Instead of asking her family to contribute the usual dish or bottle of wine, one mom is charging an entry fee for the Christmas dinner she insists on making from scratch
She's charging her family members around $20-a-head to attend Christmas dinner this year. Her daughter-in-law posted to an online forum asking if it's an unreasonable request or not, and people had mixed responses. Some assured her she wasn’t “being unreasonable,” as they think it’s normal to expect a free seat at family dinner with the exception of contributing dishes or drinks. Others are on the mother-in-law’s side, with one user pointing out that “it depends on if you see it as charging or as chipping in.”
While the daughter-in-law understands that cooking up a Christmas feast for a bunch of people can rack up quite a bill, she points out that it’s “not like she is financially destitute.” The debacle has her partner on the fence about whether they should pay the fee to attend his mom’s annual dinner, or just skip it to go to her family's dinner.
I definitely see both sides. I'd be miffed if I was asked to pay for it, but at the same time I get it. My question is if the mother in law is a control freak, because why does she have to make everything from scratch? What family member(s) made her feel the need to do this? Also... no one is ever forcing someone top host are they? If money is an issue then don't host, or host without the dinner and such.
Then again... $10 for a meal that would cost me $50 at a restaurant probably isn't a bad deal, and I can just show up with nothing.
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