Entertaining doesn't stress me out, but I do have SWMBO who does all the "entertaining". I just cook and drink. Or drink and cook.

My fantasy kitchen is in the basement. I'd send food up with a dumbwaiter.

I get stressed until I've decided on the menu then I start to enjoy it. I have to admit that I'm very much the type of person that feels that people can take us as they find us. If there's a bit of dust then so what. I don't think Europeans are as exacting as you Americans in terms of acomodating your guests - being a pharmacy for example LOL Oh, and LOTS of wine makes everyone happy LOL

We have get togethers at my son's house now that I'm older, and every single family gathering there is a pot luck. Everyone has a great time, and he loves having left overs to snack on. The same for his parties with his friends, and they actually like bringing food and showing off their special macaroni salads and whatnot.

Like anything else, it takes practice. 12 is on the border between entertaining and catering, though it helps if half of that are the people who live in your house or near to it. The cleaning gets me too. Not the actual cleaning part, which we keep up with and for which I have help, but the rearranging and tidying to transform the house into an entertainment zone. I had a family room on my wish list for houses, but that didn't happen. The whole downstairs, while not really "open concept" is one big entertaining zone. So I start on that at least a month before a feast, and if I didn't put it on low priority at other times, I'd be better prepared.

For actual cleaning, you can mark a day in your schedule that will be cleaning day, and all family members who want to retain your good graces will help.

Same with the shopping. Set a menu early and assess your pantry thoroughly. Also plan meals for the time between when you bring home the perishables and actually have the party. Even pre-make some of them. Break up the shopping into doable portions over a few days. Get the staples and paper and all out of the way first, etc.

Unless you're having one of those drink with the chef parties, a la minute isn't your friend. No matter how good that soup that you mix the cream into at the last second is, save yourself a lot of anxiety by doing a soup that won't be ruined if it boils and which you don't have to stand over at all. Things like that. Save the fancy one for when you have no more than four guests. If you have parts of the menu you can make and freeze ahead, do that. Never ever, don't even think about ever, make a Pavlova for dessert. Besides being a serious breach of that nothing a la minute rule, just thinking about it is a sure way to make the day anything from unbearably humid to raging storms. If the only thing coming out of your kitchen and the only thing you'll be responsible for on the day is the dessert, and you're just desperate to make a Pavlova, and the weather report is propitious, and your indoor environment will support it, well then go ahead. They'll all be very impressed. But do look up a picture of a half eaten Pavlova first. It's exceedingly unattractive and maybe not worth a day's isolation, work and prayer. (Yes, this is an exceedingly long metaphor, and it's supposed to be funny, but there is a firm lesson in there that goes a big step beyond the no a la minute rule.)

Anticipate: Family from out of town still think of you as family. Put together a basket of common needs like aspirin, toothbrushes, etc. All that "pharmacy" stuff. Make it pretty with some colored fingertip towels and put it in the bathroom your guests will be using. If you make it easy for them to help themselves, they won't need to ask you. Also, make one of the kids responsible for seeing to the comfort of the guests, whether that means a cold drink, an ice pack for a booboo, a band-aid for the booboo, or anything else. Make sure that kid knows where the neosporin is, as well as any other odd thing in the house, so if they need something you haven't thought of you have a runner. You can also tell your kid to look in the top drawer in your bathroom, where you might not want a guest rummaging. Oh, and do this like a month before they arrive. Make up the basket and put it on the top shelf in the linen cabinet or something. Not something to be done at the last minute. Refresh and keep it for next time, as well.

Entertaining is like that old saw about how to eat an elephant (one bite at a time). It really is fun once you get into it. There are always moments of panic, but if you're organized, there's a plan to prevent the freak outs. BTW, I make extensive lists including a printed menu, the names and phone numbers of all expected guests, shopping lists, to-do lists, and a timetable of which foods need to be put in which appliance when. I also have a table setting diagram for the minions, which gifts go to whom if it's a wrapping paper occasion, etc. By the time company arrives, my brain is fried. The lists do my thinking for me. :)

Stick with it. It gets easier.

A major party 40-guests was planned.

Party day, everything was ready, then a freak thunder storm came knocking out power, which was no problem. I had a high power generator.

The problem was many trees in town were down and many streets were closed to traffic and traffic was a mess because there were no traffic lights.

I spent the entire time getting to lost guests to direct them to the house because GPSs could not get around all the closed local streets.

