Why I charge my family for Christmas dinner: Even the children have to pay their way and I bill those with bigger appetites more, reveals CAROLINE DUDDRIDGE
Daily MailChristmas, they say, is the season of giving and goodwill, and I'm no exception to the rule. Yet though you might see such behaviour as positively Grinch-like, what I'm charging them won't even cover half of the cost of cooking for 13 people, it's just a contribution to relieve some of the financial strain on their poor mum. The outlay just for the food usually matches my normal £300 monthly food budget, just for one meal, writes Caroline Duddridge I've calculated a cost for each person depending on their age and how much they eat. That first year, I merely mentioned to the children that I was setting up a kitty so I could start stocking up on Christmas food. As a 65-year-old mother of five and grandmother of seven, I pull out all the stops to host a perfect family Christmas Yet they wouldn't have tried it on if we were going out to a restaurant, even though that's much pricier.
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