‘My sister demands £20 a head for Christmas dinner – I wouldn’t dream of charging family’

A woman is dumbfounded after her sister – who is hosting on Christmas Day – has charged the whole family £20 a head for Christmas Day dinner except for their mother

With Christmas Day just around the corner, households are starting to prep for the inevitable rush of hosting families and cooking up a large festive feast for people to enjoy. On top of the added expenses of presents and bubbly, the day can end up becoming quite expensive – particularly during a cost of living crisis.

In a bid to try and keep costs down, a woman has claimed that her sister is charging her family £20 a head for Christmas dinner. Speaking with a colleague, the woman admitted that her sibling isn’t charging their mum for the meal, but is requesting that the rest of the family coughs up the score.

Captioning the post on Mumsnet, a woman wrote: “Charging family for Christmas dinner.”

She explained: “My colleague told me yesterday that her sister has invited her for Christmas Day dinner but wants to charge her £20 towards the meal.

“She can’t believe it and has so far told her she’ll think about it and get back to her.

“Her sister has also invited their mother who isn’t charged and two brothers who are.”

She continued: “I can’t imagine charging a guest, especially family, I’d even go so far as telling them to just bring themselves if they asked if I wanted anything bringing.

“I usually cook Christmas Day but go to family every 3rd year but I don’t know if I’d go if they wanted payment from me.

“Am I out of touch? Is this a common thing to charge family for dinner?”

Seeking advice, she questioned: “I save through the year for Christmas gifts and food but am I the exception? Would you/do you charge and/or pay family?”

Flocking to the comments, Mumsnet users shared their thoughts around the request and evidently understood both sides of the story.

One person admitted: “I think it’s odd to ask for it as cash, we usually take all the desserts and someone else brings some drinks etc so the cost is sort of shared out.”

On the other hand, a second said: “£20 really isn’t that much for Christmas dinner and given the rising costs of everything, I personally don’t think it’s unreasonable.

“I go to my parents every year and we always plan out our shopping list in advance and divide and conquer.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below