Saturday, 14 December 2024

Festive fork-out

Is it outrageous to charge your family members for their Christmas meal? Or is it fair that you shouldn't have to bear the full cost yourself and the other diners should pay for their share?

Last year Carla Bellucci charged her guests £150 each for their Christmas meal. This year she's charging £200 ($252). She justifies the £50 increase as covering the rising cost of food and utilities. She says "Paying up is the least they can do for all the time and effort I'm putting in." *

Only adults and teenagers over 16 are required to pay, while younger children dine for free. She says anyone unwilling to pay is welcome to decline the invitation.

Not surprisingly she has received a torrent of online abuse, including death and rape threats. But a lot of people agree with her that the cost should be shared.

It's a valid point that expecting one person to foot the whole cost of the Christmas meal is rather unfair, on top of all the other Christmas expenses. But I suspect that many of the guests quietly slip the host a tenner or two towards the cost.

But £200 a head is a pretty hefty charge, especially since she expects the guests to bring their own alcohol and drinks. Are they being served caviar and oysters? Are the choicest ingredients being flown in from across the world?

Jenny and I are dodging the whole controversy. It'll be just the two of us for our Christmas meal. And it certainly won't cost us £400.

* Maybe she's also charging for the time and effort?

29 comments:

  1. After reading the link, she’s clearly not a normal person. She’s a faux celebrity looking for attention.

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    1. Bijoux: I agree. I'd like to know what her family members think of her monetisation of Christmas.

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  2. Nick, I do not know who that person is.As Bijoux said faux celebrity trying to get attenton and money. Human stupidity.
    Hannah

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    1. Hannah: Yes, faux celebrity. Will anyone actually pay £200, I wonder?

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  3. I saw something about this in the newspaper .....apparently her 'entertainment' is included. The mind boggles...

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    1. Fly: I didn't know about the entertainment. Indeed, the mind boggles.

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  4. I would never charge guests for anything. I know that some provide the main course and quests bring sides and dessert. I think this is a fine arrangement, especially with large families.

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    1. My son and his wife are coming here next Saturday. He offered to bring food. I accepted, not because of cost but because his wife is vegan and this way I don't need to worry about that. Which is why he offers, I would guess. We provide beverages.

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    2. Sandra: Yes, asking people to bring some food for the meal is a sensible solution, especially for large families, as you say. Vegans providing their own food saves a lot of stress and fuss.

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    3. I make an effort to provide vegan food for my vegan family and gluten free food for my coeliac family.
      I don't like being left out because of my specific needs or ethical choices and i won't do it to others

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    4. Kylie: That's very accommodating of you, catering for so many different diets. Not everyone would be so considerate.

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  5. Wow. It's one perspective on hosting your family's holiday dinner. When I have held them in the past I wanted to put on the spread. I would never even considered charging them.

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    1. Some people are horrified by the idea of charging, some think it's a good idea. Certainly the cost of food is going up in leaps and bounds.

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  6. For our large family meals, everyone contributed one or two types of food. I usually brought deviled eggs and Dave brought homemade pie. The eggs were so we could have them as appetizers when his sister was running way behind schedule and we needed something to eat NOW. If the hostess prefers to make it all herself, that is HER choice. We don't even pay that much for nice restaurant meals.
    Linda

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    1. Linda: Guests bringing some of the food is a handy arrangement. Indeed, restaurant meals can cost a lot less than £200 a head. How on earth can she justify such a huge sum?

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  7. That wouldn't fly at my house. Everyone brings something and it's traded around.

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    1. Joanne: That's the ideal way to do it. Then nobody can complain about the expense.

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  8. nope! i dont know what prices are like over there but here you could go to a restaurant on Christmas day for that price.
    I say don't invite people if you can't be generous.
    I think it's nice for guests to bring a contribution: drinks, dessert, a salad, a tray of cheese depending on their skills and budget.
    But ultimately, if you invite people, you pay. And if all you can afford is chipolatas and bread, there's no disgrace in that. They can eat it and be grateful for the hospitality

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    1. Kylie: I like the idea of chipolatas and bread and a warm welcome! As long as it doesn't go any farther - bacon sarnies? a bowl of chips?

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    2. Bacon sarnies and chips at the discretion of the host!
      Or bring some!

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    3. "Bring your own chips" I like it.

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  9. Charging guests is a bit disturbing. Rather ask them to bring a side dish or a bottle of wine.

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    1. Colette: Yes, that's a much better way of sharing the expense of the meal.

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  10. Since I too had no idea on who this person is and also don’t care it seems like this is just another attention grabbing scheme by someone hardly worth anyone’s attention. We would never think of charging friends who accept an invite to our home. If one extends the invitation, than that person covers all costs.

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    1. Beatrice: She certainly attracted attention with her get-rich-quick scheme. But opinion seems to be divided on whether the host should bear the entire cost or not.

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  11. Sounds like an unusual family celebration, at least not one my family ever had. I never heard of any other families or friends charging either. Sounds like one of those whatever the market will bear situations. Wonder how many takers she'll have? Is her company and the quality of the meal so desirable to the rest of her family they'll reserve a seat at the table? Will we ever know?

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    1. Joared: I don't know how many takers there were last Christmas, and there's no indication of how many takers there might be for this year. Very likely it's just a bit of attention-seeking, as others have suggested.

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  12. Threats of death and rape are a bit over the top!!
    I only have quiet Christmases now. I like hunkering down with the telly.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: Yes, we'll be hunkering down with the telly as well - and the mince pies and Christmas pud and some good books.

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