In her first book, Middleton reveals the secrets to hosting a successful party with recipes, tips and detailed instructions on how to throw a memorable event.
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About the Author
Pippa Middleton is the editor of The Party Times, an online party magazine from Party Pieces, the UK's leading online party-supply company, founded in 1987. She has organised many events during her career at London-based events company Table Talk, for luxury brand and corporate companies as well as private parties.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
112 of 132 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As the sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Pippa Middleton is in an unenviable situation. In many ways, she cannot win and it is unfortunate that to some, she will always be known as the only maid of honor to ever wear a flattering dress. Never judged on her own efforts, but on the media and public perception of her. Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends, is her attempt to change that.
Given her low profile prior to the royal wedding, Celebrate could be viewed as a premature effort. However, she's not the first person to jump on the bandwagon of her own notoriety nor will she be the last. To Pippa's credit, she acknowledges this in the introduction to Celebrate. She has the opportunity and she's taking advantage of it. By admitting this she makes it redundant for those who scoff at her efforts. Now who is being unoriginal?
Several reviews for this book have criticized Pippa for stating the obvious: 'ice goes great with drinks', 'a turkey at Christmas time is good for large gatherings'. Yes, it's true but let's be honest, even Martha Stewart falls back on 'Pumpkins add to the festive atmosphere of Halloween', 'Hearts make perfect Valentines' and 'Easter egg hunts are fun'. What Pippa does add to the field is her youth. Like her sister, she makes going the extra mile fashionable. Thus giving twenty-somethings options other than beer, wine, tortilla chips and brie cheese trays for their own parties.
Divided by seasons, Pippa presents crafts, recipes, nostalgic/traditional games and charming tidbits of trivia appropriate to the occasion. She also offers small glimpses into how her family celebrated events like Easter and Mothers Day. While her tips for building bonfires may not apply to most of her readers, some of the game instructions are hard to follow (Conker fights?) and hanging donuts from trees may be an attempt for the brave, her instructions for creating Christmas decorations and place settings using simple items can be for those willing to make the effort. Very reassuring for craft-challenged people like me.
With Celebrate, Pippa Middleton is not reinventing the wheel for entertaining. Instead her book is a fine attempt at reinterpreting it.
Given her low profile prior to the royal wedding, Celebrate could be viewed as a premature effort. However, she's not the first person to jump on the bandwagon of her own notoriety nor will she be the last. To Pippa's credit, she acknowledges this in the introduction to Celebrate. She has the opportunity and she's taking advantage of it. By admitting this she makes it redundant for those who scoff at her efforts. Now who is being unoriginal?
Several reviews for this book have criticized Pippa for stating the obvious: 'ice goes great with drinks', 'a turkey at Christmas time is good for large gatherings'. Yes, it's true but let's be honest, even Martha Stewart falls back on 'Pumpkins add to the festive atmosphere of Halloween', 'Hearts make perfect Valentines' and 'Easter egg hunts are fun'. What Pippa does add to the field is her youth. Like her sister, she makes going the extra mile fashionable. Thus giving twenty-somethings options other than beer, wine, tortilla chips and brie cheese trays for their own parties.
Divided by seasons, Pippa presents crafts, recipes, nostalgic/traditional games and charming tidbits of trivia appropriate to the occasion. She also offers small glimpses into how her family celebrated events like Easter and Mothers Day. While her tips for building bonfires may not apply to most of her readers, some of the game instructions are hard to follow (Conker fights?) and hanging donuts from trees may be an attempt for the brave, her instructions for creating Christmas decorations and place settings using simple items can be for those willing to make the effort. Very reassuring for craft-challenged people like me.
With Celebrate, Pippa Middleton is not reinventing the wheel for entertaining. Instead her book is a fine attempt at reinterpreting it.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Tatyana
Format:Hardcover
Having heard some really negative reviews, I wanted to see for myself what this book is all about. I expected to see a lot of royal family pictures eating at the Middleton house or something of the sort, yet Pippa focused primarily on her friends. Her recipes are simple which is perfect for me, who is a so-so cook. I also learned about some new traditions such as the Burns night. I have already made several of her recipes from scratch and they came out great. She's not pretentious in her book and is overall a delight. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to make simple yet very tasty dishes both on an everyday and special occasion basis.
45 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have to admit that I bought this book mainly out of curiosity....to see what Pippa wrote and because I love getting new recipes and ideas for parties/holidays. I thought it was a bit expensive, but when it arrived and I opened the package, the book is HUGE! Totally worth the price! Not a skimpy book. It is arranged by seasons and holidays. Most of the recipes are British...some ingredients I've never heard of, but I'm sure I'll be able to find or substitute. But what I loved most was that everything is simple and pretty easy to do....nothing crazy, and it's very detailed.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book
Great ideas for every occasion. It is really nice to see how things are different in other locations. Thanks Pippa.
Published 5 days ago by KCKC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends
Great book and was a great gift. I will recommend it to otheres. There are things in this book that cannot be found anywhere else.
Published 13 days ago by George Gatliff
3.0 out of 5 stars
A failure in editing
Pippa Middleton took a lot of flak for her book, but as an editor myself, I believe that the flaw is on the editorial side. Read more
Published 1 month ago by EH
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Charming and Lovely Book
This book is really lovely; I am enjoying everything about it. The ideas are fresh and creative, and the recipes (along with beautiful photographs of the completed dishes) are top... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lorenza
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad.....not bad at all
I played safe and first read the copy a colleague had, approached it with the same attitude like the all-knowing critics - "a celebrity socialite sister of a Duchess can't do/know... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Poornima15
1.0 out of 5 stars
she was dropped so ....
I was considering getting this book (I am a huge Martha Stewart and Barefoot Contessa fan!!!) So, I read many of the reviews on Amazon, and it seems that a lot of people stated... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Discerning Eye
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun book
A lot of people are frustrated with this book...and I get it, and I understand their reasoning....but....I like this book. It's a great starting place for ideas. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Shannon E Hall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Celebrations
Pippa Middleton's Celebrate is a book with seasonal recipes and decorating inspiration. It's filled with enchanting, affordable ideas. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Nature Rose
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Recipes
Given the bad press on this book, I thought the recipes might only be so-so. We celebrate Burns Day every year so I decided to try her recommended menu. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Leslie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Pippa
Just a lovely book written well with beautiful illustrations. Very clear recipes ,quite English enjoying all festivities throughout the year.Good for Pippa quite a talented girl.
Published 3 months ago by Diane Henderson
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