You performing AND hosting? If so recruit a spare host to help.

Ask a friend to come real early to check your set-up as a guest who has never been in your home will encounter it. Think in terms of making your house self-service-- prep all you can in advance so that it is all obvious, and then relax and let people be in charge of themselves.

Have a quiet room ready in case anyone feels unwell or needs a place with a phone to answer a beeper. (And ask people to set beepers on silent/vibrate mode!)

I had most all my stuff done by the night before, for our Gathering, and then planned some down time on the actual day it began so I could get some distance from the madness of prep and settle into the fun of the event. I didn;t plan enough down time, for it got eaten up with last minute prep. Only thing I wish I had done differently-- go OUT for lunch before it all got crazy.

~S~

~S~