Social Interaction for 5 year old

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Questions for my son who is 5.
I am making a point of inviting folks over to the house for lunch once a week to help him feel more comfortable in social situations.
He has been trying really hard to "hold it together" and is always excited about having "a party"
This weekend we have a couple who just had a new baby come over. They also have a typical 5 year old.
Any tips for him? For me?
Sometimes it's difficult to figure out what pushes his buttons. I am a little nervous of what he may do LOL
Do I watch him like a hawk or just let him interact? I doubt he would hurt the baby, but he can be harsh with the older boy

Give him some space but keep an eye on things - the other boy may stir up trouble.

Give him some ground rules - no hurting etc...
Write them down - If he can't read, that's ok, draw something. Just make it a rule.

Promise to reward good behavior.

I'm chiming ina bit late here, since your social gathering that you posted about has already taken place, but I have some ideas for next time. You can write a social story pertaining to the event. Here's a link to help you write one: http://www.polyxo.com/socialstories/introduction.html

You should let your company know beforehand that the event needs to extend only to a certain time. Like for example 2 hours. However long that you think your son can handle having people in the house. My son gets overwhelmed with new people pretty easily, so 2 hours would be sufficient for him. Let your son walk away, and do his own thing if he's getting overstimulated. Don't correct him by telling it's bad manners to not play with his friend that's come to see him. I think if you read the social story to him once a day several days before a social event things will go easier. Most of the time anxiety, and social faux pas happen when someone with ASD doesn't know what to expect. If I have all of my "wh" questions answered I'm a more relaxed.

Things worked out beautifully! We only had one basic rule: that if he started to fill overwhelmed that he went to his room or came to talk to me. I also asked him if he would feel upset to share any toys with the other boy and he said he wouldn't. When they arrived, my son and the other boy both took off to the play area upstairs and played very nicely! I could not believe it! Although my radar was up, I tried my best to give him a sense of control. The boy was his guest and I was not going to interfere.

He was also great with the baby. Only a little disturbed when the baby started to cry.
Toward the end of the visit, he was tired. He decided it was time to watch a movie. The tape was not working so well and he almost had a melt down. I could just see it starting to build up. But we fixed the tape and he calmed down again. The credit was all his for bringing himself back. He really wanted to be a good host. It was very cute to see that.

Thank you all for the suggestions! I think next time I will keep it a lot shorter because this was a bit too long. They were here for about 3 hours or so. That's a lot for a 5 year old to handle. And thanks for the link for the social story. I will certainly check that out/

It's very good that you're doing this. Providing structure like this, experience, rules for how to act in these situations.
This is how Dr. Temple Grandin came to do so well.