Probably - but people too lazy to cook their own christmas dinner are spoiling mine

Mine is working today from 11am to 7pm as hotel bar staff in his PT job. Of course I’d rather he was here but it never crossed my mind to blame the folk enjoying their Christmas dinners out, it is an odd way to look at it and misdirected.

He enjoys his job, doesn’t want to work elsewhere, hours suit him while at uni, Christmas tips are usually good….gotta take the good and bad parts.

We are making the most of it by having a quiet day today, had a big fry up and open presents before he went to work, he’s picking up an Indian takeout on his way home, then we’ll play board/card games tonight. We are shifting our Christmas Day meal to Boxing Day. No big deal.

Oh good grief, nominating this for the most ridiculous thread in 2025 so far and that’s saying something 🙄

Your son sounds like a hardworking, level-headed, resilient young man. I predict he will not be living in your back bedroom gaming all day when he is twice his current age.

Despite what I said upthread though - trally 16 yo is the age to be doing this sort of thing. Lots of energy, no young kids at home, off school for a few weeks. My middle daughter is off to her grandparents in another village for her school holidays to work as a grocery clerk - some of the older staff will be able to take some time off because she is covering their shifts. My eldest is a singer and has been working solid over Christmas apart from her day job, she was home last night at about 2 am and had to return for morning service at 9:30 am - but she will have more than doubled her income for the month which is great since she is on minimum wage.

I think first jobs can be hard, most kids are not used to really working hard. But they learn a lot about what they are really capable of.

Well it is relevant, especially as you’re able to have so much time off at this time of year.

You obviously both work in industries where you don’t need to work and so don’t have a clue.

There was never a food option near us at Christmas but I absolutely would avail of it. It's a ridiculously stressful and I've hosted every year for 18 years now, if I were to go to one next year I'd absolutely deserve or and there would be nothing lazy about it.

Many people work in retail and were working Christmas eve and get only 1 day off, if they would rather spend some hard earned cash instead of cooking then good on them. They would get 2 or more days off and possibly have the time and energy to cook if people weren't so greedy and stingy to go sale shopping over the holidays, to use your own tone OP.

Well, op, your DS works in a service industry. If people don't go out, no job.

Kindly get over it. My DH is a chef and worked pretty much every Christmas day while our DCs were growing up. Even as small children they managed to accept our celebration (and most of their presents) on a different day

I used to work for a large gym chain and in Scotland they always opened on Christmas and new year. I was on a self employed contract - which meant they didn't pay me. Your wage was made from clients paying you for PT

They did pay me for Christmas day - for 8 hours. But I didn't get it until the next month And they paid a taxi home. It would have been 20 pounds in a taxi double fare to get there and I was skint - so I walked it

I also used to work in homeless units and if you were on the sleepover shift on Christmas day you worked from 3pm Christmas eve to 3pm Christmas day

The biggest red flag for me in all of this is that the son isn't being allowed to go home at the end of his shift and not getting breaks

It's fine talking about a good work ethic - but no one wants to be in a job where they feel they can't say no or never get a shift again. Particularly when it's a zero hours shift for 8 quid an hour

I've done zero hours jobs myself and on the whole they were pretty miserable

BTW. Even wetherspoon is open today for four hours just for drinks. There's more than one restaurant in my home town open and several takeaways as well

OP, why aren't you just proud of your son for working hard and not sitting on his backside? Assuming that he still lives at home, it's not as if Christmas Day is the only time you see him all year.
As he gets older he'll either be working, travelling, with a partner or just doing his own thing. Lives change - we all have to adapt to those changes.

We have all been there, toiling away in our younger years learning to put aside our own wants and needs for a bit to earn our teenage frivolities and resilience ready for when life gets really real!

I would be incredibly proud of your son, for rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck into the world of work while he qualifies for his turn with more social hours. He is a credit to you. And also a blessing for those who would find it simply to painful or to lonely to spend Xmas at home.

