This book has beautiful photos and inspirational ideas for party-hosting! It has given me lots of ideas even though I probably won't do things exactly as suggested.

Make Your Own Party is a one-stop read for all things party planning. More than just a cookbook, it covers all aspects of the planning process. The book is filled with beautiful pictures and information to help everybody from first time party throwers to veteran hosts. Great guide!

Although there are hundreds – maybe thousands – of cookbooks on entertaining, Make Your Own Party: Twenty blueprints to MYO Party is a bit different. Not only does it have suggestions to help you with any party you choose to host at your home or gathering place, but it has menus that are unique and innovative for both special occasions and holidays, as well as tailgate parties and other non-holiday get togethers. This fun cookbook will give readers a reason to entertain and get together with friends and family.

The recipes are written in the traditional manner, with step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. They are fairly simple to prepare, with minimal ingredients. Each menu featured includes several recipes that can all be used for the gathering, or just a few. It’s always nice to have options, and this cookbook gives plenty of options.

One of the things that stands out is the beautiful photography, which is done by well-known photographer, Kevin Miller. They are nice enough that any reader will be inspired to invite guests over.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I don’t host parties because of our small spaces to be honest. But I do live to make treats for my kids and family. And this book was full of helpful tips and ideas that I found interesting and so easy to follow overall. Some recipes are great and maybe made on the old ones with a nowadays twists but great nevertheless.
I’m looking forward to make quite a few of them over the next months with the upcoming birthdays in our family.

Weird and kind of bittersweet to be reading this book as case transmission goes up to “high” in my county and all chances that I might host my own party go down to “low”. However! It’s possible that I will adapt some of these ideas for just my roommates and I. The lemon shortbread hearts… I’d really like to try and return to stress-baking this summer, which has been a great outlet for me in the past, and I’m thinking about making a lot of the recipes in this book.

Great recipes! Great tips! Interesting photos and ideas! The author talks about “shopping in your own house” which I found helpful, although not necessarily an assuage for my consumer-obsessed self. I want to buy things for events, you know?

Anyhow. Four stars. I’ll update you on the shortbreads.

Make Your Own Party is a fun guide to party planning and reducing the associated stress by Chef Kelli Lewton. Released 10th May 2022, it's 240 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a very well organized and accessible guide to event planning and DIY themed parties from graduation and baby showers to boards/charcuterie and holidays. Everything is well explained and *doable*. The author has a reassuring and encouraging voice and she gives readers tips and advice throughout.

The guides and tutorials are well photographed in color throughout the book. Tutorial recipes contain an introduction and descriptions, ingredients in a bullet list, followed by step-by-step instructions. Measurements are given in imperial (American) units only. Serving suggestions are attractive and appropriate and yield estimates are reasonable.

Personally, I felt some of the tableware and serving equipment estimates were excessive for my -personal- needs, but it's easy to adjust downward for smaller occasions and I think it's a real danger to underestimate equipment needs (and seating, and supplies, and venues) when one isn't used to entertaining large crowds. The tips and recommendations for venues and rentals were spot on.

Four stars. This would be an excellent selection for public library acquisition as well as for the home cook's resource library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. rbooks.blogspot.com/2022/05/make-your-own-party-20-plans-from-chef.html

Get your friends together because this book is a must-have resource for all social events and you are going to want to host a party after laying eyes on this book. The insights into catering, planning amounts of food, seating arrangements, flowers and decor - Kelli Lewton has thought of everything so all you have to do is flip to a page and put a plan into action. With impressive yet easy-to-follow recipes, Lewton has you covered - your guests will be wowed, but more importantly, you'll be able to enjoy your own event.

We've hosted charity galas for years, planned elaborate parties for friends, and invited our thirty-person family for countless holidays - Make Your Own Party will be used again and again for ease of planning. It is like every idea you've ever saved on Pinterest has been put in one place, organized for easy reference, and made clear with detail-rich tutorials and chef-prepared menus. Kelli Lewton has created something that is a dream come true.

There is a great deal of information and detail included here. Anyone either considering a career/side-hustle in catering or party planning, or someone who is really, really into planning social events, will find guidance and ideas in this book. It's definitely aspirational--I don't think I'd ever actually do or make 90% of this, but I'd be impressed if I was invited to that party! For context, the list of "basic" pantry spices includes sumac and harissa.

The tablescapes and food spreads are attractively photographed and the recipes are all clear and well-organized. Pictures are included for most finished dishes. There are helpful extras as well including cocktail/mocktail recipes, activity suggestions, and display concepts. This might be more "advanced" than the average home cook will use, but there are good ideas that can be used in lots of contexts.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This book is full of fantastic ideas for entertaining with fun themed parties and accompanying recipes. I definitely want to try the party idea with a spread of homemade soft pretzels!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I love this book! Pictures are beautiful and has such great party ideas. Perfect for friends and family or just a special night in with my hubby and our fur baby!

