Reddit mentions of How to Host a Dinner Party

I like these 2 books on hosting: How to host a dinner party and What's a hostess to do

Based on my experience:

• Stick to recipes you're comfortable with so you don't worry about messing up.
  
• Try to prepare as much of the food as possible in the days before the party, if they will keep well.
  
• Have your playlists and sound system ready before the party. I've had to spend time messing with the audio during parties before, which adds to stress.
  
• Personally, I like to serve stuff like pasta and curry because they're one-pot dishes and the portions can be scaled up easily. Tomato-based sauces can be prepared beforehand. It's also easy to modify those dishes for people with dietary restrictions, by setting aside separate portions for them.