Rule
Make sure you have enough food. Sounds easy right, but for some reason my Grandmother always over made food, and my other family members never had enough.
So how do you plan accordingly?
First what time is your party, if it's prime meal time you'll need to plan for more food, if it's inbetween meal times, a bit less.
On average plan on 5 pieces of food per person, per hour. For a cocktail party... if you are serving stuffed dates, assume people will either love or hate them, so maybe 3 per person.
Know your audience, is it a dessert reception or a full on dinner party... all of those things will make a difference.
First and foremost, always have food available when your guests arrive... pretzels, veggies, roasted potato's something.
