<p>Yes, absolutely. And left it up to the Ss as to who to invite. We even took a couple of S1’s co-workers to lunch when we visited him in SF post-grad. It’s nice to meet their friends at any age.</p>
<p>Freshman I year i took my mom to parents weekend at oldest school. D was trying to finish up a paper so I went with a couple of her friends to pick up Chinese Food to bring back to the dorm. My mom had a great time quizzing the kids.
D was less than 500 miles away, so we visited often & we enjoyed taking her & her friends out ( usually not more than two more at a time), as the conversation was more relaxed than if it was just us.
(we are a quiet family & while of course I want to hear about what they are doing, I don’t like feeling like I am interrogating them 
)</p>
<p>I’ve also taken younger D & her friends out, for the reasons above squared. </p>
<p>I find that I find out a lot more in a relaxed setting with their friends. Think of it as the age appropriate version of driving the carpool.
( To those who aren’t familiar- i am referring to the phenomena of children thinking their parents become deaf when they get behind the wheel, and so they talk like you aren’t there:) )</p>
<p>We always take D out to dinner and she looks forward to it. If her roommate (her best friend) is available we take her too.</p>
<p>My S is a sophomore at Cal and we have started a “tradition” of going to breakfast at Elmwood Cafe on College Ave. (always including his girlfriend) and dinner at either Zachary’s Pizza, also on College Ave., or House of Curries, an Indian “fast food” restaurant. For dinner we typically have about 4-6 of his friends. If a solo parent is also around, we invite them as well. If I’m going to eat at Chez Panisse I’m not going to invite his fellow Bears but opt for more affordable options that won’t bust the budget. The size of the restaurant is also a factor which determines how many of his friends may be included.</p>
<p>Only if they have time. Many times they indicate that they do not have time and have to eat on campus. So, we “went out” on campus but never with her friends.</p>
<p>We always took ours out for nice dinners. Who doesn’t have time for a free meal with their parents? Thats really sad. Our s’s always made time, and invited whoever was available to join us. The friends varied day to day, which made it more fun. We LOVED doing this. It was our pleasure. A real win-win.</p>
<p>Part of what I enjoy, and one of the reasons it’s nice to have a little leeway in the budget. I take mine out for meals, and friends if they are around. It’s a pleasure for me too.</p>
<p>In all seriousness…Busdriver, are you kidding? I can’t tell, but I hope so! </p>
<p>We only see DD and DS once every couple months (or more 
) but getting to see them so happily attached and engaged with new and interesting people is a joy. They have always wanted us to attend events where the crowd was a mix of college aged students and parents, so dinner out with us and their friends is a natural fit. Getting to know these wonderful new friends and teammates has expanded our circle as well, as we have now made friends with some of their parents. One particularly special friend even bakes cakes/treats for my DS and delivers them for me, because 3000 miles separate us. </p>
<p>I love being with young people…my own kids and their extended friend family too. It reminds me of my youth, and makes me proud of the adults I’ve had a part in shaping.</p>
<p>When we were visiting kids at college, we always took them and any friends/boyfriends/roommates out to dinner. It was always a fun experience and as EK says it’s great to listen to their conversations and learn what’s going on in their lives. Never had a kid say no–I can’t go to dinner. Friends didn’t refuse either. In fact, most of the time I found that their friends were quite pleased with a nice dinner and a chance to relax and go out. I grew up with parents who were incredibly frugal and would never, ever do anything as “wasteful” (their words) as spending money on a restaurant meal. They spent so much time worrying about saving money (even when they were perfectly comfortable financially) that there wasn’t much joy in their lives. I enjoy eating out, especially at a nice restaurant, and I like it even better when I can share it with my kids.</p>
<p>YES!! I love it!</p>
<p>"it’s great to listen to their conversations and learn what’s going on in their lives. "</p>
<p>I’ve learned more about my D from these dinners. Take a half dozen grad school opera singers … add wine and cheap food—stories, stories, stories. At graduation, the Dean warned me to stop feeding the singers.
“They’re like stray cats…you will never be rid of them”</p>
<p>No…I want to be able to talk freely one on one with my S, to discuss anything that might be troubling or of concern. That can’t happen with friends at the table.</p>
<p>We come to visit our son, not his group of friends that he see 7 days a week.</p>
<p>Once in a while we’d take a friend along but most of the time it was just us and the kid.
Since most of our visits were for Sunday lunch, the majority of his friends weren’t even awake.</p>
<p>We’re lucky in that DD is a 3 hour drive away. I’m planning a visit for this weekend :). Yes, feeding her and any of her friends (up to the 6 ppl my car will hold) is always offered. Sometimes she wants to just have a quiet evening or 2, sometimes a gaggle comes along. It brings joy to my life and to D’s. One of my fondest and funniest memories is of my first visit to D freshman year. I offered to take her roomie and a few other friends out with us for dinner. They were thrilled to be eating anywhere but on campus. I almost sucked red wine into my sinuses when D’s roommate ordered Mac and Cheese at this rather upscale restaurant. I asked her if this wasn’t just like regular dorm fare…the answer…No, this stuff hasn’t been under a heat lamp for 4 hours! (this particular campus is know for…um… food that leaves much to be desired).</p>
<p>We just visited one of the campuses on DS short list … he knows a few guys that currently attend. We took a few of them out to breakfast with us. We all loved it.
…haha…I’m a sucker for strays.</p>
<p>Sure did take the kids and friends out. It was our pleasure to do so. We also know that out own kids were treated to dinners out when folks visited!</p>
<p>Why DD even got taken out by some CC folks who were in her college neck of the woods!</p>
<p>Taking our son and his friends out was one of the great joys for us of the college years. So much fun to listen to them all chattering away. Senior year, one of his good friends made dinner for US and we spent a wonderful evening at an off-campus apartment with our son and several other students. We just got back from Kansas City where son is living post-graduation. We always included his GF and other local friends in our dinner plans. Lots of BBQ!</p>
<p>This is one of our favorite things to do!</p>
<p>Four years ago we took my son and all his senior teammates out for a 21st birthday dinner. They still talk about it. I loved it – I think it was 12 handsome athletes, my DH and me for dinner at one of everyone’s favorite restaurants in a private room. </p>
<p>Now, I have S2 at the same school and when I go up there we take him and his friends out. I love meeting his friends and hearing them all talk and interact. You learn things about your kids that you’d never guess when you see them with their peers.</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily inexpensive – but it can be managed.</p>
<p>As the mother of an only child, I tend to adopt the friends. We’ve had nice dinners with other families on drop off weekends and made some wonderful friends that way. This summer, son lived on campus, and two of his best friends were in town as well. What a pleasure it was to take these two young men out to dinner and get to know them. I will miss them so much when he graduates.</p>
<p>First child to college, first family weekend, so this is well timed. I made reservations including my son bringing a friend for dinner, but he doesn’t sound like he wants to invite anyone. I didn’t initially limit him to 1 person, but since he didn’t give me any indication that’s what I went with.</p>
<p>Yes. It was one of our favorite things to do with both our daughter and son.</p>
<p>The offer was always open to as many friends as they wanted to invite (or who could fit into the family van). Many times the van was overloaded.</p>
<p>The best part at dinner was to listen more than talk. We loved listening to them talk to each other about the college experiences they’re sharing.</p>
<p>It’s the part of our children’s college we miss the most.</p>