Cooking was crazy (very creative modified menu/recipes! LOL) to get food made to feed all guests.

It was a fun day just the same.

dcarch

Because I spent many years with a massive smoker in the garage, we were always the hosts of large barbecues. It wasn't unusual for us to host 30 or 40 people in our home. Here are some of the things I learned and practiced to make these forays a success:

1. Always start a party with empty garbage cans. This will make cleanup much easier, especially if you have to wait a couple of days for garbage pickup after the party is over.

2. Disposable plates and silverware are your friend. We favor plastic plates over paper because they hold up better to barbecue sauce and can be quickly washed and tossed in the recycle bin along with the used plastic silverware and cups.

3. If you can cook it the day before and simply reheat it for serving - do it! Barbecued meat can be cooked early in the day and then held in a hot box for hours until your guests arrive. This allows you to cleanup the cooker(s) long before party time.

4. Don't try to please everyone. You're providing free food and a place to eat it. Your guests are the ones who must be a bit accommodating. I know this sounds somewhat unfriendly, but after you do this several dozen times, you will find it easy to take a hard stance on "menu managers."

5. Clean as you go. Empty the trash, if nothing else.

6. Avoid serving alcohol or at least anything stronger than beer or wine. Remember, if someone gets drunk at your party and then drives home, causing an accident, you will be held liable in a lawsuit. Plus, who wants to have drunks at their party?

7. You have friends that you will invite to your party who ALWAYS arrive late. Tell them the party starts a half hour before it really starts. Don't try to serve everyone at the same time, it never works. Slow your pace, relax, everyone will eat, most will get hot food, those who come late, well, they won't.

8. Wash those platters, bowls, etc. that your guests bring and make sure they take them home!

9. Prepare in advance for leftovers. Make room in the fridge. Buy a supply of plastic containers and ziploc bags. This is a wonderful time to purge the refrigerator.

10. Don't try to do it alone. A one-man band can only play one song at a time. A team will make the party more enjoyable for you, relieve some of the stress, and even give you a chance to eat some of the food you've cooked.

It does stress me out, right up until they show up at the door. I've made it all ahead of time, made it so clean, all I have to do is put away the leftovers and put the dishes in the dishwasher. I love to have people over, but it's hard getting to the point that dinner is on the table. Point A to point B is the stress factor for me.

Excitement, anticipation are forms of stress so it doesn't necessarily has to be a negative feeling. Unless it means seeing certain people, ha ha

I like having family and friends over, and I like cooking for and entertaining them. I regularly had family parties of 40 or 45 in my very small house in White Cloud, and it was just a jam packed cacophony of conversation.

I don't want people in my kitchen, for cooking or for cleaning up. Everyone wants to "help" but no one really knows where anything is or where it belongs after being cleaned, it takes more time to direct than to just do it myself.

I do try to provide family favorites and I know several members of the family have various health issues that require dietary attention. My daughter, stepdaughter and aunt are all celiac, my dad was diabetic as are several other family members, one has diverticulitis, my daughter is lactose intolerant, my mother is allergic to lemon. Since I never want to run out of food, I tend to have too much, although many dishes are vegetables that meet pretty much everyone's dietary needs. My 80 year old mother is the pickiest eater in the family, so there have been meals where she ate nothing but dinner rolls, raw broccoli and peanut butter fudge!

About those teenagers, though. If they were in my kitchen, cooking and messing things up, they'd be cleaning it up themselves. Even The Princess, who is 12, knows that if she makes a mess, she cleans it up.

plllog's idea of a basket is a good one. My family doesn't ask for many things but the two items that are always in demand are band-aids and Tylenol/Advil/your headache remedy of choice.

Other than that, I cook, they eat. Elery helps me clean up. I always clean house before gatherings, but it takes me two days, not a month, and that's if I decide to wash windows!

Annie

I stress depending on who is invited. If I haven't seen them in a long time or very often, i stress. If they are close friends, I don't stress have seen my house clean and messy before, and they know I can cook.

I always cook too much, and knowing this, I have to-go containers handy or I tell people to bring containers. I wash and save deli style tubs or restaurant doggie bag containers. No need for a return or hunting down who has what. If I am a guest at someones home, I try to bring it in a container that I don't need to take back home. Salad bowls and utensils are from the Dollar store and I tell the host to keep them for the next party. (I grabbed several large plastic salad bowls at Walmart last year for .25 cents each in an awful purple color on a clearance. I don't want that back!) If it is returned, I do save it and use again.

