Going out to eat after college graduation, and my mom only wants family there... but I also want a few friends?

[Bent Snowman]

While what you want to do seems harmless, it is annoying (at least) from the perspective of your mother who is now seen as only paying for some, but not all. You are showcasing her lack of generosity indirectly, no matter how understandable it is that she only pay for some of the people that you want to be there. You are in some way showing how "cheap" your mother is to your friends, and what is worse you are showing who is special and who is not. I hope you do not feel compelled to contest my use of the quoted word "cheap." You know what I mean, I already said it was understandable to not pay for everybody, what I mean is not paying for everything can be viewed this way by people in some way, it could also be seen as tacky. At the same time, you inviting people to celebrate with you and pay their own way is not really how you do things.

Didn't anybody ever tell you that you can have more than one celebration? Your mother wanted this one, be reasonable and have another one if you want to share the moment with others. The celebration might be about you, but it is not just for you.

I thin Towanda might have thought you had a big party recently but that was about 4 years ago, when you graduated high school, not college.