AIBU not to invite DFriend to party?

[Dinosauraddict]

Having a moral conundrum so putting it out to MNetters... every couple of months DH and I host a get-together at our house, this includes a slightly larger annual Christmas party. We keep it fairly small and many people stay over. I go all out on catering etc (we have friends that are veggie, coeliac etc all catered for) and ours is the only house big enough to host so it always falls to me. Our friends aren't a single group of friends - we invite all our closest from different walks of life, but it's usually the same people so they know each other and get along well, apart from one. This is an old friend of mine (from school days) and we now work in the same field. However, she has MH problems and all our friends (and my DH) struggle to cope with her. She is incredibly socially awkward and offends guests without meaning to. She is super demanding and criticises everything. I will be heavily pregnant and even I think I'll find her harder to deal with this year. WIBU not to invite her to our Christmas party this year? My DH and other friends don't want me to invite her. But I feel really guilty. I also know that she will find out party has happened and be hurt she wasn't invited...

For me it would depend on whether I need to keep things civil with her for work purposes. If not then I wouldn’t invite her, if she finds out it may be the end of the friendship which it seems you wouldn’t be that bothered by. Life’s too short to pander to difficult people.

I don't understand why she's even your friend, honestly. Rude, demanding and critical. I'd be binning her off and I certainly wouldn't invite her to the party. Why ruin it for everyone else?

I wouldn't invite her and wouldn't put anything about the party on social media, in case she saw it. Would she find out about it if your other guests did the same?

Surely she knows she's socially awkward? Maybe your party is her idea of hell?
I'd make a specific arrangement to see her separately to the party, in an environment she's most comfortable in. Then not invite her for the party. I'd avoid lying as I find these things always come out.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. I'm not going to invite her, but will arrange to see her separately in Dec for a 1:1 catch up. I don't want to completely sacrifice the friendship, and still want to support her generally, but the party is not the place for that.