I threw one party several years ago. While I was outside entertaining, old friends hit my kitchen, packed everything up, cleaned it up and I walked into spotless! And everything was were it belong too. I loved that.

My best cleaner upper is Dad! He throws me out so he can clean up.

I love to entertain....and the larger the group, the more fun, and the simpler the meal!
For a lot of years we belonged to a dinner club of 5 couples, who met every month, meaning that I entertained the group of 10 every 5 months. Everyone brought an assigned dish to that so the hosts were only responsible for the main course and the drinks. The hostess would set a beautiful, seasonal table, with stems and cloth napkins, candles and a centerpiece. We got so much in a pattern that everyone took their own leftovers home in their dish; and after I lost my husband I did it all myself.
When I was younger I would regularly have a party for 40 to 60, served buffet, usually eat in your lap. A couple of times I did set tables for 24 to 28 with silver ( well at least "silverware!") and stems and dinner plates and cloth napkins. Walked my feet off on that one just setting the tables...but I was a sweet young thing of 40 at the time!
Our after midnight New Year's Eve midnight breakfasts were legendary. I made a huge...giant! egg casserole and put it into one oven, set to start at 11:30 and a ham in the other oven to start about 11.... We would hurry home from the party at The Club before the clock was done striking, and light all the candles...there were easily 50 all over the house...turn out all the lights but for the kitchen and serve bloody marys, coffee, home made cinnamon rolls, sliced ham, cheesy egg casserole and a punch bowl full of seasonal fruit, cut up. I put out stacks of plates and forks and a few knives. I did use paper napkins and plastic glasses for the bloody Marys, but used real cups and mugs for the coffee. Clean up on that was epic! But most of it waited until morning! What was important was to make sure all the candles got blown out!
My rules for a party? Give the house a slick up, no need for deep cleaning now. If it's buffet, make sure there as many little tables as possible set where people can set their "stuff". Have plenty of liquor and have everyone's favorite brand. If you are worried about your friends getting drunk, you have the wrong friends.
Always use "real" plates and knives and forks, food just looks and tastes better....and it's really not hard to wash a stack of plates. I just bought 22 Haviland Limoges at the Salvation Army for less than $.69 each. And have a good friend help keep glasses filled and take used plates to the kitchen.
And mostly of all, enjoy your own party!

Re the month of cleaning--it's not really cleaning. My house is thoroughly cleaned at least twice a week with lots of intermediate cleaning as well. It's things like getting rid of the cartons I've been saving, finishing projects so the materials can be removed from the living space, laundering the day to day tablecloths, which I save up if they're merely dusty to have a full load, closer to the day laundering anything that will stand still so the dirty laundry as well as the "but it's not dirty yets!" are out of the way, clearing my desk of pending this and that, shooing of art supplies to the studio and barring the door, etc., etc. If I had a secondary living space where projects could be neatened rather than dispensed with and a laundry room big enough to stash things in, etc., it wouldn't be a big deal.

Cleaning isn't overwhelming if your house is already clean and tidy. If your house is messy and in need of cleaning, then getting into it a bite at a time, half an hour here and there, is much less exhausting than trying to do it at once. If you start weeks out from when you think you need to have it clean and tidy, you'll also have a chance to teach the kids (and maybe the spouse, though that's debatable) how to help you get things done to your standards. If you wait until company is due, it gets into that "easier to do it myself" zone.

I used to stress out but after years and years I learned that I didn't have to be wonder-woman. I never have sit-down menus except for close family and yes paper plates are OK. I've served buffet-style Christmas day for the past few years because it's so hectic with the gift opening and grandkids, etc. and it's much easier. Other than that not much entertaining going on and that's also OK with me.

I love to have company. Saturday we had 45 here for our granddaughter's first birthday. A meal for everyone (for most came a great distance) besides the cake and ice cream. I host one or two luncheons a month and we try to have company for dinner every month. In June, I had 20 coming for lunch and woke to find no power. The tables were set and I had baked pies the night before. My stove, thankfully, is gas and can be lit with a match. I changed the menu from an oven baked pasta dish to a stove top one. We had candles on the table and thankfully the house is brick and stayed cool without air conditioning.

I've always said my favorite thing to do is clean in the morning, then prep dinner in the afternoon and have 6 or 8 or dinner that evening.

And I try new dishes, too. Every time. Sometimes the whole meal and sometimes just the entree and dessert are new.

