Hire a Caterer

I was just able to manage doing everything by myself for the number of guests we invited to my daughter's party a few weeks ago. The shopping, cooking, and cleaning were completed on schedule, so you would think it would be a breeze to host the party once guests arrived. Wrong. It's funny, but when you're in the throes of entertaining, you suddenly realize that cooking the food is only half the work. As the hostess, you spend a lot of time simply setting out the different courses, clearing the last one, fixing drinks, and fetching things that guests need which you may not have anticipated. Which is why, in hindsight, I might have hired a caterer to help out - not necessarily with all of the cooking, but to help with all of the other tasks of hosting a party.