How do I host dinner and still get to sit down?

I’m hosting dinner on for . I’d like to cook , and my kitchen has . I want to be with my guests, not at the stove, from the moment they arrive. Tell me which dishes on my menu will keep me in the kitchen, with a swap or a make-ahead version for each. Then write a timeline that works backward from the time guests arrive: two days before, the day before, that morning and the last hour. Once they’re here, nothing is left for me but reheating and plating. Tell me which dish you’d drop if I’m running late, and what to say when a guest asks what they can bring.