Oh, and for the party on Saturday,we used real plates and real forks (even though it was a "garden party".

I'm not much of one for paper goods.

Martha

Sheesh, you get firelies all over - we have them in Europe too!

There's fireflies in the Middle East as well. Love them.

I'm stressed until the guests show up and it's too late to change anything. No point in stressing anymore. At this point I just tell myself not to take myself too seriously. Worst that can happen is nobody would touch the food but I always have bread and butter, so nobody'll starve and it'll be fun all the same.

I thought so, Islay and winter cat, which is why I was surprised that my guests had never seen them. At least two, a woman from London and another from Sweden told me they'd heard of fireflies but had never seen them. A friend of my daughter from SKorea told her he had never seen them. Perhaps I jumped to a conclusion that "most" had never seen them. There were so many fireflies that night, so many people oohing and ahhing in delight, it was magical. Sort of the perfect complement.

Thanks to both of you. ~Sheesh

I used to do a lot of entertaining (love to cook although dcarch's magnificent presentations are way beyond my ability, LOL). Lavish, sit down, just-bring-yourselves type. I joked to my DH that having guests over was the only reason I'd clean house.

I'm afraid we're the type that if there's a book to read or vacuuming to do, we pick the former over the latter :)) On average, in those days, I did a dinner for 6-10 people every 4-6 weeks. Loved doing Chinese banquets, 8+ courses.

Or I'd do something very different, like an all-German menu or all-Portuguese food. Once I reconnected briefly with a woman I hadn't seen in 20 yrs and after greeting one another, the first words out her mouth were, "I still remember that party you threw where it was all different soups!"

Ironically, I've gotten neater in my 'old age'/retirement, and still love cooking....but we seldom if ever entertain at home. Out here, except for the rare "invite everyone for a blow-out bash", people now socialize at restaurants. Picking restaurants is almost as interesting as actually going to one, when there's so many to choose from. This is pretty much Restaurant Nirvana land.

We got together with our favorite group of friends - there's just six of us total, and the others are much younger than we are - this past Sunday. They are in the midst of their careers so it's great to hear what's happening with them. The six of us can usually only get our schedules to match 4-5x/yr these days; they are pretty busy which we are very sympathetic to (we're retired).

It was a choice between Spanish tapas and Mexican regional. Due to the logistics of running errands, the group picked the latter. Amazing food, but all of us expected it to be -- the new chef is a woman we've been following from restaurant to restaurant for the last five years. She's an amazing talent, one of the true young geniuses on the SF Bay Area's culinary scene. Our group has eaten at her last three restaurants - Southern/Cajun, Californian, and now Mexican - and the food has been exceptional every time.

This is Calavera's current menu. The cuisine is authentic Oaxacan. My DH, who normally is indifferent to tortillas, flipped over their tortillas. There are several high-end Mexican restaurants that now make their own nixtamalized corn tortillas, but Calavera's version, from an heirloom blue corn variety, were the best any of us had ever had. The flavor was incomparable.

http://calaveraoakland.com/menu/ 

We have firreflies in California, but not all parts. Not where I live. I think it's the wrong climate. They probably don't appear much in big cities, too. I've seen them in the woods, but only their lights, not the whole bug. :)

Jakkom, I love cooking but your dining out group sounds wonderful!

It's a problem, isn't it. I love to cook and entertain, but I also love to eat out. It so very nice to linger in our dining room or backyard with friends after dinner, but it's also awfully nice to eat in a restaurant and leave the mess for someone else! I love the planning, shopping, fixing up the house, cooking, setting the table or the yard, and I love eating new things in fine or exotic restaurants, or something completely offbeat from a food truck! Such dilemmas. : )

plllog: I grew up and lived in CA for 60 years and never saw fireflies. Are you sure you weren't inhaling too hard? ; ]

I had a niece who spent her first five years in England and she was amazed by flying bugs when she came home. I quote her when they came home" we never had these magical creatures in our garden back home" maybe the rain there? I loved seeing her amazement at fireflies or as we call them lighten' bugs and even flies!

I am ok with larger parties20 and up. What makes me nuts is the step kids coming over (we get along great and they are adults). I am proud of my cooking and try to make a special dinner. I time it out and they are always late. So my own fault because I never learn. Damn the prime rib or fish that sit too long because I practice the doing the same and expecting a new result! Need to learn to throw burgers on the grill when they get here!

