something borrowed
If you need to borrow card tables or games, arrange to do so well in advance, and to pick them up the day before the party if that's con­venient for those from whom you're borrowing.

here's how! department
If your husband's responsibility is the bar department, yours is to see that he checks his needs and tells you what to get or gets it himself. There's no reason to delay this particular bit of supplying. If you're to serve wine with the dinner, its purchase may also be your husband's responsibility, and he can discharge it early, tactfully prodded by you.

good party food
Give yourself plenty of time in which to plan the menu. There's no sense trying to do anything so important in a hurry. If your lack of enthusiasm for cooking or your general life attitude at the moment leaves you uninspired about food, look through the Party Cookbook section of this book. A number of good dishes are bound to appeal to you. Keep in mind the season, the number of guests you're going to have, and whether or not you'll have any help in the kitchen or the dining room, as well as the number of courses you will offer. Then, complete the list. For instance, if it's a dinner party you're planning, start with cocktails in the living room. Include the canapes. Then plan the courses of your dinner. Next list the coffee and, if you serve them, liqueurs. Finish with whatever drinks you intend to serve after dinner.

what must you shop for?
The next step is to make the requisite market lists from your menu. Put down on one list all the staples, liquor and other foods you can buy a day or so before the party. To do this you will have to go through the recipes for the dishes you propose to serve, and check your kitchen shelves, refrigerator and liquor cabinet. At the same time, make another list of food items, like salad greens and fresh fruits, which cannot be bought until the day before or the day of the party. The more you can accomplish beforehand the better, but perishable foods should never be bought and served semi-fresh just to save the bother of going to market again. You may even have a third list for things to be picked up or delivered just before the party, such as ice.

Foods like shrimp or lobster, which you may have had cooked at the market, fall into this category too.

the clean-up for a party
One of the hopes closest to our hearts is to have guests think our home is attractive. Ideas of attractiveness differ widely, but there is perfect agreement that dirt and untidiness hide beauty and detract from comfort.