Putting together a luxurious Christmas banquet is no mean feat, from the hundreds of dollars spent on ingredients to the many hours spent fussing over a hot oven. For the hosts, it can often end up feeling like another day at work.
One frugal mom has shared how she has had enough of what she sees as unpaid labor, and has started a charging scheme for family, asking adults to pay $11 per head to enjoy her Sunday roasts.
But with the big day less than a month away, Whitney Ainscough, 32, has decided that all 12 family members must pay more this Christmas by doubling the price to $23, and even the kids are not exempt.
Despite raking in hundreds from her dinner surcharge, UK-mom Whitney says she will only have $11 left over after paying for her Christmas feast this year if she is 'lucky'. But, surprisingly, she says her family all think the $23 charge is 'fair' and that when she started the scheme they probably thought 'what a bargain'.
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The Yorkshire mom started charging her loved ones to eat one of her meals after she stopped working in a pharmacy and began claiming welfare, which left her without the necessary cash to feed her family out of the good of her own heart.
Whitney, who is trying to become a social media influencer, explained how she started charging her family for food, saying: “I’ll be honest it started when I stopped working where I used to work and went on Universal Credit and everyone loved my dinners.
“But I couldn’t afford to cook dinners anymore. I kind of did it from there and it’s worked.
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“I literally just thought they’re using my gas, electric and watching television and stuff as well as having their dinner."
So, what goes on this 'amazing' $11 plate that is 'worth every penny'?
Ainscough described: “Normally it’s roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, pigs in blankets, chicken or beef, pork crackling, Yorkshire puddings, air-fried sprouts, honey-glazed carrots and parsnips, peas and broccoli.”
The 32-year-old justified her surge pricing for the Christmas meal by saying that she was buying in three kinds of meat - turkey, pork and beef - as well as providing other Christmas treats like crackers for the whole family.
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When she first started charging, Ainscough set the price at $11 and everyone seemed to go along with it. She said: “I thought $11 each was a nice simple number. I think they [Whitney’s family] thought, ‘what a bargain’. I think they saw it as fair."
But with the cost of living creeping ever upward and Christmas being the season for excess, Whitney felt she had to up the price so she did not have to skimp on the trimmings. “For Christmas I’m doubling it to $23 – at Christmas you make a lot more things," she said.
“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, and normally I’d buy normal pigs in blankets but it’s going to be more luxurious expensive stuff.”
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With the rest of her family getting to sit back and relax on the big day, Ainscough said she had not received any complaints about her new pricing. “Everyone sees it as a win-win,” she said.
But with Christmas being the time for giving, it's fair to say her business-like approach to the festive season has garnered some 'mixed' reviews online. She said: “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.
“I am actually buying everything for Christmas dinner but I’m taking it all down to my mom’s house and cooking it there because she’s got a bigger house.
“I don’t know whether I’ll get turkey instead and probably more meats as well as pork and beef, stuff like that.
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“I’ll get luxury crackers and whatever else.”
William Morgan