Pippa Middleton's tips on how to have a magic Halloween and brilliant bonfire night

19:01 EST 20 Oct 2012, updated 11:18 EST 26 Oct 2012

Simple, creative entertaining special: Part 1 - A magic Hallowe'en & brilliant bonfire night

A year to remember

'It’s a bit startling to achieve global recognition (if that’s the right word) before the age of thirty, on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom.

One day, I might be able to make sense of this. In the meantime, I think it’s fair to say that it has its upside and its downside. I certainly have opportunities many can only dream of, but in most ways I’m a typical girl in her twenties trying to forge a career and represent herself in what can sometimes seem rather strange circumstances.'

I am by nature an optimist, so I tend to concentrate on the advantages. One of the most attractive has been the chance to publish Celebrate.

I’ve always loved to write, so it seemed natural to try to combine this passion along with my enjoyment for entertaining, an enthusiasm I hope to share with others.

I don’t think there’s a right way or a wrong way to celebrate. But I do strongly believe in the importance of bringing friends and family together. I have been lucky enough to grow up in a very close-knit family and this has played a central role in my life. The nurturing of friendship, family and home feels more important than ever to me in a world that sometimes appears to be moving so fast that we forget what really matters.

The book is designed to be a comprehensive guide to home entertaining, based on my experience in my family’s party business Party Pieces, and work for London-based events company Table Talk. It is a useful and practical journey into British-themed occasions and I hope it offers welcome inspiration and ideas, most of which needn’t leave you alarmingly out of pocket. Entertaining on any scale can be stressful and daunting so Celebrate is all about finding ways to manage and enjoy the process.I hope readers will see it as a feel-good book with ideas to look forward to each month, providing threads of lasting, happy memories, be it around a table lit with candles in winter, outside on a rug in summer or in the autumn, perched on a leaf-covered bench, hot drink in hand.

I have very fond memories of many of the events celebrated in the book and my wish is to convey why I feel each one should be there. I hope there’s something for everyone, whatever their age. Celebrate is structured around the seasonal cycle and focuses on tradition, ritual and rhythm, providing a glimmer of anticipation and hope – like that warm feeling on your back on the first sunny day of the year or spotting the first signs of spring.

I begin the year with autumn, the celebration of gathering and golden light, which marks the end of summer and a new start. Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night are almost here and you’ll find a harvest of ideas for both occasions on the following pages.

I know many of you will pick up the book out of nothing more than curiosity. I can assure you that it feels even stranger to me than it probably does to you to have seen so much written about me when I have done so little to paint a picture of myself. This is my first chance to do that, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

I hope you may find Celebrate fun to read, practical to use and inspiring to look at. I’ve tried to make it as all-embracing as possible – but I’m having new ideas all the time, which I look forward to sharing with you in the future.

Thank you very much for your support.

'The nurturing of friendship, family and home feels more important than ever to me in a world that sometimes appears to be moving so fast that we forget what really matters'