Plan Early: If possible, you should start planning your party early; this is because - as we're sure you've noticed - the month of December gets crazier and crazier as the days go by. So it's a good idea to take care of all the big things first (date, location, menu) and not worry about all the tiny details until a couple of days before the big soiree.

Make a Guest list: Invite only the number of people that you can handle. Remember that because of all the present shopping you'll be doing this month, you'll probably be on the verge of bankruptcy, so don't throw a shindig for 50 people if you can only afford to feed ten. Also take into account the size of your place and the fact that some of your guests will probably bring a friend or two without asking you. Finally, if you have to keep your guest list short, then cut out your work friends - you'll probably have a separate holiday party with them at the office/garage/zoo anyway.

Send out invitations

Once you've settled on who you're going to invite, it's time to invite them. Start inviting people as soon as possible because your guests will probably be busy with their own holiday chores and will need a lot of notice. Here are some rules on proper party-inviting so that you don't commit some egregious faux pas you didn't even know existed:

Do all your inviting at once so that nobody feels like he/she was invited as an afterthought or a replacement for another guest who couldn't make it. Either send out written invitations on the same day or just pick up the phone (the method that we prefer). If all your guests are technologically inclined (read: computer dorks), send out e-mail invitations through sendomatic.com or evite.com. (But call anyone who doesn't respond within a week, just in case).

Invite everybody yourself (as opposed to asking someone to pass the message along to others) so that everyone at the party feels comfortable showing up.

If it's OK for your guests to bring dates or kids, indicate it on the invitations; otherwise ask your guests to alert you in advance about anybody they're bringing. In either case, you should ask your guest to RSVP with an exact number of tag-alongs. It's not unreasonable for you to know how many people to expect and prepare for.

Give clues so that people will know how to dress and what to expect on the menu. Words like "causal" will indicate that jeans are OK, while words like "fancy-shmancy" will create a different set of expectations.

Set the date of your party on any Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve. Most people spend time with their families on Christmas Day, and after the 25th, everyone will be concentrating on New Year's, so don't plan on throwing your party then.

Menu Planning: Some suggestions: deli platters, vegetable platters (for the vegetarians), and anything that you know you can cook well and in huge portions. Or you can always call a caterer and not worry about it. If you plan to do it yourself, try our CHRISTMAS RECIPES

Set a Budget:

Figure out exactly much you need before heading to the store - this way you won't come away with 20 bags of miniature marshmallows and a battery-operated belly-dancing Santa. Here's the way to do it:

Write down everything you definitely want to have and estimate a reasonable cost next to it. Include everything from chip dip to poinsettias.
Always overprice when in doubt. If you think hot chocolate mix costs between $2.00 to $3.00 a box, mark it down as $3.00. This way, you won't be caught without enough money at the supermarket.
After you've made up your list, total the cost of all your items, and add another 10% to the price. Don't forget the paper napkins, plasticware, and extra toilet paper.
If the budget comes out to be way over what you expected to spend, critically revise your list. (Do you really need to personalize each guest's paper cup?)
Expect to spend about $50 on food and drink alone-more if you're entertaining more than ten people, and a lot more if you're planning to have a party where people might get, shall we say, "sloshed" on the eggnog.
Once you're at the supermarket, don't buy anything that's not on the list, unless it's something important that you forgot. Impulse buys are the bane of a good budget.