Mother's Day is a great time to take Mom out for dinner, but not everybody thinks so this year.

Some families are thinking twice about dining out because of the sagging economy and rising prices for everything from meals to gasoline.

Robert Jenkins of Milwaukee's Bayou restaurant had 300 advance reservations for the holiday last year but has only about 220 this year. He says he's been hoping each time the phone rings that it will be someone else booking a spot in his dining room overlooking the Milwaukee River.

Still, research analyst George Van Horn predicts about $3.5 billion will be spent nationwide on eating out in full-service restaurants on Sunday, up about 13 percent from last year.

He says many people still don't want to cut back on special occasions like Mother's Day.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)