Tea Party Diva - Life & Craft

I own and use Secrets For Successful Entertaining, by Lady Caroline Wrey.

I have found it very useful as a resource for tea and coffee party ideas, as well as for more formal occasions. It has also provided inspiration for developing my own ideas.

Secrets For Successful Entertaining - Book Overview
The look and feel of this book is of a high end full color glossy home magazine, but with a hard cover. The beautiful styling in the full page color photos, immediately draws the reader in.

Author, Caroline Wrey, combines cooking, crafts, decor, entertaining and tips for planning and presentation etc.

Many of the pages have step by step color photo instructions. Secrets For Successful Entertaining lends itself to dipping into and leafing through, with a cup of coffee in hand, just as you would a magazine.

About the Author - Lady Caroline Wrey
Secrets For Successful Entertaining, is subtitled How To Be a Perfect Hostess. Lady Caroline Wrey is the daughter of the fifteenth Earl of Lindsay, and was brought up in London and Kilconquhar Castle in Scotland.

She teaches classes on entertaining, and runs a successful professional international curtain design business. She also runs courses in Britain and America, on making soft furnishings and accessories.

Secrets For Successful Entertaining - Chapter headings
Chapter headings include Lunches and Dinners, House Guests and Holding Parties. A menu (with recipes), plus craft and decor ideas are included for each theme.

There are also games and activity suggestions for children, such as the Pet Party’s paw print tablecloth. This idea could be adapted for an inexpensive tea party activity, using paper instead of cloth, for the “paw prints”.

Versatility and themes
Caroline Wrey offers lots of ideas which can act as starting points for developing ideas to suit your own situation, party guests and budget. The strength of Secrets For Successful Entertaining lies in its opportunities for versatility.

Party themes include Romantic Supper, Perfect Picnic, Christmas Lunch, Formal Dinner, Outdoor Lunch, Halloween, Buffet Party, Pet Party, Overnight Guest, Sleepover Party and Weekend Guests.

Verdict
The crafts section leans more heavily towards sewing, although painted pots, table center crafts and place cards are also included. I don’t sew, but am very happy with Secrets For Successful Entertaining for the other aspects it offers. If you sew, that is a bonus.

I not only enjoy looking through this book, but refer to it often for ideas, recipes and inspiration.

Books & Magazines, Entertaining