It's the most wonderful time of the year! But, it can also be the most stressful time of the year. Especially if you are hosting for the holidays. Check out some of our favorite books to ease the stress and enjoy the holidays with family and friends! Click on a title or cover to place a book on hold.
On Hosting:
What's a Hostess to Do? by Susan Spungen. Arranged in 313 easy-to-digest entries that take readers through every aspect of entertaining. The tips are time-saving ("Ten Great Assembled Desserts"), money-saving ("In Praise of Cheap Wine"), energy-saving ("Ten Jobs to Delegate"), and face-saving ("How to Handle Uninvited Guests"), plus there are 121 recipes to make entertaining easier than ever before.
On Cleaning & Organizing Your Home:
Simple Household Wisdom: 425 Easy Ways to Clean and Organize Your Home by Good Housekeeping. Filled with fabulous photographs of every room, plus genius tips, savvy shortcuts, and quick fixes for tidying, decluttering, organizing, adding style, and more, Good Housekeeping Simple Household Wisdom is your go-to guide for turning a house into the home you'll love even more.
On Decorating & Entertaining:
Soiree: Entertaining with Style by Danielle Rollins. Learn how to create a party timeline, how invitations set the tone, and how to plan a menu and gain dozens of ideas for setting festive tables. From signature cocktails to imaginative linens, flowers, and menus, Rollins brilliantly executes every detail.
Decorate for a Party: Stylish and Simple Ideas for Meaningful Gatherings by Holly Becker & Leslie Shewring. Split into ten sections covering a range of different colour palettes and styles, from Brights to Moody, Evening Sparkle to Forest Picnic, themes can be used for birthday parties, bridal showers, dinner parties, and more. There are step-by-step projects, plus a range of creative suggestions for decorating the table, backs of chairs and your home to welcome guests and make any occasion feel special.
On Celebrating:
How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day in Between by Jenny Rosenstrach. A warm and inviting guide with more than one hundred time-tested recipes and a host of inspiring ideas for turning birthdays, holidays, and everyday occasions into cherished traditions.
On Cooking:
It's All in the Timing: Plan, Cook, and Serve Great Meals with Confidence by Gail Monaghan. It's All in the Timing teaches readers the how-tos of its recipes. Uniquely, it also shares the when-tos by organizing the recipes into more than 20 well-crafted menus. Culled from Monaghan's more than 30 years of home entertaining and culinary instruction, this book demystifies the preparation of each menu, treating the entire meal as an extended recipe. The book offers tips for meals that range from the modest and basic to the elaborate. From the simple luncheon to the grand holiday dinner, each menu begins with an Order of Preparations list—a snapshot of what to make, when to make it, and how to avoid common problems, ensuring your meal unfolds like clockwork.
Gatherings: Recipes for Feasts Great and Small by Flora Shedden. A gathering is an easy way of cooking and hosting. It means no pressure, no code of conduct, and everyone - cook included - can actually enjoy themselves. This collection is a mixture of modern dishes, staple snacks, salads and sides, interesting bakes, and puddings perfect to end a feast with. Nothing overly fussy or complicated, just tasty, pretty plates of food.
Forest Feast Gatherings: Simple Vegetarian Menus for Hosting Friends & Family by Erin Gleeson. Healthy recipes that anyone can make—dishes that are easy enough to prepare after a long day at work, yet impressive enough for a party—as well as to her visually stunning photography and watercolors. Erin handwrites each recipe over her photos to create diagram-like, step-by-step instructions that are vibrant, unique, and most important, easy to cook from. Gatherings offers detailed guidance on hosting casual, yet thoughtful, get-togethers from start to finish with recipes that serve 6 to 8. The book offers 100 new, innovative vegetarian recipes.
The Thanksgiving Table: Recipes and Ideas to Create Your Own Holiday Tradition by Diane Morgan. Everything from the foolproof secret to a moist bird and how to truss and carve it to menu suggestions and simple, elegant table settings. Plus, recipes for classics like cranberry relish as well as more innovative dishes--and a whole section devoted to vegetarians. And maybe best of all, do-ahead tips and plenty of food and technique photographs to make planning in advance a breeze.
On Wine:
Wine Isn't Rocket Science by Ophelie Neiman. With information presented in an easy, illustrated style, and chock-full of the fool-proof and reliable knowledge of a seasoned oenophile, Wine Isn't Rocket Science is the guide you always wished existed. From how grapes are grown, harvested and turned into wine, to judging the color, aroma, and taste of the world's most popular varietals, to understanding terroir and feeling confident ordering and serving wine at any occasion, this book explains it all in the simplest possible way. Every page, every piece of information, and every detail is illustrated in charming and informative four-color drawings that explain concepts at a glance.