The Bottom Line
Handmade Soirées is a lovely book full of simple ways you can make your next party more personal--especially if you enjoy do-it-yourself craft projects, treasure hunting at flea markets and preparing beautiful food. Although it isn’t geared toward parents or children specifically, its ideas can easily be applied to a child’s birthday party or a gathering of family and friends that honors a recent graduate or a teenager celebrating their Sweet 16.
Pros
- Beautiful, timeless ideas for personalizing parties.
- Clear instructions for D.I.Y. crafts. I made the embroidered rooster apron without a problem.
- Templates are included so you can get the same results as Meng.
- Gorgeous photography.
- Lots of attention given to each party theme, from ideas for food displays to decorating projects.
Cons
- Don't expect a cookbook. You'll get ideas for what to serve, but it's all about presentation.
Description
- Handmade Soirees
- Author: Kaari Meng
- Photographer: Jon Zabala
- Chronicle Books 2009
- 168 pages
Guide Review - Book Review: Handmade Soirees, by Kaari Meng
My daughters are very young now, and there isn’t an ounce of me that wants them to grow up any faster than they already are. But that doesn’t mean a tiny corner of my brain isn’t already gathering ideas for their Sweet 16 birthdays, their graduation parties and the simple gatherings I hope they’ll have with close friends when they're teenagers on summer breaks.
When those days come--if they still let me have a say-- Handmade Soirées by Kaari Meng will be our guide.Her charming ideas for table settings, food presentation and party decorations are timeless, and they evoke a feeling of simplicity and sweetness.
In her introduction, Meng talks about how she began throwing soirees at a young age--10! She and her friend would invite the neighborhood preschoolers over and treat them to a well-planned party.
Her interest in entertaining grew over the years, and as a young adult she and her friends would gather up their flea market finds--linens, silverware, plates--for their dinner parties together.
Meng’s idea of a good party doesn’t involve impressing her guests or rushing around to make everything perfect. Rather, she enjoys “gathering with people who make you feel good inside and give you a bit of themselves when you get together.”
Meng owns a popular shop in Hollywood, Calif., called French General, where she sells vintage and new textiles, stationery and other products. She is also the author of French General: Home Sewn.
Handmade Soirées has a relaxed, flea market feel to it. Meng encourages readers to start by decorating for a party with "what you have and adding a special touch."
Those special touches might be the crafts she outlines in the book, such as flower-covered Chinese paper lanterns (perfect for a little girl’s tea party), organza slipcovers to dress up folding chairs or stamped table linens (Meng provides the stencils so you can achieve the same look she shows in the book).
The book’s eight chapters are organized by party. For instance, 17 pages are dedicated to a child’s tea party and 14 are dedicated to a breakfast gathering (which, by the way, would be a lovely start to a child’s birthday or Valentine’s Day).
In addition to the tea party, I think the chapters that most apply to kids are the poolside grilled dinner (a teenager’s birthday, perhaps) and the beach-themed shellfish dinner or the midsummer’s eve dinner (either would make a fabulous graduation party).
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