Entertaining by design A guide to creating meaningful gatherings

This guide from interior designer Gross is full of great color photographs of party environments and place settings that readers will want to copy next time they host an event. Gross underscores her visual inspiration with detailed written instructions for planners, plus essential elements for the tabletop and other can't-miss components, like flowers, event checklist, time line, and more. Gross presents 17 occasions divided by season, from a spring buffet dinner and a summer seafood feast to a fall cocktail party and an anytime meal for one. Each event features lists of what to do and remember as well as close-up photographs. The book is short on recipes, with only one included for each event, and dishes are generally unsurprising: lasagna, mixed berry crumble, smoky turkey chili, cranberry relish. Use her book for party-planning inspiration, and consult another cookery collection for foodstuffs.

In this breezy debut, interior designer Gross shares ideas on how to host sophisticated events for a variety of occasions. Holiday meals fall on the more formal end of the spectrum, with Gross suggesting readers could decorate the dining table with small gift-wrapped boxes and use gold place mats to complement a green and "berry red" color scheme for Christmas dinner. Gross also includes suggestions for less formal events, contending that "decorative paper plates are fine" for a backyard barbecue and that homemade chili or meatballs can elevate a game day party. Music recommendations are provided for each of the 16 events. For instance, Gross advises playing Mary J. Blige and Motown hits at the spring buffet dinner, and suggests that an acoustic guitarist would bring the "chic cocktail party" to life. Gross also features recipes, describing how to make pan-fried haddock for a "moody formal dinner" and mixed berry crumble for a "lush garden luncheon." Some of the suggestions are no-brainers (she recommends hiring caterers for the cocktail party and asking friends to help with setup), but Gross provides some useful rules of thumb, as when she outlines what tableware to include depending on the formality of the event. This will spark hosts' imaginations. (Oct.)