Celebrate: A year of British festivities for families and friends Hardcover – 25 Oct. 2012

I'm an American, and no royal watcher. I care about what Kate is wearing, not what she or any other royal is doing. And I think people piggy-back on their 15-minutes too much, and are often discovered to be talentless hacks with no skills and are famous for being famous (cough...Kardashians...cough). So I was VERY skeptical about this book by the Duchess' sister. But after going on a dozen trips to bookstores, taking a long time to read through this thing, I finally decided that it was worth buying - for half price of course. I'm pleasantly surprised. It's a really good book! It's full of fun ideas for entertaining both kids and adults. There's a lot of great recipes and crafts that I cannot wait to try. My 7-year-old daughter looked through it with me once and she can't wait for us to get into the kitchen and throw a few parties.Many critics have criticized her book for being too simple, and accusing her of having people do all the work and she take all the credit. I love that this book is simple. I'm an American single mother living in the UK, so I don't know about a lot of these recipes; I know American and Spanish food and how to celebrate American and Spanish holidays, not British, and this book is a great starter book for all that. While looking through the bookstores I noticed that pretty much every book was geared towards entertaining and cooking for kids OR adults, but not both in one book. This book does that. It fulfills all 3 of my current needs, and is done in a very simplified and colorful manner.As far as her doing taking too much credit, just look at any other book. The author never does everything themselves; it's a team of people. Ms. Middleton hasn't done anything every other author hasn't done in the past. And she has the background for this type of book; her whole family has been in the party business for over a decade, and she herself has been involved in the party planning business for years. Combine that with the fact that she's a natural party girl, and there's your qualifications.

There's a first time for everything, and this is the first time I bought a book because of the BAD reviews. My curiosity simply took over. Assuming that the majority of those who so unmercifully bashed Ms. Middleton and her book are British citizens, I just want to say: please keep in mind that this book is not just sold in Britain, but thanks to Amazon - worldwide. So there are quite a few of us who are, for the most part, unfamiliar with British customs and food. For instance, who among us "foreigners" has ever heard of "Toad-in-the-Hole" (page 28)? Thanks to that recipe we now know what NOT to order should it ever turn up on a menu in a London restaurant (our favorite city!). Customs such as Bonfire Night, Burns Night and, for instance, Stir-up-Sunday, are very interesting to read about especially if you did not grow up with them. The turkey seems to have caused the biggest fury but I'm not really sure why. As Americans we certainly know all about turkeys, and other than awkward wording, I don't think Ms. Middleton intended this chapter to be a big revelation. She simply stated a fact - if you have a big crowd, a turkey or goose is the way to go. So, let's give her a break!Did she and her publisher hope to cash in on her current VIP status? Most likely. But, so what? If you take a look around bookstores you will find dozens of authors who have hoped to cash in on their so-called VIP status; but in the end it's the finished product which will determine success or failure, not the author's name."Celebrate" is not the Cadillac of party or entertainment books that are currently on the market, but I don't think Ms. Middleton was aiming for that. As she pointed out, she wanted it to be a book for everyone, to include those who have to pay attention to their budget. All in all it offers lots of interesting recipes, and for all non-British citizens a wealth of information on British customs and food. We found it fun and interesting to read and we learned a lot. And despite a couple of recipes which I would never try simply because they don't appeal to me as a foreigner to British cuisine, there are a great number of very good recipes in the book. I don't know if I would have paid the original price of 20+ Pounds for this book, but now that it is marked down I believe it's a worthwhile buy for all those who are interested. As a matter of fact, think this would be a particularly good book for the new bride or someone who just left the nest since it offers much information and helpful hints on cooking and party preparation which we, the more seasoned housewives, have long learned by trial and error.Last, but certainly not least: this book also offers a lot of entertainment and craft ideas for children, tailored to the individual holidays. It also gives tips on how to give more variety to certain recipes and interesting information about the origin of some recipes or customs. As I said: the book is worth your while. Personally, I don't think it deserves all the harsh criticism it received.

Lovely colourful informative book crammed full of wonderful ideas for all celebrations. This book covers so much from family celebrations to seaside picnics to camping and BBQs. Its full of recipes plus Pippa's ideas for decorations and games, which basically cost pennies and are so effective and easy to do .. I especially love the chapter on Halloween and the floating ghosts, what a brilliant idea.As it is, I have bought the book as presents for friends birthdays, as when they started to read my book, it was quite hard work getting them to hand the book back to me, as they were enjoying reading it so much.

I hesitated a bit because of some negative reviews, but I was quite pleasantly surprised when it came. It's lovely, and it's clear that it was a labor of love! It's packed with inspiring content, including recipes, and I expect to use it a lot.

Questo libro è semplicemente perfetto, ben scritto, pieno di foto bellissime, ben presentato, elegante e molto informativo con non solo ricette ma cultura inglese tradizionale e attività divertenti per ogni festa dell'anno. Pippa ha fatto un ottimo lavoro e consiglierei questo libro a tutti. :-) Il libro è arrivato in anticipo ed è nuovissimo per un libro di seconda mano! :-)

Es un libro estupendo, aunque las ocasiones festivas son, en su mayoría, británicas , es una ayuda muy buena en lo que se refiere a simplificar la organización de cualquier celebración. En cada ocasión se sacan ideas que contribuyen al éxito de tus reuniones.Ya lo he utilizado como guía en un par de ocasiones y ha sido un éxito. Me ha encantado!!

although some ingredients are not available in Indian market, and there are some recipes I won't even try to make, this book is quite good.

ce livre est une merveille j'ai fait presque toutes les recettes et je le voulais aussi en version originale : c'est fait !