The British Christmas dinner is like our Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, a time to wait for a family reunion for a year, and it is also a feast full of warmth and joy.
There is a Christmas tree shining next to it, the tablecloth is brightly colored, and the accessories are generally red, green, and gold, which shine like a fairy tale on a snowy winter
There are also candles flickering, like stars in Frozen;There is also the aroma of turkey or the rich flavor of chestnuts wafting out, and every dish and snack is delicate and full of ritual.
In short, this meal is to be prepared with great care, and it is a year of anticipation. Although there are also relatives and friends who have broken thoughts, work, marriage, study, etc., they also have to talk about it, butWith this feast, it still makes people look forward to Christmas, which is one of the meanings of the festival
But what if you go home and have to pay for a big meal?
Actually, preparing such a dinner is not easy at all;And the food is more abundant than usual, which means a lot of money!In general, the default, as if, is always the parents who pay the bills, and the children are happy to come home.
Times have changed, and now they are different!An English grandmother didn't want to work in vain, she had to pay for a fee, and everyone had to pay for the big meal when they came home. Yes, every!a!People!Both those who are housewives and her little grandchildren have to pay for food.
The 63-year-old British grandmother does not work in vain, and her children have to pay for Christmas dinner when they go home
Caroline Duddridge has been doing this since 2016
That year, her husband died, and her only income was a pension. Life is not a problem, but it is not easy either. Usually she lives on a budget, but Christmas dinner is a bit expensive for her, so she opened this rule.
No, at the end of 2023, she came up with an "abacus" again: prices have risen this year, and it must be calculated in advance.
It's not a symbolic fee, her ** table is carefully calculated. For example, in 2022, her three daughters spent £5 less on meals than their two sons, who worked part-time while being housewives and earned less than their sons.
Children have to pay, even their partners, and even relatives who have come from afar. Everyone who comes to the feast must confirm their attendance in advance to facilitate the preparation of the meal, and there is a fee of £15 per person.
Even the young grandchildren are no exception, and since they don't have a job and can't earn money yet, they charge less. Four grandchildren over the age of five paid £5 for people and two grandchildren over three paid for $2£5 per person. This is very similar to the practice of restaurants, it is the *** grid of children!
The 63-year-old Caroline has become a star because of this, and TV stations have reported it.
After a long day of "abacus", this year, her Christmas dinner** is finally set: due to the food*** daughters will be asked to pay an extra £2 people to pay for the Christmas dinner.
In the interview, she explained: "I raised my daughters' ** by £2 [this year] because someone said I was sexist. According to the previous article, the daughter could have paid 5 pounds less than the son, but now the gap has narrowed to 3 pounds, and she is really careful.
For Caroline,Ensuring that everyone shares the costs is "a matter of course" and "an important lesson for children", especially as the cost of living continues to rise.
Roughly calculated, according to the report, she has 5 children, 6 grandchildren, and children's partners, relatives and friends, such a Christmas dinner is really a big meal, and it is not easy to prepare. Even if the price of meals has increased, Caroline feels that it may not be able to fully cover the cost.
Paying should also have a sense of ceremony. Every year before the Christmas party, she calls her five children (aged 24 to 37) and tells them in advance, asking them to "transfer money to her by December 1 so that she can more easily 'track down the stragglers'."
She logs into her bank account and sees who has paid for Christmas dinner at any time, so she's in control. Although some people will complain (maybe jokingly), she says that everyone pays honestly.
To keep costs under control, she spends "dozens of hours" shopping around to prepare, and "the money I charge for dinner includes electricity."
Caroline believes that these expenses are worth the money and will allow the family to eat well and happily on Christmas Eve.
In a television interview, she confessed that while some might label her a "miser," her friends thought it was a good idea.
According to the survey, in 2022, one in five British households said they would ask guests to pay for Christmas dinner.
Recent research from NOUS, a home finance company, shows that more than half of respondents are worried about how they will pay for the holiday season.
Thirty-six percent said they would spend less on Christmas food and 34 percent would spend less on Christmas drinks.
It seems that Caroline is not the only one who is embarrassed by the cost of Christmas dinner. 
In the blink of an eye, it's another year to turn the page. The Christmas tree was shining, the candles were flickering, and Grandma Caroline brought out a delicate ...... of treatsIt doesn't matter if you pay or not.