Woman charged for attending dinner party at friend's home

Imagine receiving an invitation to a dinner party, only to be presented with a bill afterwards. Picture: Freepik

Imagine receiving an invitation to a dinner party, only to be presented with a bill afterwards. Picture: Freepik

Published May 26, 2023

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Despite the escalating cost of living worldwide, but if you’re hosting a dinner party for friends don’t make them pay.

A woman who was invited to a friend’s house for dinner, was surprised when she received an unusual request afterwards.

She shared her frustration and confusion on a forum called “Mumsnet” she wrote: ‘’We were invited to a friends house for dinner. Took a bottle of good wine with us; we wouldn’t ever go empty handed.’’ That’s a good first step, bringing something along.

After a few sips here and there while enjoying the meal that was prepared. However, by the end of the night and the guests departed, the woman received a message from her friend that had been sent to all dinner guest.

‘’Had a good meal, but they sent us a message after asking for money for each person! I thought this was crazy and I would never ask anyone to pay for their food if I invited them over!’’ she added. Now she’s questioning if being annoyed by this is unreasonable.

The woman’s friend asked her to send her money after she hosted a friendly dinner at her house. l FREEPIK

I think this dinner host needs to watch an episode of “Cheapskates” on the beloved TLC channel, maybe then they’ll feel ashamed by the label. If the intentions were to ask for payment a warning would’ve been nice. Unless this is some unknown trend it’s safe to say it’s not giving.

Furthermore, the woman in distress asked other users if she was being unreasonable for being annoyed with her friend: “We’ve already arranged to have them to our place in a few weeks' time and I’m not asking them for anything!”

I think it’s time for new friends, ditch the dinner and ditch the payment, it’s not like they can drag her to court. Inviting someone over for a meal usually follows the social norm of not requesting payment from guests.

When you invite someone to dine with you, it is typically understood that you, as the host, will assume the expenses and offer hospitality.

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