Entertaining anyone always stresses me out, it all starts with a week before it happens all the way up to when the guests leave, then I can finally relax. I much prefer being a guest vs being a host

I definitely stress. My house is clean, but I get what pillog said about tidying up that box of crap or pile of magazines on the counter that all of a sudden needs to find a home or the trash can.

Then I stress about the menu. I do like to entertain, set a pretty table or have a casual bbq. Last night DS and his girlfriend brought over a couple more friends and I had an impromptu bbq dinner. It was a last minute dinner for 6 with too much food.

My go to for an easy peasy entree that pleases most everyone, is pork tenderloin marinated and done on the grill to medium rare. I usually have too much food, but leftovers are good too. I will send food home with my daughter or son and feel happy about it.

One thing I've learned is it is OK not to make everything yourself. I fill in with a rice mix or a tweaked frozen polenta dish from Trader Joe's. Last night DH picked up fresh corn from the farmstand and I cut up some veggies and grilled them along with the the pork. Dessert was watermelon that one of the friend's cut up while I made dinner.

DH is happy to help with clean up, although last night DS did it all and might I add, did a terrific job!

Yes, there are fireflies in CA. More in the SoCA than NorCA, though. And they only light up in the larval stage, so with fewer species and limited habitat they are very hard to find:

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-new-species-of-fireflies-20150626-story.html

On the good side, when you're on the coast there's fewer mosquitos and gnats!

LOL! Too true! I hadn't thought of that, but there are lots of gnats and mosquitoes where there are fireflies! Chas045, I'm younger than you and don't get your reference about inhaling--are you talking about air polution? I saw my first fireflies when I was nine. I've seen fireflies in the woods near or on Mt. Lassen as well as near Susanville. I think I might have seen some in SoCal as well, maybe on Mt. Palomar? Or near Julian? I seem to associate fireflies with woods and elevation, and Summer. As well as gnats. ;) It is definately a blessing to live near the coast. :D

So, it sounds from Jakkom's article like I've seen the kind that they "just found" in the Santa Monicas. The canyons are woodsier than the mountains themselves. Yes, they don't flicker. Just little amber dots of light. Certainly not enough to light up a whole lawn, besides the fact that I've never seen one anywhere near a lawn. So having read the description of Eastern fireflies, I'm guessing I might be impressed too. Maybe there are less flashy ones all over the world and the ones Sheesh's guests and Anne's niece were impressed by really are impressive. :)

Anne, what I do with the ones who are never on time (in an otherwise quite punctual group) is call the meal with a gathering period. Drinks (rehydration--doesn't have to be alcohol) and little non-dinner-spoiling nibbles, or full out hors d'oeurve depending on the occasion. A half hour to an hour of low stress greetings and catching ups. And when the late arrivers saunter in just when I want people to sit down for dinner, that works too. :) If it's just the kids, that's even easier. It just means getting dressed (if you're planning to change) an hour earlier and wearing an apron, and if they actually come before you really expect them, you can have them set the table or stir a pot, making them feel at home, or set them down with drinks and crackers. :)

Thanks Pillog . I am the one at fault because I continue to do it! I never learn and get myself all upset! I need to stop being so type A about it. Oddly that is the only thing I am not carefree with. Thankful DH thinks my quirks are cute!

plllog: so cal air pollution? Now I suppose that might do it. No, I was thinking of that well known intoxicant that Bill Clinton said he tried when young 'but never inhaled'.

I have been to Susanville once and the Sierra over several summers without any siteings. You must have been lucky to be in the right places at the right time. Re lighting up a lawn: now that I am 'an expert' on east coast fireflies; with my newfound experience for those who have never seen them; they are certainly not big enough to actually light up a lawn, but they are bright enough to see both close up and at a distance. In an open area one can sometimes see many at a time creating a flying or hovering jewel like appearance. Ours flash on for at least a second and then are off for five to perhaps ten seconds. I did see one perhaps damaged firefly lying in some brush that stayed on for perhaps an hour. They sure impressed me, and I still go out looking for them when they abound.

