Hostess With Candy

It's the party time of the year, and what's a party without a few good laughs? That's why the folks at The Saturday Early Show invited Amy Sedaris. She's known for her hit show on Comedy Central and the movie "Strangers With Candy." But this entertainer also loves to entertain at home, and so she has written a book titled, "I Like You: Hospitality Under The Influence."

To read an excerpt from the book, click here.

To see Celebrity Circuit photos featuring the premiere of the "Strangers With Candy" movie, click here.

"I entertain a lot, and I like to cook, and I like having people I know into my home," Sedaris told co-anchor Tracy Smith.

While it's a funny book, Sedaris does not joke around with recipes and other party essentials. It is also a very visual book. Sedaris herself makes her own cupcakes that she sells in her neighborhood. She used to make cheeseballs, too, but now that task has been passed to an outside company.

But Sedaris goes beyond recipes in her book to share advice on such party-related projects as making the guest list or, as Sedaris calls it, "casting" the party.

"You really want the energy up," Sedaris said, "and you want to invite people who are really good about mingling and just contributing to the energy of the party. That's important."

In the book, she also lists combinations to avoid, including the psychologist and the psychiatrist, movie star and scene stealer, director and out-of-work actor, or a frat brother and anybody else.

"I have also someone I refer to as The Barnacle," Sedaris told Smith. "That's somebody who might as well show up with an anchor on their T-shirt and they are going to bring everybody down."

So you simply don't invite The Barnacle?

"Maybe you can for larger parties, where they can get lost in the crowd, but not five (guests) or less. They will ruin it and then nobody else will accept another invitation to your house," advised Sedaris.

She also writes about how to be a good guest, and the first rule is to respond quickly to a party invitation so the hostess knows how many are coming, important information so she can plan the event. You also don't want to leave room for the impression that you are sitting on the invite, waiting for something better to come along.

"I just do a lot of my invitations by telephone," said Sedaris. "I haven't done a handwritten invitation in a long time."

A good guest will not slow the hostess down by bringing a complicated gift like cut flowers. It may be a nice idea, but you are taking the hostess out of circulation as she has to put the flowers in a vase as people are arriving. Sedaris advises the guest to send flowers the day before or the day after the party, or don't bring them at all.

And don't overstay your welcome. If you do and you are at Sedaris' home, she will tell you to leave.

She explained to Smith, "If you have to tell someone to go, chances are it's a pattern and they have been told before. So I just say, 'It's time for you to leave. You have to go. Or spend the night and we will wait for two years.'"

But, if you are the hostess, Sedaris has one big rule for you: Pre-plan.

"The more you pre-plan, the better," she said. "There are going to be setbacks. There will be surprises. If you pre-planned enough, then … you don't have to worry so much."