I love a good party so this book was a no brainer for me! There’s so many great recipes for each party idea. Also included were chefs tips that are so helpful.

Awesome parts:
* The recipes.
* The Tips
* Rental Ideas
* Tablescapes
* Game ideas (and how to literally make them in some cases)

Bad parts:
* The book ended. Bummer.

I loved this book.

Whether you are looking for a primer on how to throw a party or for some recipe inspiration for your next extravaganza look no further than 'Make Your Own Party'. Lewton is thorough in laying out all of the basic ambience related elements for a party and provides thoughtful menus for each theme. If you are new or seasoned to party planning this is a must book to add to your collection! The photos alone are sure to inspire but the recipes and chef's notes are what will make you stay. I know I cannot wait to have an excuse to make the Lemon Shortbread Hearts!

Make Your Own Party by Kelli Lewton is a great cookbook for a large group. This is more a cookbook than a party planning book with the recipes geared more to a spread for a large group.

The recipes are delicious. I tried the 'Baby Love Pies' recipe and it was yummy. Many of the recipes are so crowd-pleasing that I can imagine any recipe would be spot on. Every recipe seems scrumptious and makes you wish you had the time to make every one of them.

I found the photos blurry. I don't know if that's just what the ARC presented or not, but it was distracting especially with the party planning part of the book.

Kelli is a big proponent of sourcing quality food locally which I love as an organic farmer and I think she's just a great person to show how wonderful food can be celebrated and bring people together!

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book and the publisher Scirbe Publishing.



I

This is a very fun and helpful guide to having pretty parties! I am not the least but creative, and a frequently end up with disasters. Not after this guide! This will help you with everything for your next get together. It’s given me confidence to try again and to loosen up! The pictures and directions make everything easy to follow! I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher, Kelli Lewton, and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I really liked this book and there are so many great ideas, but I wish there were more recipes and less of an introductory portion.

It was nice to get a background on the author of the book, it helps to get a perspective on the tips that are presented throughout. Her expression of how COVID affected the hospitality industry was also interesting. I know personally I can get overwhelmed easily, so having a book that tackles something as stressful as party planning but from a "stress-less" perspective was nice. I also live in an apartment so I don't have tons of space to store party supplies, so I found the practical tips to "shop in my own house" to be very beneficial. I also loved the fact that she often mentioned shopping with small businesses on Etsy for supplies. The tips were practical enough that I would feel confident planning a little gathering or even a big party. And I also appreciated the recipes!

If you like to entertain this is a book you need on your shelf. Chef Kelli gives you all kinds of hints and kitchen suggestions to help you entertain like a pro. There are all the usual parties Halloween, Thanksgiving, birthdays and even movie night ; but have you ever had an Oktoberfest or Unicorn party? If not you will know how to do it now.
The recipes include beautiful pictures and step by step directions with a very clear list of ingredients. There are chef's notes included with each recipe. There's even a few little simple crafts to use for your party. Tailgates are always one of my favorites and I am always looking for new food ideas to mix things up a little bit. There are some great recipes to add to your Saturday gamedays. And pie balls are going to be the next thing I try. Pumpkin pie balls sound wonderful. Perfect for those holiday meals when people want to sample all the deserts. And who doesn't love fondue.

A thorough overview of party planning from a professional’s perspective, with a variety of seasonal party ideas. While there are a few tips and tricks applicable to the amateur party-thrower, this book is most suited to event professionals and as inspiration for people who are throwing a big event with professional support. Recommended for general collections or those supporting a hospitality industries program.

A fun and creative book showing the perfect way to throw fun parties for kids, adults, baby showers, game nights, etc. There are decorating ideas and menu planning with lots of photographs.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book isn't quite what I expected.

The book begins with some introductory information on what you need for a party. It touches on what to plan for, how to plan, how to pick colors, what to expect from a venue, etc. There's then descriptions and plans for 20 themed parties based on various events throughout the year, starting with the fall. I thought it was interesting that there are several fall-themed parties included in this book, but none around the winter holidays when you're arguably hosting more. This book is also for very large parties - not a small dinner party or gathering for friends. The serving sizes and access to space that this book assumes is more than the average person has access to, especially now. A lot of the recipes are pretty general, but the book covers food and drinks for a variety of themes.

Overall not something I'd use regularly for myself, but I could see someone who plans events getting some use from it.