I'm charging my family £20 a head for Christmas dinner – they know it's worth it

Turkey and all the trimmings are a traditional part of Christmas Day for many, but if you’re hosting friends and family, the cost can soon mount up.

A recent report estimated that the cost of Christmas dinner this year will be around £52.19 for roughly six people. And that’s before you add in all the extras, such as crackers and additional luxury sauces.

However, one savvy mum has come up with a solution – she’s going to charge.

Whitney Ainscough from Rotherham will be asking for £20 per adult and £10 per child this Christmas.

The social media influencer already charges her extended family £10 a head for Sunday lunches. But she’s doubling the cost for the festive feast to cover all the extras and says “everyone sees it as a win-win”. Adding that “it’s nicer than having to cook one at home on your own”.

Would you consider charging your family for Christmas lunch? (Getty Images)

Turkey, beef, pork, pigs in blankets…

This Christmas, this 32-year-old mum will be cooking for 12 people at a combined total of £190. Ainscough says her family are happy to pay and see the price as “fair”.

“It’s just everyone chipping in – I’m cooking and everyone prefers my cooking,” she states.

Ainscough says she’s “going out out” and plans to cook turkey, beef, pork, Yorkshire puddings, mashed and roast potatoes, honey-glazed carrots and parsnips, air-fried sprouts, pigs in blankets, gravy, sauces and more.

The cost will also cover extras such as “luxury crackers”.

“My family know my dinner is worth it,” she says, highlighting that she will be spending a lot of time cooking and preparing the dinner while they sit down and relax.

“It will all be out in the middle of the table so they can get what they want.

“It’s double the amount of food [compared to a regular roast dinner], and normally I’d buy normal pigs in blankets, but it’s going to be more luxurious, expensive stuff.”

This is the second year Ainscough, from South Yorkshire, will be charging for Christmas dinner after doing the same in 2023.

“I am actually buying everything for Christmas dinner, but I’m taking it all down to my mum’s house and cooking it because she’s got a bigger house,” she explains.

What do others think?

Ainscough isn’t alone in charging for Christmas dinner. Last year, a survey from NatWest found that one in four Brits would consider asking guests to contribute to the cost.

The going rate was £17 a head, rising to £19.80 in London and up to £27 in Scotland.

However, not everyone agrees with charging loved ones. When Ainscough posted about her plans online and asked others if they did the same, she got a mixed reaction.

“A lot of people are like, ‘I wouldn’t charge for my family’, or, ‘we take it in turns’, but everyone likes my cooking that’s why I do it,” she says.

Ainscough, who regularly cooks Sunday lunch for her family, with the younger family members doing the washing up to “earn their chip-ins”, says she first started charging when she stopped working as a pharmacy adviser and was claiming universal credit.

“I couldn’t afford to cook dinners anymore. I kind of did it from there and it’s worked,” she says.

“I literally just thought they’re using my gas, electric and watching television and stuff as well as having their dinner. I thought £10 each was a nice simple number. I think they thought, ‘what a bargain’.”

She adds that her family think her “cooking is worth every penny”.

Additional reporting by SWNS.