“Is this a new thing?” — Singaporean asks after his relatives charge “$28 per pax” entrance fee for visiting their house during Xmas & CNY

SINGAPORE: One Singaporean man sent the internet into a frenzy when he revealed that his relatives were charging an “entrance fee” for visiting their house during celebrations like Chinese New Year and Christmas.

In his post on Reddit’s ‘Singapore Raw’ forum, the man shared that he found this practice odd and wondered if this is ‘a new thing’ in the local culture.

The man also mentioned that his own family has been hosting holiday gatherings for years, but they never really considered doing this to their guests.

“We find that events are not for breaking even but more for social gatherings and company. We didn’t even think of entrance fee at all,” he wrote.

Unfortunately, his relatives had a different approach. “When they host, they charge an entrance fee. I say entrance fee because even if no food is consumed, we still have to pay when we go.”

He added that the invitation felt more transactional than welcoming. “Not sure if they don’t want anyone to visit because their message was like, ‘We are HAPPY to host, but it will be $28 per pax!’” he said.

“This is not a social norm…”

Many Reddit users who joined the discussion were shocked and said it was the first time they’d heard of something like this. One user wrote, “Can’t tell if this is an elaborate trap, but… This is the first I’ve ever heard of a cover charge to go someone’s house.”

Another commented, “This is insane. There is no money, so don’t host, and please don’t go or pay for this. When we visit, we help or buy some gifts. When we host, we don’t expect people to pay us too.

Only sometimes, for friends gathering, we will split costs for food, etc. This is not a social norm.”

Others, meanwhile, poked fun at the whole idea, with one user joking, “Do you have to pay extra to use their toilet? Or included in the entrance fee?! What’s the fine print… So crazy.”

Another quipped, “If you visit often, please buy the annual pass.”

A few also suspected that the relatives might have purposely done this to discourage visitors from coming over.

One user explained, “It sounds more like someone is trying to make them host a party at their house, but they are not keen to, so they came up with this as a comeback to discourage people from insisting on going to their house.

Then, if people are so shameless to force themselves in, at least the catered food cost is covered. Who wants to be forced to host a party at their house AND pay for everyone’s food?”

In other news, a bridesmaid took to Reddit to ask if she was wrong for feeling frustrated with the newly- married couple, who took back all the gate crash red packets and made her and the other bridesmaids pay for their own dresses.

In a post on Reddit’s ‘Ask Singapore’ forum, she shared that, despite being first-timers, the bridesmaids did everything they could to ensure the wedding went smoothly.

“The couple specifically made bridesmaids and groomsmen, those doing registration duties, to ensure that guests WROTE their names on their packets,” she said. “It was SO embarrassing that we had to double-check and make them write or write the names ourselves.”

Read more: Bridesmaid says the newlyweds “took back all gate crash red packets and made all bridesmaids pay for their own dresses”

Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)