If this is your first party in that space, and you are going to be hosting with your husband, I think you should make sure you are free to mingle with the guests. I would say delegate as much responsibility as affordable. Maybe make a few special dishes or appetizers yourself to give it a personal touch and then let the professionals take over.

When my office hosts parties, we do something similar. We buy wine and beer from Costco, hire a bartender or two for the evening, and Whole Foods delivers party trays.

It looks like you can look into their menu and prices here.

Perhaps the best bet for both your sanity and your budget would be to get some prepared dishes delivered (I can vouch for the Whole Foods' crab cakes, yum) and then prepare the simpler items yourself (fruit and cheese platters, crudite and dips).

Seriously?! It is Dec.18. How are you going to cater this yourself or even find a caterer at this late hour?

Not sure how many people you'll be hosting, but I agree that utilizing your kitchen to make some of the food is a good idea. If you want to make all of the food yourself, doing something family style or buffet is generally easier (just because appetizers can be hard to do in large quantities). Last year I hosted 20 for Thanksgiving and did a trio of dips (along with a cheese board) for an appetizer. I made fresh hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara served with toasted pita and crudites.

Shrimp cocktail is one of my very favorite appetizers and is also easy to make ahead of time. I recommend the great recipe from Saveur. Other make-ahead dishes are anything in phyllo cups (you can buy these), pan-friend rounds of polenta with a topping (I recently did a cauliflower puree with pork tenderloin and it was really good) and mixed spiced nuts.

How many people will be attending?

There's lots of good advice in the links above! The main thing that I would say is if you decide to self-cater, make sure that most things you make don't need to be hot, but rather can be served at room temp or straight from the fridge. Pulling out things last minute from the oven and keeping them hot is difficult.

Do things that can be made ahead of time. Don't do labor intensive desserts--in fact, I almost always buy bite-size desserts from Trader Joe's, as they are good and easy. For a big cocktail party I recently threw I did the following, almost all of which could be done in advance):
-Crudite (steamed new potatoes and green beans, carrots, pretty radishes, etc.) with trio of dips: Dill Dip (greek yogurt, dill, garlic, good olive oil, salt and pepper), Trader Joe's Tapenade, and Feta Red Pepper Dip (block of feta processed with jar of roasted peppers and some lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper)
-Lots of crackers and pita
-Tortellini, Trader Joe's artichoke hearts, and grape tomatoes marinated in vinaigrette and strung on skewers (cook tortellini, marinate all overnight in ziplocks, skewer on day of party and serve room temp)
-Lemon Rosemary Chicken skewers served room temp with herbed mayo
-Bacon wrapped dates (only hot app)
-Cheese platter with grapes
-Devilled eggs with Dijon and capers
-Trader Joe's Meringues and Brownie bites

Other easy ideas: Smoked Salmon platter (with little cups of capers, grated boiled egg, red onion, and a block of cream cheese); Hot Cherry Peppers stuffed with cubes of Provolone; Roast beef from deli on crostini with goat cheese and dab of pre-made pesto; Goat cheese stuffed dates; Mini Mozzarella balls on skewers with tomato or roasted pepper drizzled with olive oil; Baked brie with Mango Chutney on top; New Potatoes with dallop of sour cream and caviar; Store bought green olives tossed with red pepper flakes and fresh orange zest; Shots of butternut squash soup...

Good luck!

Sorry, one more idea. Instead of making mini-meat appetizers, which is labor intensive, do a whole country ham or spiral-cut ham (like Honey Baked Ham), from the store. Serve with flavored mustards, red pepper jelly, and lots of biscuits or rolls (Sister Schubert's are v. good for non-homemade). You can feed a really large crowd with a whole ham!

Im so with PCD on this, way late... but not exactly doomed, just really late. I would get a line of inexpensive chafing dishes and sterno. Create something you can make in advance, re-heat in the oven, and keep warm with sterno. Think chicken marsala, sausage&peppers or casseroles. A large antipasti platter and cheese board utilizing a good number of things found around the olive/cheese bar at a market. Frozen shrimp can be cooked quickly and places on a platter with some dipping sauce. Also anything slathered between puff pastry (savory or sweet) usually comes out wonderfully (and in ten minutes). If your really trying to create the old school class, do a prime rib or roast beef station-- which is actually incredibly easy and self-sufficient (that is after you fork over the cash for a quality piece of bovine). Lastly do a dessert table: cakes pies, cookies, fruit, nuts - a little bit for everyone and this can easily be bought or made yourself. Its actually really quite easy; have two or three nice 'anchor (main dish) items and create a nice flow. Good luck

lotusmoss reminded me of something else I made recently that was a HUGE hit. It's hot, but you can prepare ahead of time.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baked-Brie-with-Mushrooms-and-Thyme-351537

I actually tripled the amount of mushrooms and also added some onions that I had baked in the oven until brown.

If you have a good enough attitude, I say go with the Costco route. You can even classy it up with Wholefood's or local baker order. Just put the pretty stuff out front and center with the alcohol. No one will care because they will be having too good a time.

If you are committed to personally contributing (or to cost cutting) just make the easy to store, chop and stir stuff--bean dips, hummus, salads, cheese platters, and the like.

Or if you are committed to show off your awesome skills, just make one really impressive dish you have made successfully before (and will be easy to store and heat) to be the centerpiece.

Just play to your strengths and don't underestimate a "this is my great aunt Kathryn Hepburn's brownies" story, which, by the way, you can find in the Gourmet cookbook.

Here is Mark Bittman with a 101 appetizers done in 20 minutes
(www.nytimes.com/2007/12/19/dining/19mini.html).

Just a note: It's not Jennie's fault it's late; she sent it quite a while ago, but it's been buried down in the queue!

Given that the question was asked a while ago, will the answers provided here be relevant or useful at this point?

appetizerstogo.com has a great selection & good deals. Id definately hire someone to oversee refills, cleanup. if no professionals are avail, get some highschool/college kids, just have a list of expectations & requirements. you'll want to mindle w/ peeps & not worry about running for ice!

If you have a restaurant nearby that serves food family-style, it can be great for a party. We have bbq and can go pick up plenty of it.

If you are still considering doing it yourself remember it is the food prep and serve but it is also the cleanup. How much do you want to do after your party and what will you do with leftovers?

Good luck!

Not to be flip, but the fact you are even asking the question answers it for me.

Hire a reputable caterer - enjoy your party and be a hostess - leave the food (fun, though it is) to someone else to wonder and relax as you should.