A daughter’s bizarre rant has gone viral after she posted on the Mumsnet forum to ask if her sister being angry at her parents was reasonable.
The cause? Her parents asked their adult children, who are in their 20s and 30s, to pay for an apartment when they came home for Christmas.
The children all have jobs, and the parents will be paying for the entire Christmas feast (alcoholic beverages included).
She wrote, “So basically, parents live in a small house. They want us to come home for Xmas, which we’re (me and siblings) happy to do, we all get on great. Except this year they are having some older family members over too who will understandably need to stay in their house for comfort reasons and there isn’t room for us all.”
She added that the parents wanted them to pay for a rented flat.
“So they want us kids to rent a flat (none of us live in hometown we are all driving up from different cities, 20s and 30s and all have jobs). They want us to pay for the rented flat. My sister thinks this is tight of them as its their choice to “summon” us back to the family home for xmas. She also thinks they have a 6 figure income and its just mean,” she wrote.
Bizarrely, she then said that her siblings and herself don’t eat that much at Christmas so it doesn’t even out which seems like a… strange argument.
“They think we’re adults and should pay our way as they usually sort out all the food and booze for xmas and they say that’s really expensive (I can appreciate that, although none of us are xmas binger types). My sister thinks this isn’t a valid reason as it is a normal part of being a parent, even to adult kids. As in another thread I saw on here, they don’t believe in helping us out financially in any way,” she wrote in the post, before asking whether it was “normal, a bit mean, or seriously mean” of the parents.
We have questions.
How is this weird when your parents are catering a feast for your entire extended family?
Who expects their parents to help them out financially?
And what exactly defines a Christmas ‘binger’ type?
The post had people seriously divided.
“Christmas dinner, crackers, drinks, etc. can run into hundreds of pounds! If you can afford it you should definitely pay for.your own accommodation. If you can’t, don’t go” wrote one user.
“I suppose you don’t have to go but it would be nice to make the effort for a family get together. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for you to pay for the flat. If your parents will be providing food and drinks for Christmas.” added another.
Others empathised with the matter.
“I can’t imagine putting my own DD in the same situation if I had the means to pay for her to stay in the flat,” said one user.
“Wouldn’t ask my children to come unless they’re staying with us. Other family members do not rate above your children,” said another.
Christmas just got very hectic.
Would you ask your adult children to pay for accomodation at Christmas? Tell us in the comments!
Top Comments
Millennial young adults. Petulant, spoiled, and entitled. I would hope that I wouldn't even have to ASK my kids to help with the costs. They know there's no money tree growing in my back garden. These nasty kids actually have to have an entire flat to themselves? Can't they get a double room in a hotel and sleep two to a bed like they did when they were kids? Does anybody these days make any concessions to anyone else? My 5 siblings and I couldn't all fit into my parents' home once we were on our own, especially when the 11 grandchildren started arriving. How about one of you - or all of you - nasty bunch of kids invite your parents to come to YOUR house for Christmas and you do all the cooking, baking, cleaning and backbreaking labor while your parents sit and have a much-deserved pampered Christmas?
I think it is completely reasonable for the parents to ask their (3!) adult children to provide a family accommodation. The parents are picking up the tab of food and drink, which what must surely be the lion's share of the cost of this event. Churlish children! Enjoy your parents while you have them! Endeavor to keep your family ties as time marches on! This is a precious thing you seem to be tossing away for the sake of some money.