Woman defends charging Christmas dinner guests £100 per person

A debate has sparked online after one woman shared that her mother charged her for Christmas dinner.

The woman, named Clarissa Bloom, a relationship expert at the Stag Company, said that her mum charged £100 per person to host Christmas – and always went "overboard" on the spread.

Speaking to The Mirror about the situation, Clarissa said she previously put up a "bit of a fuss" when she was younger – as did her sister.

However, as she's got older she's accepted the Christmas Day charge.

Would you charge for a Christmas dinner spread? (Credit: Getty)

She said to the publication. "Before the big food shop, she always asks for me and my sister to pay a third each.

"When we were younger, such as in our early 20s, we probably put up a bit of a fuss, but now we're earning more we're more than happy to do so."

Clarissa said her family "absolutely binge" at Christmas, eating "chocolate galore," alongside meat, vegetables and all the trimmings.

This "tends to come to £300" which means it's "about £100 each," when she and her sister go round.

A Christmas dinner can end up costing a lot (Credit: Getty)

The topic of charging for Christmas may prove divisive.

Speaking about charging family on Twitter, one person wrote: "I would not charge anybody," instead suggesting it would be better to "ask them to contribute by bringing a dish for everyone."

"I’m not sure that really reflects the spirit of Christmas," said someone else.

As a third concurred: "Seems so wrong and petty. Maybe if she can no longer afford to host a Christmas dinner she could consider letting her children begin hosting instead?"

Family members were asked to fork out (Credit: Getty)

However, in this instance, Clarissa explained that the situation worked for her and her sister.

"I understand she struggles to cover all the costs [so am happy to pay]. We don't generally eat much throughout [the year, but go all out over the holidays].

"We always have way too much and take a load home afterwards.

"To be honest, we only go home for four to five days, so it's definitely an overspend, but it's the one time of year you don't mind blowing all the cash on crazy amounts of food and drink."

Clarissa isn't the only one to charge her family on Christmas Day, and whilst it makes sense if the purse strings are tight, Caroline Duddridge, a grandma from Cardiff, charges everyone in her family – even her grandkids.

People are divided on splitting the Christmas bill (Credit: Getty)

She asks for between £10 and £15 depending on the family member's income.

Whilst she has her two-year-old and three nine-year-old grandkids paying a smaller fee of between £5 and £2.50 for joining.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live last holiday season, she said: "There's a few out there who think I'm a bit of a Scrooge but my friends think it's quite a good idea.

"I'm hoping that people won't think it's a terrible thing and think 'hmm that is a good idea'. It's very fair.

"I'm not out to make a profit, I'm doing it just to have a bit of help with the cost of it."

Christmas can be tight on anyone's budget, so if this works for these people, we say good on 'em!

Featured image: Getty