To charge my guests for their dinner

[OhDeeeeeryMe]

Name change as some of you may recognise me..

My husband lost his job recently and money has been tight. Today I invited my friends for dinner and they texted at the last minute to say that their babysitter could not make it and they would be coming with their SIX children in tow...

So anyway, would I be unreasonable to charge them £2 per guest for their dinner? I think this is reasonable?

Of course you can't charge them!
You can cancel though.

Can't cancel as they live a two hour journey away and texted to say they were 45 mins away there are no shops open in our area and I have done a roast dinner, I have the extra food but it was for tomorrows dinner hence me wanting to charge them...

!!! So they left it til after they'd been in the car for an hour and a quarter to tell you?!!! Mmmmmmmm...

Just dish up what you have prepared, but between all of you. say sorry, but it's going to have to stretch. Can you boil up some extra veg to pad it out? offer the kids some toast instead?

You can't charge guests but since the six children were, presumably, going to be fed at home tonight, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that you'd not catered for the extra numbers and since there are no shops open, could they perhaps bring what their children would have eaten.

Oh bollocks. Just read that they called you from the car en route to yours. Forget my previous Cunning Plan.

Text them back and just say, "look I just don't have enough in to cater for the kids, beans n toast for them, unless you can find a shop"

Do have stuff for sandwiches?

Or what about a round of pancakes??? Flour, eggs, milk?

Hmm, maybe they have brought extra? They can't reasonably expect you to have the food? Do you have any crap in the freezer to give them? Or beans on toast?

Right. So they're nearly there and THEN they text you? Of course. Six kids? Yeah. Right.

If this ain't a wind up then I'll eat your hat.

Text them back and tell them they'll have to stop at the shops.

Go with QOD's suggestion. Text them back and get them to bring stuff for the children. Or give them something on toast. Don't whatever you do, find yourself cooking tomorrow's dinner.

Amazingly rude not to have given you the option but simply to descend on you with 6 kids you weren't expecting! Agree with QOD- let them drive round like pillocks looking for a shop open on NYD.

No one but no one turns up with their six children without checking with the host that this would be okay. No one.

It could be a wind up! If not do the text back thing and ask them to find an open shop on the way to get in extra supplies, not your problem if they can't find one is it?

You really can't charge them. Can you just do some pasta for the kids?

i would ask them to bring a side dish and a pudding

yes feed kids pasta b4 adult meal.

text back and say chippy tea for the kids? is there one open near you they could go to?

arf at charging them
that is def unreasonable
get some pizzas or beans on toast, cheap stuff, kids love crap

Oh come on...this really isn't difficult. Just say 'oh lordy, never mind let's do it at another date'.

Of course don't have them all over!!!!

pasta and pesto or tin or tomato
beans and toast

prob cost £2 for 6

mind we have 4 dc and i would never turn up with nothing

Well I would ordinarily say yabu but then this isn't a normal situation who the fuck turns up with their 6 uninvited kids to a dinner party, how rude.

Seating them would be as much of an issue as feeding them.