant idea loocyloo , I’ve promised we can make smoothies tomorrow so will see if I can make them more ice creamy!

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Originally Posted by mama2three

Brilliant idea loocyloo , I’ve promised we can make smoothies tomorrow so will see if I can make them more ice creamy!

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how did it go ???

mine had ... pineapple, mango, raspberries, blackberries and kiwi ( all frozen ) blitzed with pineapple and coconut juice that DD insisted she would drink and didn't :rolleyes::laughing:

my family laugh, because the moment any fruit is looking very slightly past its best ... i chop it up and freeze it! although lidl frozen fruit/smoothie mixes are good too! ( carrot anyone?! )

We’re doing it after school today instead , I’ll let you know 😀

I popped in to the Lakeland shop in Windermere yesterday with DH and son and they were promoting Gelato ice cream.
A dry mix that you just add milk and cream to, then freeze for 3 hours.
They offered a tiny spoonful for free or a full size ice cream cone for 50p. Of course we all had the cone, three different flavours, vanilla, chocolate and mint choc - all were delicious.
DH immediately said - “if we were still childminding this would have been great. Make it in the morning, eat for afternoon snack...I’d add some fruit to the vanilla one and tick the healthy eating, get us much fruit down them as we can game.” Even he still thinks of the world of childminding!

Gelato Vanilla Ice Cream Powder Mix 200g | Lakeland

I have tried dried mixes before and not had success, but the lady promoting assured me she made up the boxes and that she didn’t do anything more than the instructions ( as she would of course) so....we are giving it a go...I’ll let you know the outcome.

I probably buy them icecreams once toward the end of the summer holidays but if I bought icecreams regularly i would definitely be broke. As a family my children know not to ask for icecreams because we live near beaches and go a lot, it should be a special treat. If I said yes it would be expected more often i think. we sometimes go with other families and they have an icecream every time they go to the beach which seems ridiculous!
there is a country park with playpark and water features near us that do icecream cones for £2.00 each so I tend to get them from there once for the summer rather than the beach as much cheaper.

Other holidays or end of term they might get a treat at home like icecream or lollies from a supermarket multipack!! (maybe i'm just a bit tight!)