Martha Stewart's fans look to her to provide a sense of what's possible with unlimited taste and plenty of decorating funds, and certainly no one else does Christmas with such flair. Martha's Christmas feast may seem a bit over the top, with silver-leaved fruit at each place setting, crystal decanters of French dessert wines, and cake stands holding more decorations, but it photographs nicely--and, of course, the food looks great. There's also an easier New Year's Day party suggestion that will appeal to more casual party-givers. Martha's signature is the elegant simplicity of her decorative concepts, and this book's strength is its easy instructions for making wonderful wreaths, tree ornaments, and gift wrappings. The instructions for making aluminum snowflakes may alone be worth the price of the book.

A holiday grab bag of party recipes, entertaining ideas, table settings, decorations, gifts, and wrappings, complemented by step-by-step instructions and how-to color photographs, includes a Christmas calendar for planning ahead. Original. 150,000 first printing."