Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party [Paperback]

Patty Sachs (Author), Phyllis Cambria (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: October 12, 2000

Patty Sachs and Phyllis Cambria give advice on planning any size of a party, with step-by-step instructions on how to buy, prep, and arrange food, how to keep the conversation going, and how to make and stick to a budget. They provide lots of worksheets to help you get organized, includes full party plans for every occasion, and even gives tips on how to entertain business associates in your home.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Scenario: A quick look around the room tells you disaster is looming. Uncle Jim and your neighbor are arguing. The dog just ate the entire hors d’oeuvre tray. The kids are bored. And, the elegant soufflé you spent the entire afternoon preparing just fell. Can this party be rescued? How does Martha Stewart make it look so simple?

Often planning even the simplest party can be a lot of work and end up costing a fortune. But that doesn’t have to be the case. With the right planning, a little ingenuity and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Throwing a Great Party (from Alpha Books/Macmillan USA), anyone can pull off the party of the year and make it look as easy as one, two, three! Written by party planning experts Phyllis Cambria and Patty Sachs, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Throwing a Great Party is filled with all the party “do’s and don’ts” essential to making an event a success.

From tailgates and backyard barbecues to holiday bashes and birthdays, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Throwing a Great Party ensures that every party has a great outcome. Ms. Cambria and Ms. Sachs offer step-by-step instructions on how to plan, organize and pull-off a spur of the moment get-together, a business dinner for clients or a graduation celebration for 60 with the greatest of ease, while enjoying yourself at the same time. They offer expert advice on the basics of party planning, beginning with preparing a guest list; developing a theme; creating a budget and sending creative invitations. In addition, Cambria and Sachs follow up with suggestions for buying, preparing and serving food for any size group; stocking a bar; creating ambiance; innovative party favors; and cleaning up once the party is over.

Ms. Cambria and Ms. Sachs provide proven tips for managing and sticking to the party budget, and offer suggestions for pooling resources, co-hosting parties, power buying, and chic but cheap options. They discuss how to maximize space and traffic flow, strategies for keeping guests entertained and the conversation flowing, and keeping to a schedule. They also identify the key party pitfalls and what every host or hostess needs to know and prepare for in order to avoid disaster.

Finally, included in the book are more than 20 clever party plans for every occasion that readers can use either as a framework for their own parties or to follow down to the last letter for a surefire party hit. Also included are worksheets to help keep the host or hostess organized and on top of the party details.

From the Author

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party allows you to follow the ideas we share or gives you enough options to adapt them and plan an event that's uniquely your own.

These are all proven secrets to success that we've followed or created while planning parties for hundreds of clients throughout our professional party planning careers.

Best of all, the ideas we share can be done on ANY budget. We even give you a wide range of tips that will help you save money when planning your next celebration.We'd love to hear from you!

So, don't wait, celebrate! It's good for you!

Phyllis Cambria and Patty Sachs, Celebration Experts

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (October 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 002863974X
• ISBN-13: 978-0028639741
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,888,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous resource to make any party sensational and easy, January 6, 2002

By 

Mary Ann Ross (Chewelah, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party (Paperback)

I was very impressed with the numerous party themes and quantity of ideas for each theme. This is planning made easy and I recommend this book to all hosts and hostess -- whether this is your first party or you have been throwing parties for years, this book is perfect for different ideas, more ideas to enhance been-around themes with easy to follow directions, everything to make a party memorable! Great resource for any organization (church, Scouts, philanthropic, etc.) planning social and fundraising events. I have been a professional party planner (family and corporate) for years and love this book! I recommend it highly as one of the best on the market and I personally give these books as gifts.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book I've Been Waiting For, October 31, 2000

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party (Paperback)

Why did it take these guidebook people so long to discover a need for this book? Cambria and Sachs have done a superior job of streamlining the stresses of party giving so that the hostess has a chance of having just as much fun as her guests. Thanks, guys!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas, May 29, 2001

By 

"lynnamee" (Bellmore, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Idiot's Guide to Throwing a Great Party (Paperback)

Have recently purchased this book. Started skimming through it and couldn't put it down. There was a party for every occasion and it was all planned out for you. The tips were fantastic. I plan on buying more for gifts. This book will make a great Christmas gift and will definitely be on my shopping list in December. I hope they do another book. It was so easy to follow and I know I will have no disasters at another party.