Hm... I've spent plenty of time in the woods in the Yosemite/Sequoia area and don't remember seeing fireflies there. Plenty in Lassen County though. :) I haven't been there recently--I hope they're still there a bazillion generations later. I don't do intoxicants other than very infrequent alcohol in very limited quantities. Contrary to popular belief, SoCal isn't one big contact high. :D Oh! Unless you meant other people's lit items? No. There weren't other people where the fireflies were. Even if there were one or two, it wouldn't account for the number of fireflies. According to The Straight Dope (not the smoking kind), fireflies (including California ones) need damp and snails, which explains why I associate them with damp, woodsy, remote places. ;)

Fireflies are seasonal and only emit light when it's mating season. so if you were in an area when it wasn't firefly time you might conclude there weren't any there, but at another time there might have been a whole twinkling galaxy of them.
According to this site,https://www.quora.com/In-which-parts-of-the-US-can-lightning-bugs-fireflies-lampyridae-be-found-and-what-kinds-of-conditions-do-they-live-in fireflies are not found much west of Kansas....and not in cities, of course, for a lot of artificial light inteferes with them finding a mate.
And the light up bugs found in the west and in California are not "flies" but more worms and very VERY rare. Read the article in the link posted by jakkmom

No, there are flying ones. I've seen them moving through the air. They're different than the descriptions of the ones in the East, however.

I get to see the northeastern fireflies! :)

Re the original question, I absolutely love to entertain!!! but I've realized that I put the majority of my energy into the food. I see photos of beautiful party setups, decorations, table settings with centerpieces and candles and do-dads... but that's just not me, I guess. :p My goal is to make sure that my guests are comfortable and happy. I also don't stress because my parents always entertained... when I was very young my mother told me to just dismiss any failures, and I do! :)

I love to entertain, the more the merrier! Do I get
stressed out? Yup.

I find I enjoy entertaining outdoors better; it keeps
people out of my kitchen! LOL Our pool house/shed has a tiny kitchen area (and
bathroom) and the grills are on the deck off the pool house/shed. The entire
set up is 100+ feet from the main house. Nothing fancy but it works great!

I prep everything in the main kitchen then load it in the
car and drive it out to the pool house. The mess stays out there and I don't have to deal with folks in my kitchen. LOL

Whether I entertain in the house or outdoors, my main
stress is my immediate family. They are a huge help and without them I could
not do as much entertaining. However, we all work a ton of hours at our regular
jobs and this leads to DH, DD & DS procrastinating on tasks. I end up stressed
because they are trying to complete tasks at the last minute when I would
prefer to be relaxing a bit. I have learned to just accept this is going to
happen but it doesn’t always make it easy. LOL

I have a schedule of 6 or so events I host each year varying
in size from 14 to 75-ish guests so I plan ahead and purchase ahead. Of course
that does not preclude any impromptu events that may crop up which tend to
feature whatever I have on hand.

stir_fryi - You have gotten great advice from the folks in this
discussion on how to manage entertaining. The only suggestion I can add is keep
notes. Every time I entertain a planned event, I keep notes as I go along. Info
includes when invitations went out and by what means, cost of items purchased
and when and where, details of the ramp up time i.e. when I started and
finishing cleaning and decorating, what tasks I did, recipes used and
popularity, serving pieces used, etc. I do de-brief after and take stock of
leftover food, alcohol, make notes on what went well and what did not. I know it
sounds like a lot of work and sometimes it is but many times it is just a few
notes. From those notes, I build a game plan, shopping list and timeline for the next years’
events. It also helps me track my entertaining budget for each event and for the
year.

Off topic . I don't know enough about bugs worldwide. When I have traveled I never paid attention. Kids are so much more observant.

I love entertaining, it invigorates me rather than stresses me. Although maybe it's stress in a good way.

When I think "entertaining" I think friends , not family. Entertaining to me is a dinner party, cocktail party, weekend cottage company etc. I love creating the menu, shopping, cooking special things. I particularly love creating a theme or an atmosphere.......the housework not so much.

I host family gets togethers regularly...20-40 depending on who has another who in tow ....but that is not entertaining to me. I cook, they eat, we all argue !

Having the responsibility of making sure everyone is happy and everything is clean can cause a lot of anxiety. If you choose to throw more parties in the future you will see it will get easier and easier because you will get more used to it. Don't worry though it happens to everyone and is completely normal.

Oh goodness, yes, keep notes, just as moosemac says! Notes make every next party that much easier. I love the planning and doing, but why rethink everything? I'm not a very organized over- planner, but I like seeing things crossed off my lists. It helps. Have fun!

Notes let you know how much chicken to buy for 20 for lunch and how many pounds of pasta to fix for 50....and how many eggs it takes to fill that blue casserole and how long it takes to heat from the refrigerator!

shopgoodwill.com if you are still looking for magnalite cookware john liu