A party consisted of a man, his wife, his four sons and their wives, and three children in each son's family. How many were there at the party?

Let's count the total number of individuals section by section:
1. The man and his wife: $2$
2. His four sons and their wives: $4\text{ sons}+4\text{ wives}=8$
3. Children in the sons' families: Each of the $4$ sons has $3$ children $⟹4\times 3=12$

Summing them together:

$$\text{Total people}=2+8+12=22$$