O come, all ye hungry – as long as you paid up ahead of time.
A UK grandmother who charges her family for Christmas dinner is upping her prices this year to compete with inflation and cost of living.
Caroline Duddridge is asking her three daughters to pay about $15.21 for a seat at the Christmas feast this year – up from about $12.67 last year, she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Even the extra cash, however, might not be enough to cover the rising food costs this year, the 63-year-old Cardiff resident lamented.
“I’m not sure it will, because when you buy a few bits and pieces it comes to like £30 or £40 and it’s barely a bag full,” she told the outlet.
“This is not Christmas stuff either but just general shopping – it’s just horrifying and you wonder where it’s all going to end.”
Duddrige also charges her two sons about $19 for the Christmas celebration, while her two grandchildren are expected to cough up about $3.15. Luckily for them, neither had to face a dinner price hike.
Duddrige previously said she charged her sons more because they worked full-time, while her daughters worked part-time while raising their families.
“I have put the girls’ prices up [this year] by £2 because I did get a bit of stick from people saying I was being sexist – not that I listen to public opinion, particularly,” she added to BBC Radio 5 Live of the decision to charge her daughters a bit more this year.
The entry fee is worth it, she argued, because the generous spread lasts from Christmas Eve through December 26, or Boxing Day.
In the past, the smorgasbord included a mini sandwich buffet followed by a turkey dinner and sides on Christmas Day, as well as a nut roast and four desserts, Duddrige boasted.
There is also a full buffet on Dec. 26.
“I also do food for my parents and take it round to them – they find it a bit too much coming to mine now,” Duddrige explained of the family affair.
Duddrige told the BBC that she first started charging her family for Christmas dinner after her husband died in 2015.
The attendees even transfers the money directly to her bank account so she can “keep track of any stragglers,” she noted.
Duddrige stands by the decision to charge, even though some commenters think the move is unbecoming of the season.
“There were the usual trolls, but some people thought it was a really good idea – they even said they were going to adopt it themselves,” she said.
