Emily Post's Entertaining: The Essential Guide to Perfect Hosting with Elegance and Ease

by Peggy Post

Is the butter plate on the right or the left? How should you introduce someone whose name you can't remember? What is the polite way to handle a guest who arrives early? Emily Post's Entertaining provides answers to these and many other questions that vex today's hosts and guests. Emily Post's Entertaining is a practical guide to hosting with elegance and ease. Its goal is to give everyone the confidence to handle any get-together, from casual and cozy to formal and fancy. Among the wide range of events and entertaining quandaries Peggy Post addresses getting together for everything from a Super Bowl party to dinner with the boss; throwing children's birthday parties; giving a casual dinner with takeout food; making appropriate introductions; jump-start dinner conversation; choosing the right wine; and much more. Entertaining covers the basics of hosting, but most importantly, it reminds you that successful entertaining springs not from the good china and an elaborate table setting, but from the people you are with and the memorable time you spend together. "The best hosts spin magic out of thin air, creating the kind of special occasion guests can't stop talking about." From simple dinners and casual parties to formal business functions and catered events, Emily Post's Entertaining shows you how to be the perfect host. With Peggy Post's guidance, you can breeze through toasting your guest of honor and unflinchingly manage sticky social situations such as unanswered invitations and surprise guests. Emily Post's Entertaining helps you to entertain with elegance and ease, making every get-together a memorable event.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Cookbooks

232 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

About the author

Peggy Post, Emily Post’s great-granddaughter-in-law, is a director of The Emily Post Institute and the author of more than twelve etiquette books. In March, 2011, Peggy began a new question and answer column with the New York Times called The Well-Mannered Wedding. The column aims to address modern day wedding conundrums and provide advice for the soon-to-be-wed.

Currently, Peggy is actively involved in the launch of Emily Post Wedding, a new line of wedding invitations produced by M. Middleton and licensed by The Emily Post Institute. Peggy has worked with M. Middleton on the development of the two collections, Grace and Style, and is now making public appearances at national and regional retailer events to promote the wedding invitation offering.

Peggy writes a monthly column in Good Housekeeping magazine. She is also a contributing editor for AARP, The Magazine. Peggy conducts lectures and seminars for businesses and community groups across the country. Peggy’s vibrant personality and media savvy have led companies to request her services for spokesperson campaigns. In this role she has worked with clients like MasterCard, Yahoo!, American Express, Florida Citrus, Merci Chocolates, Tassimo Hot Beverage System, Georgia-Pacific, and SBC Communications.

Peggy began her career as an international flight attendant for Pan American World Airways. She then taught seventh grade English and history in New York City before entering the business world, developing a 30-year career in management, consulting and sales. Born in Washington, DC, she was raised in Maryland and New Orleans and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in education from LSU. Peggy and her husband, Allen, live in south Florida, and she has two stepsons, Casey and Jeep.

Reviews

[Catherine 💕 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too formal for my personal taste and life in general really. It talks lots about having "staff" for example. It's well written and concise but I think it's a little outdated for the modern woman.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was strange to find out that this book was written back in the '90s, which probably explains why it never mentions the newest entertaining tool that people my age are using... Facebook. Facebook events, these days, are probably the only reason that some people I know even still have Facebook. Other than invitations, though, this book was incredibly useful. I started reading it as I was planning for my birthday cocktail party. It helped me figure out what I was even doing, which is great for a 23-year-old novice.

Definitely recommend. It has tons of beautiful tips and reminders. Great for anyone who has a party to plan and has no idea where to start.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I didn't actually read the whole thing, but rather skimmed to the parts that seemed most useful. Overall, I was kind of disappointed. There was a lot on throwing a formal dinner, complete with wait staff, which I doubt I'll ever do. There was a lot of common sense stuff, like what to bring to a housewarming party. There was a lot of formality such as who sits to the left of whom, when, and what direction they pass the potatoes. Basically, I'm glad I borrowed it from the library instead of buying as I intended. It would have been a major waste of money.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fairly decent etiquette guide from the Emily Post empire, but I think a fair amount of this is probably covered in more comprehensive books.

[Nicca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and helpful to a degree