I was especially thankful to all the hospitality staff that made last year truly special, as it was my Mother's last and we knew it. This year I would of gone out again in a shot if others agreed, as it's my first one without her.

Try and be kinder.

My 16yo daughter is working at a big chain pub today. Earning over £100 for the shift. No one else would look at a 16 yo with no work experience.

She's on a zero hours contract and the variance in shift times is a little annoying as she needs a lift to work - but if they are banned would she have a job?

Her friend who works there, has her family eating there for lunch. If you can't beat em join em. We'll all be together tomorrow.

Weird. I was happy to work in hospitality at 16 and 17. Plenty of tips and double time pay. I did not especially want to hang out at home all day at that age!

I’ll let my auntie know she shouldn’t have booked a restaurant for her family’s Christmas lunch then, she should just knuckle down and get on with cooking it as she’s done for the last fifty years, never mind the year of gruelling chemo she’s just had

Well no one NEEDS Christmas lunch at all really. Do it another day if it bothers you.

Mods are working on here today.

I think this is where the OP has a point, actually.

It's very likely that her son does not have the choice to take shifts like this, to work extra, and so on, because he would be replaced, or even just made to feel bad, if he didn't accept them. Employers have their employees over a barrel in these kinds of industries and if they aren't thoughtful of their employees well being, it can be pretty shitty.

We are now all used to almost constant access to shopping and services, but people don't seem to realise that the kinds of laws that limited open hours were seen as worker's rights legislation For example, in the downtown of the part of the city I come from, the stores had to close at 5 pm, except on Thursdays when they had later hours - this was so shop staff could go home and have an evening with their family most days, plus they had Sundays off.

I think there are good reasons to have food service available at holidays, but employers should be mindful of their employees need to have a home life as well. Plenty don't bother.

It's the pub that's chosen to open. If it didn't this would be a non issue. The bigger issue is that someone has been given a shift and then told they can't go home and have to work five hours more

Pretty sure the pub will close as soon as the last guests are out.

Why on earth would you assume that none of the staff want to be there?

I think we should take the OPs assertion that her son doesn't with a pinch of salt. There are plenty of 16 year olds who would be pleased with the excuse "the boss is forcing me" to give their clinging mother to get out of the obligation of the family Christmas lunch.

If an employer is behaving in a way that's contrary to the law, eg, in respect of the hours worked by a minor, that should be addressed, regardless of the time of year Christmas doesn't override the law of the land. Such behaviour wouldn't be more or less questionable or unethical in the middle of June.

That said, these are issues for the employer, not the customers. I regularly look at online menus and the price of Christmas lunch out is enough to make me hyperventilate! However, I'm disabled, so if my DH wasn't so handy in the kitchen and we wanted an elaborate meal on Christmas Day, we'd put the money aside and book, along with anyone else whose circumstances, cooking skills and state of mind don't make the kitchen a good place for them. We wouldn't be on our own and it's not something I'd feel guilty about.

My 17 year old is working in a restaurant today…im about to give him a lift. He has a great work ethic and will earn double pay today and get good tips… i am proud of him.

It doesn't matter if they are. You don't need to justify choosing to have Christmas dinner out if you want to!

As a teenager I waitressed in a hotel over Christmas and it was such a great shift. Double pay, everyone was jolly, good tips. I loved it. By that age you’re too old for toys and generally not acquired a taste for food beyond fuel and I couldn’t drink with my parents so Christmas Day was just being stuck at home watching crap telly. Your issue is with your son and your expectations. He’s choosing to work.

Even if they don’t fall into categories you deem acceptable for eating out doesn’t mean they’re too lazy to cook. It just means they want to eat out. Is everyone who eats out always lazy then?

Presumably you’d be ok with someone else’s DS working Christmas Day though?

NOTHING about Christmas is essential so I'm failing to see why you're just zooming in on one aspect!