Customer Reviews

A Gracious Welcome: Etiquette and Ideas for Entertaining Houseguests

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

A wonderful book from a former Martha Stewart editor with many ideas for entertaining guests in your home. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes and ideas are creative and easy to implement.