If you are getting anxious and biting your nails, because its your turn to host the dinner party for your friends and family, then relax!

If you have the money, you could hire a party planner, spend time going over menus and stressing, or you could go somewhere in the middle.

If you have a great idea for your dinner party or Christmas party, then why not concentrate on the parts you like, such as the menu planning, cooking etc, and hire a couple of teens in your neighborhood or kids of your friends, to do the other parts, such as setting the tables, cleaning the house, or doing all the dishes afterwards?

Most teens at this time of year could use a few extra dollars, and are good workers, you are just hiring them to do the parts of your party that might put you over the edge with stress. You don't want your guests to forget what you look like because you are spending the entire time in the kitchen, they will feel bad. They want to see you.

Come up with a list, ahead of time, of the chores that drive you nuts when it comes to entertaining, such as peeling the potatoes, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, clearing the dirty dishes away, and helping serve dessert. I am sure you could come up with at least a couple of chores that would be worth hiring a teen for, and it would save you stress.

Think about it now, before all the good teens get booked! A friend of mine did this last year for her Christmas party dinner, and it worked out wonderful. She hired a friend of her daughters, to help set the tables, to clear the dishes and load the dishwasher, as well as help with coffee and dessert, and my friend was able to concentrate on her specialty, which was cooking the dinner.

Pay them well for a job well done, and you are likely to get them back again for that next event!