Coconut Shrimp-fry ahead for dinner party?
You will never achieve the same texture and doneness after two hours that you will when your shrimp come out of the fryer...unless, of course, you have access to a CVap oven.  The CVap was invented (I believe by Col. Saunders for Kentucky Fried Chicken) to solve the problem you identify.  Shrimp cook very quickly, but without access to a commercial deep-fryer (which I assume), cooking for 12 on your stove will be slow.  Personally, I would save something like this for a small gathering and choose a dish that I could pull off well for a larger group.