She charges her family to eat at her house (stock image) (Image: Getty)
A woman has admitted to billing each of her adult family members roughly £30 to dine at her home over the festive season, claiming it’s too expensive to cook for them otherwise. Abi, whose handle is @abilourichards, shared how she is hosting 10 people – eight adults and two children – on Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.
To make sure she has everything she needs, she did a “big shop” at both Aldi and Tesco – but admits it hurt her back pocket. After calculating her expenses, she expressed relief over the upcoming paycheck: “Thank the lord that it’s pay day tomorrow because I can’t even bring myself to think about how much I have spent today.”
Detailing her expenditure, Abi revealed: “Between Aldi and Tesco, I spent £233.35 on everything related to Christmas food. So that divided by eight adults – because the kids eat barely anything – is under £30 per person. I actually don’t really that that’s bad for three days worth of eating.”
In a practical move, she settled on requesting £25 from each adult relative. Intrigued about the thoughts of her audience, she queried them on social media whether they would ask their families to pay for Christmas meals. Opinions are split on the contentious issue of whether to charge family and friends for meals at home. One user staunchly stated: “My mum fed me all my life into adulthood. I’m not charging her a penny.”
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Meanwhile, another revealed: “My parents charge us to go for Christmas Eve-Boxing Day. £100 for me, my partner and toddler.” A third chimed in with a national observation: “Only in England would anyone consider charging to eat.” Another user insisted on hospitality: “Definitely not if I’ve invited you to my house then I cover the cost.”
Echoing this sentiment, someone else added: “Nothing! I had 26 people one year I wouldn’t dream of asking for anything their guests.”
To sidestep the potential discomfort of money matters, some suggest bringing parts of the meal instead, as one user explained: “Me and my sister are bringing the cheese board, meats etc. Auntie and grandma are doing the meat. mum is doing the veg. My other sisters are doing desserts and table decorations.”
In concurrence, another said: “Charging is the wrong word, but I don’t see why everyone can’t contribute, why should 1 person be responsible for all the cost.”
And a final user admitted: “Honestly I would happily pay even more if someone cooked and planed everything! £25 each is nothing.”