I hate big birthday parties for kids and won't ever throw one for my son. I prefer our small family dinner.

Courtesy of Ashley Archambault

My son is turning 11 this year, and it's the first time he has asked me if he could invite some of his friends from school to his birthday dinner. I told him that I wanted to maintain our tradition of having just our family over to celebrate his birthday, but that next year, we could plan something additional for him to do with a few of his closest friends.