Dinner parties are usually meant to be fun and to provoke some sort of enjoyable bonding among the present guests. Usually. A few months ago, I attended a birthday dinner party at a restaurant and I came to the conclusion that guests tend to forget that restaurants charge tax and servers expect tips, regardless of the occasion. I always dread the part where the server places the check at the end of the table and almost no one reaches for their purse/wallet.
Even worse than the arrival of the check, is the fact that the brave person that actually reaches for the check usually decides to split the check evenly among the guests. Why does that person assume that everyone ordered within the same price range? A birthday dinner at your group’s favorite hangout or a birthday dinner at a splurge-worthy location is okay when it’s an occasional event, but sometimes you get an inbox full of birthday dinner invites and it adds up.
My birthday is coming up and I’ve learned to steer clear of the awkward bill-splitter moments. I figure, either only invite the closest group of friends or host a simple get together at home. If the birthday party invitations go out early enough, you have plenty of time to get a head count and you have plenty of time to throw some pennies in the piggy bank to cover the main dish. Have your friends bring the sides and some drinks to keep the cost reasonable. The point isn’t to break everyone’s bank account, but to celebrate another year of life. 
