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Rating: 
Summary: NOT VERY MAGICAL
Review: This book gives you a brief history of many holidays, and then gives you at least one, often-times more than one recipe to go with the holiday. The holidays range from typical religious, seasonal or patriotic holidays, such as Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July, Halloween, etc., and then also throws in other lesser-known and less-often celebrated holidays, such as Carnival, Groundhog Day, St. Joseph's Day, Three King's Day, etc. It also covers "Special Occasions", such as a Bridal Shower, Welcoming the Baby, Housewarming, Etc. This section is followed by "Nuts and Bolts"; mainly other occasions to get together, such as Potluck Dinner, Afternoon Tea, Garden Party, etc. The last part of the book is some small sections on lore and cooking terms. All in all, it's a cute idea which could have been better.I wish there were color illustrations instead of small, monotone green drawings. But that's the least of the book's faults; most of the recipes are not that great, and not very practical. I don't know how many of the recipes will appeal to the average person that's "into fairies", such as Khir Indian Rice Pudding, and Ham Hocks and Blackeyes. Other recipes are either nothing special, or just very typical of each holiday: Roast Turkey, Roast Goose, Bread of the Dead, Poached Eggs, Black Beans, Hot Apple Cider, New England Boilder Dinner..... I had been thinking that I wish that someone would write a faery/fairy cookbook: have recipes for humans to celebrate and recipes to give to the faeries. Then I saw this book and hoped it would be sort of what I was looking for, but it wasn't.
The writing is fun; the author has a good sense of humor and does pack a good deal of holiday & fairy lore in, but the overall impression I have is that it's nothing special.
I think the faeries deserve better!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a fairy book but an ok survey of traditions
Review: This book is definitely misnamed. There is hardly any reference whatsoever to fairies in here other than the author weaving in the word "folk" here and there but even when she does try to weave in something to do with "folk" it seems forced or an after thought - like they decided later to name the book the fairy party book and then added in some words to make the title fit. If you're looking for a book that hits on all sorts of holidays/celebrations (pagan, christian and commercial) throughout the year then this book can provide a good survey of traditions but that's about where it ends. For New Years, for example, which starts out the book, there are about 4 pages of text on the holiday and you get a couple of paragraphs on how its celebrated in the US, a couple of paragraphs on how its celebrated in Germany, in Finland, in Puerto Rico, in Indonesia, in Cuba, etc. Then there are a couple of recipes - none of which look very good to me - most are meat-based and I'm vegan - but even if I did eat meats the recipes are not very creative. The New Years chapter is one of the longer ones. Most holidays only get a page or two. I was taken a back with seeing certain things like valentines day, independence day (4th July), mothers day, fathers day, labor day (why not memorial day or George Washington's birthday too?). Anyway, I definitely don't recommend buying this book but if you feel compelled to look at it - check it out at the library first. Again, ok for a very superficial look at holidays/traditions across cultures, very light on fairies and hardly any creative ideas. The cross-cultural look is interesting but so superficial you don't get any sort of understanding as to why a certain ritual/tradition was/is practiced. I also thought the sections on things like weddings (one page), retirement parties, baby showers etc were generic and didn't offer any interesting ideas. Wouldn't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a fairy book but an ok survey of traditions
Review: This book is definitely misnamed. There is hardly any reference whatsoever to fairies in here other than the author weaving in the word "folk" here and there but even when she does try to weave in something to do with "folk" it seems forced or an after thought - like they decided later to name the book the fairy party book and then added in some words to make the title fit. If you're looking for a book that hits on all sorts of holidays/celebrations (pagan, christian and commercial) throughout the year then this book can provide a good survey of traditions but that's about where it ends. For New Years, for example, which starts out the book, there are about 4 pages of text on the holiday and you get a couple of paragraphs on how its celebrated in the US, a couple of paragraphs on how its celebrated in Germany, in Finland, in Puerto Rico, in Indonesia, in Cuba, etc. Then there are a couple of recipes - none of which look very good to me - most are meat-based and I'm vegan - but even if I did eat meats the recipes are not very creative. The New Years chapter is one of the longer ones. Most holidays only get a page or two. I was taken a back with seeing certain things like valentines day, independence day (4th July), mothers day, fathers day, labor day (why not memorial day or George Washington's birthday too?). Anyway, I definitely don't recommend buying this book but if you feel compelled to look at it - check it out at the library first. Again, ok for a very superficial look at holidays/traditions across cultures, very light on fairies and hardly any creative ideas. The cross-cultural look is interesting but so superficial you don't get any sort of understanding as to why a certain ritual/tradition was/is practiced. I also thought the sections on things like weddings (one page), retirement parties, baby showers etc were generic and didn't offer any interesting ideas. Wouldn't recommend it.
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