A Gracious Welcome: Etiquette and Ideas for Entertaining Houseguests [Hardcover]

Amy M. Nebens (Author), Sang An (Photographer) (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

They're coming for how long? This utterly charming guide brings together inspiration and advice for planning a visit that's relaxing and enjoyable for guest and host alike. From invitations no one could refuse to advice on furnishing a cozy guest bedroom and stocking a well-appointed bath, A Gracious Welcome is a refreshing approach to sharing the home turf with family and friends. Ranging from luxurious craft projects such as handmade bath salts to simple additions like a bedside bouquet of sweet-smelling flowers, here are pages of ways to make every guest feel welcome. Whether home is a bungalow in the 'burbs, an uptown pied-a-terre, or a roomy weekend cabin, hosts will find plenty of useful inpiration, plus ideas for easy meals. Chockful of tips for clever outdoor activities and day trips to please all ages, and adorned with delightful photographs throughout, A Gracious Welcome is an invaluable helper when loved ones come to stay.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

To help tame whatever butterflies nervous hosts feel before the guests arrive, former Martha Stewart Living editor Nebens suggests an exhaustive list of practical preparations, from designing original invitations to outfitting a guest bedroom. Many of the author’s suggestions-like greeting your guest with a hearty welcome-are basic tenets of politesse that need repeating only for those who have never looked forward to hosting a parent, friend or colleague. However, Nebens does offer several creative, crafty strategies to make the visit special, like personalizing towels with rickrack when hosting large groups, planning easy meals and snacks, and readying the house for children or less-spry seniors. Inspiring but sometimes impractical, this compendium of hosting advice is most useful for those with adequate prep time, entertainment funds and artistic vision. 40 color photographs.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Amy Nebens writes about lifestyle, entertaining, and home decor. She is the author of several books and a former writer and editor for Martha Stewart Living . Her work has also appeared in Home , Self , Cosmopolitan , and YM . She lives in Connecticut.

Sang An is a New York based photographer specializing in still life, interiors, and food.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811840832
• ISBN-13: 978-0811840835
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,617,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Few Useful Tips, November 17, 2004

By 

Virginia Allain "retired librarian" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gracious Welcome: Etiquette and Ideas for Entertaining Houseguests (Hardcover)

I'd suggest borrowing this from your local library. It's a nicely packaged book with pastel pages, high quality photos and a sampling of hostess tips. The text probably equals 2 or 3 magazine articles, so I'd hate to pay $19 for it.
It gives guidelines for preparing the guest room (add hangers to the closet, flowers on the bedside table, etc.) and a sampling of recipes for impressing your guests. They are lovely sounding (cranberry scones, strawberry iced tea, peanut butter s'mores)and the photos look good enough to eat. Note the Martha Stewart touches like the chocolate chip cookie photo showing a well-loved teddy bear with the cookies and milk.
Along with these are some craft ideas like stamping your initial on your cocktail napkins or layering colored bath salts in a jar for the guest bath. It even includes a couple of pages with instructions for playing charades and twenty questions.
All the ideas are pleasant enough, but overall it seems skimpy at 120 small sized pages.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Alice in Yuppie-land, March 1, 2007

By 

Linda W. (Kennesaw, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Gracious Welcome: Etiquette and Ideas for Entertaining Houseguests (Hardcover)

I agonized for months over whether or not to buy this book. The review that suggested borrowing it from the library was very influential, but not quite influential enough. I bought the book. Flipping the pages made it look interesting enough, but then I read the text. I'm not sure who the target audience is for this book. The author writes in an almost child-like tone. Some parts of the book seem like she's suggesting a tea party for dolls, and other parts sound like an upscale teenager doing a Martha Stewart imitation at a Sweet 16 ski party. The snacks or appetizers suggested-brie, guacamole-are so cliched it's embarrassing. The "crafty" ideas like making journals for children and guestbooks for adults to jot down daily remembrances is tiresome. And most of the ideas include the hostess playing tour guide or beach bunny all day and then going home and providing a memorable dinner and games night afterword. Doesn't the author think the host/hostess has anything else to do? Lip service is paid to older visitors, or relatives, but no ideas are ever suggested.

A much more enjoyable, helpful book is "Guests Without Grief" by Paula Jhung.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Coffee Table Book, March 25, 2009

By 

Michele Huggett - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gracious Welcome: Etiquette and Ideas for Entertaining Houseguests (Hardcover)

Loved thumbing thru this book at a friends and decided I needed my own copy. Lots of helpful tips and great pictures.