In-laws and their kids eat all our food

[Anonymous]

You need to provide more food at meals. A small hamburger or one hot dog for a teen isn't enough. Provide two.

Have cut up fruit, veggies, chips and other snacks in a central place for people to help themselves.

[Anonymous]

Burger King is a short 5 mile hike up the road!

[Anonymous]

What exactly is a "normal" meal? I think people have wildly different definitions of what this means and it's causing them to not provide enough food for a larger group with older kids.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you’re going to continue hosting this bunch two suggestions:

1. Put any items you don’t want to share away - guests can’t eat what’s not there.

2. Stock up on food at a less expensive store like Aldi or Costco and increase the amounts you’re serving at meals. Teen appetites can be huge but you can offer filling foods and snacks without going over your budget depending on where you shop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burger King is a short 5 mile hike up the road!

I dug up some of these references if anyone else wants to do a deep dive on previous conversations regarding food and hosting:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/45/814282.page#15315633

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there a tactful way to say "Hey, can you help replace the stuff your children devour?" or do you think we are just stuck ?

The best way to do this is to stop inviting them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know food prices have gotten really high, but how much money are we really talking here? Cookout food is not expensive and it’s all on sale this week.

It just seems like you could easily have enough food for $200 or so….were you expecting it to be more like $100 or less? It just seems like you’re complaining a lot over what is not a very large sum of money for a one time yearly event.

No, kidding! I wonder what she gives at Christmas? Probably, a card with a HUGE $5 bill stuck inside and she wonders why there isn’t much excitement from the teens when they open it. Do other family members host and she forgets that her kids eat until they are full at their house?

[Anonymous]

People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

Eh, OP added those details because she was getting flamed. Reading her OP, it really sounds like she wasn’t serving enough food and/or she’s just here to complain. This is a pretty easily solvable problem. Sure the kids are rude, but she’s not their parent. Put the off limits food into a bin and move it into the bedroom. Easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

If she was putting out "tons of food" this wouldn't be happening. She's either putting out too little or bad foods while keeping the "good stuff" inside. Just get more of the good stuff and less of the shitty potato salad nobody wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

If she was putting out "tons of food" this wouldn't be happening. She's either putting out too little or bad foods while keeping the "good stuff" inside. Just get more of the good stuff and less of the shitty potato salad nobody wants.

You clearly have never encountered poorly raised tweens and teens. You don’t go raid a host’s pantry looking for more appealing snack food. You eat what is out for the party. When we go to a family barbecue, if my kids had no manners and were greedy little pigs then I’m sure they would forego the burgers, chicken, fruit salad etc and eat an entire container of marshmallow fluff, box of graham crackers and every squeezable applesauce they could find. We didn’t raise them to become pariahs so they don’t do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

If she was putting out "tons of food" this wouldn't be happening. She's either putting out too little or bad foods while keeping the "good stuff" inside. Just get more of the good stuff and less of the shitty potato salad nobody wants.

You clearly have never encountered poorly raised tweens and teens. You don’t go raid a host’s pantry looking for more appealing snack food. You eat what is out for the party. When we go to a family barbecue, if my kids had no manners and were greedy little pigs then I’m sure they would forego the burgers, chicken, fruit salad etc and eat an entire container of marshmallow fluff, box of graham crackers and every squeezable applesauce they could find. We didn’t raise them to become pariahs so they don’t do this.

OPs kids probably showed their cousins where the good stuff was. Let's be honest here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

Eh, OP added those details because she was getting flamed. Reading her OP, it really sounds like she wasn’t serving enough food and/or she’s just here to complain. This is a pretty easily solvable problem. Sure the kids are rude, but she’s not their parent. Put the off limits food into a bin and move it into the bedroom. Easy.

If they are there all day, she needs to do several meals and snacks. Leave snacks out that she wants them to eat. Simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People, read the entire thread ! The OP is putting out tons of food but the in law kids are emptying out all the snacks and stuff for her kids lunches and games instead or in addition. There is no reason for them to slurp down all the go go squeezes when there is tons of food available to them for the party. They just like go go squeeze and have absolutely no manners.

1. Stop them, redirect them to all the food for the party and bluntly tell them it’s rude to do this at someone else’s house. You would be doing them a favor as their parents are setting them up for extreme embarrassment later on.

2. Get a plastic bin, fill it with the pantry foods you don’t want them to take. Close it, put it in the attic or your bedroom closet. If they ask where it is, redirect the greedy little monsters to all the food that is out for the party.

3. Stop hosting these people

If she was putting out "tons of food" this wouldn't be happening. She's either putting out too little or bad foods while keeping the "good stuff" inside. Just get more of the good stuff and less of the shitty potato salad nobody wants.

You clearly have never encountered poorly raised tweens and teens. You don’t go raid a host’s pantry looking for more appealing snack food. You eat what is out for the party. When we go to a family barbecue, if my kids had no manners and were greedy little pigs then I’m sure they would forego the burgers, chicken, fruit salad etc and eat an entire container of marshmallow fluff, box of graham crackers and every squeezable applesauce they could find. We didn’t raise them to become pariahs so they don’t do this.

It sounds like she's not putting out enough food.

[Anonymous]

I would serve more food at the party, including Costco size bags of snacks just for the little velociraptors. And take any other snacks, and hide them in your master bedroom closet or locked in the trunk or your car.