Social invitation turns into a crowd

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I are friends with another couple (“Allen” and “Laura”) we enjoy very much. We live about an hour apart, so we don’t see them as often as we’d like. When we do make plans, Laura almost always invites along her sister and her husband. While they are a nice couple, we would sometimes prefer it be just the four of us.

We are spending the winter in another state and have invited them to come for a visit. Laura is already hinting around about wanting to invite her sister and husband. How do I politely handle this? — CROWDED IN THE EAST

DEAR CROWDED:

Handle this by politely telling Laura that you and your husband would prefer it just be a foursome this time, and perhaps another time you can include her sister. Period!