‘Penny-pinching’ mum poisoned entire family with ‘cheapskate’ Christmas lunch

Hosting Christmas get-togethers is such a costly affair, there’s a whole cottage industry of cost-cutting hacks to get you through.

But there are certain footsteps you shouldn’t follow – like the woman who poisoned her entire family with a ‘cheapskate’ Christmas lunch.

‘I am a penny-pinching party planner’, this unnamed woman writes with glee in Women’s Weekly magazine.

‘I hated spending too much of my own hard-earned money to hold these parties, yet was too proud to let go of my reputation as the “chief organiser”.’

So how does one keep up appearances without putting themselves out of pocket?

Leftovers – from funeral flowers to unused paper napkins from the office party, she bagged all the freebies.

But she went a little too far when she lied her way into scoring doggy-bags of leftover food from the catered buffet at a friends party.

‘He was concerned about the hygiene and quality of the food’, she said.

‘But I convinced him by saying it was just for my large, extended family and that I wouldn’t keep it for more than a day.’

Off she went, with even some fancy party wares in hand, and served it up at her Christmas lunch – not one, not two, but several days later.

Experts warn not to store leftovers more than three or four days before eating it. Depending on the type of food and how it’s prepared, this may be even less.

This decision saw the woman’s party-hosting secrets burst into the open with the projectile vomit of her guests.

‘Everything went well during my party’, she said.

‘The very next day, the worst thing happened: My husband, youngest daughter, in-laws, and several of my cousins and friends of the family came down with food poisoning.

‘I even had to send my daughter to A&E that night as she was vomiting and running a high fever, while the rest of the family rested at home.

‘What made me feel even worse was that I wasn’t affected at all. I felt so guilty I offered to pay for everyone’s medical fees, and I became so upset that I could not host the New Year office party, and my colleagues had to settle for a restaurant dinner instead.’

Now she still hosts parties, but she shares the burden instead.

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