Make your family ristmas dinner?
using his preferred suppliers. My family understand. It isn’t personal, it’s a transaction, which means we’ll all enjoy it so much more.’
As for her in-laws’ misgivings, Leah is upbeat: ‘Everyone is fine about it now. I’m determined there won’t be an atmosphere on Christmas Day.’
But Peter Sidwell, curator of the recipe website Simple Good Food, doesn’t share Leah’s confidence.
‘Used notes changing hands between family members just feels so wrong,’ he says. ‘If someone genuinely can’t afford to host Christmas lunch, they shouldn’t make the offer. Or they could ask their loved ones to bring a dish, not make a bank transfer.’
Indeed, despite Leah’s protestations of expense, research confirms that hosting Christmas Day need not be financially crippling.
Good Housekeeping magazine showed how to feed eight people a traditional Christmas lunch for less than £20 — £2.48 a head — by shopping around for bargains. Whether you keep a keen eye on the cost of Christmas or not, though, would you have the gall to ask your family to stump up if you found yourself short of cash to pay for Christmas lunch — and even the decorations? That is precisely what Julie Baker, a children’s physiotherapist, asked of her family. Until two years ago, 32-year-old Julie and husband Jonathan, 35, a project manager, were happy to cover the £100 cost of the meal, which Julie has always insisted on hosting at her home in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, because she hates the thought of driving on Christmas Day. But then Jonathan was made redundant. So Julie, who has a twoyear-old son, Dylan, asked her family to pay up for the privilege of eating at her home. ‘Money was tight so everyone agreed to chip in,’ she says. Even though Jonathan is back in work and the family finances are healthier, she continues to ask her guests for cash to pay for the Christmas meal. ‘It’s a tradition I’ve continued, especially as the meal has got bigger, with more family members joining us,’ she says.
‘Luckily our dining room is large enough to accommodate eight people. But it’s exhausting having to clean the house and prepare everything in the run-up to the meal.
‘That’s why I have no qualms about asking everyone for cash up front to pay the local suppliers I prefer to use at this time of year. I do soften it by saying what they’re contributing towards, though.’
This year Julie has received money for everything from the turkey to the decorations. Her father-in-law handed over £40 to pay for the turkey. Her generous mother gave her £50 for decorations and food, while her mother-in-law has shelled out £30 towards the food.
All in all, Julie estimates that the budget for tomorrow’s meal will be £150 including the food, soft drinks and alcohol — and, like Leah, she is adamant that requesting financial help is acceptable.
‘I don’t feel guilty about it. I work, I’m a mum. I’ll be stressed out over the next few days. Even though I enjoy the cooking part, I did look into us all going to the local gastro pub — but at £60 a head for a meal they’d normally charge £25 for, it was ridiculous. My family has got a good deal with me.
‘This way I won’t be stressing about paying the bills at the end of Paid up: Cherry Bennett’s family enjoying their Christmas lunch January, either. The only thing I’m worrying about is whether my signature dessert, pavlova, will be up to scratch.’
But while Leah and Julie say their meals are worth the price because of the work that goes into them, spare a thought for the guests of Cherry Bennett, 29.
She charges £60 per couple for Christmas dinner — without a starter.
‘I did get a lot of stick for charging so much. The running joke was that I’d been to Harrods to buy everything,’ she says.
‘I got a lot of ribbing for my extravagant budget. Yet no one complained when they had a glass of prosecco in their hand.’
At least her request for money in 2014 caused little family tension as it has become a tradition. Cherry, her mother and other family members take it in turn to host 13 guests and always ask for payment up front.
‘Normally the family running the Christmas lunch charges £50 a couple. But for my year, I couldn’t make the budget work on that — so I told everyone they had to pay £60 per couple instead,’ says Cherry, a full-time mum to daughter Lexi, nine, and son Huxton, two.
‘My philosophy is that everyone has to pay up front. No questions asked. With 13 of us to cater for, it’s not fair to expect one couple to foot such an enormous bill.’
SO CHERRY, who lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex, with husband Adam, 32, a business partner in procurement at the local council, made sure everyone had paid before she did her food shop.
‘One paid by bank transfer, the other handed over the cash. Mum and Dad paid me in notes, too.’
With cash in hand, Cherry — who calls herself a big Christmas spender — then set off to the shops, determined everything would be perfect.
In the event, there were a few testing moments.
‘I did get stressed out with my husband,’ she says. ‘We’d missed our local carol service the night before so I could make a start on the vegetables. I was up at 6am to get the turkey under way.
‘ When everyone arrived at 11.30am, I trusted Adam to serve the drinks. But he was so slow! I did get cross with him.’ Luckily the meal was perfect. ‘I’m very traditional,’ says Cherry. ‘There was no sprouts-wrapped-inbacon malarkey. I’m known for my crispy roast potatoes and my turkey was cooked to perfection — you get what you pay for.
‘The only thing that let me down was my soggy broccoli. But I was on my feet until 8.30pm, when everyone left. It was exhausting.
‘This year, though, my parents have moved away. It’s the first time I’ll be doing Christmas dinner on my own — and it will definitely be less stressful.’
Despite the kerfuffle asking her inlaws for payment has caused, Leah Wright believes that, in fact, more of us should charge for hosting Christmas Day.
‘Just send out the invitations, menus and prices in advance,’ she says. ‘Make it clear so everyone knows what they’re getting for their contribution.
‘It really is the only way.’ ADDITIONAL reporting: JILL FOsTer