How do you prepare the home for Shabbat?

Preparing for Shabbat is itself a mitzvah, the sages teach that 'one who toils on Friday will eat on Shabbat.' Preparations include: cooking special foods (cholent, challah, fish), cleaning the house thoroughly, setting the table with a white tablecloth and fine dishes, preparing clean and beautiful clothes, setting up a hot plate (plata) for keeping food warm, and preparing a hot water urn (since cooking is forbidden on Shabbat). Many have the custom to begin cooking on Thursday. The preparation is done with joy, as if welcoming a royal guest, Shabbat is called the 'Queen.'