Woman left furious after sister-in-law charged £40 to have Christmas dinner at her house

If you were hosting Christmas dinner for family or friends, would you charge them? And if so, how much?

Well, one woman has divided Mumsnet after she explained that her sister-in-law charged guests per head to attend dinner at their house on Christmas Day.

The post was from 2019, but with the festive season fast approaching, it's been unearthed as many grapple with the predicament of hosting Christmas get togethers amidst the cost of living crisis.

"My SIL said she would host Christmas this year as she has a big new house and plenty of room for us all. I asked if I should bring something and she said she would just do a shop and split the cost," the woman began.

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"She did suggest we bring our own alcohol. I thought it was a little odd, as did my hubby but he reminded me that she was cheap and the food wouldn’t cost that much anyway! Best to just agree with it instead of making a fuss."

The woman explained that she ended up taking five bottles of wine with them, of which they only drank one.

"Anyway we had Christmas, I took up 5 bottles of wine (only drank one and my hubby didn’t drink any). Left them there when we left. We were given cereal for breakfast and tinned soup for lunch and a basic Christmas dinner. No puddings and just a little cheese for desert," she continued.

"We just got the bill... it came to £40 each! AIBU to feel angry and insulted by this all? It doesn’t seem right to hand over money. Especially to family.

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"Also I feel really ripped off! I don’t want to upset my husband, but his family are a new level of cheap. If I did that to my brother, he probably wouldn’t speak to me again!"

People were pretty divided over the post. While some felt it was bad etiquette, others thought it was more than acceptable.

One person wrote: "I just think it's really poor etiquette to charge guests. It's not as though a group of friends got together and said let's all have xmas together. They asked you to come."

While another said: "She sounds so crass! I doubt it would have even been £40 for the both of you, let alone each!!"

And a third added: "She's being tight and it's really embarrassing. However you did agree to it so you should just pay it. I definitely wouldn't be going there next year though!! How unfestive of her lol."

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However a fourth said: "You stayed in their house, she has to launder linen, clean rooms, buy food, we had 8 for lunch this year and paid £200 for the meat, food and drinks, I don't think that is unfair, its hard work entertaining and I wish I had thought of sharing the costs with our lot!"

What do you think?

Topics: Food and Drink, Christmas

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot.

@lucedevine