With preparation and planning, entertaining can be very enjoyable and a lot of fun. If you do as much planning and preparation in advance as possible it will allow you to have fun and enjoy your company making it both satisfying and fun. The other thing that helps the entire experience is to clean everything up and put everything back together after your company leaves and before retiring for the night.
Below are links to two slide shows from House Beautiful with excellent tips I find very helpful in making entertaining enjoyable:
How to Set the Perfect Dinner Table
This reminds me of seeing your parents cleaning up after their holiday parties! xo
Where do you think I get it from! You should see me. I am a little fanatical when it comes to stuff like that. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!