Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2010

This book was a great addition to our Advent worship this year. It has short bible readings for each day along with suggestions on how to celebrate Advent and take back this season. The stories were simple enough for our 5 and 7-year old and short enough to hold our 3-year old's attention. Our 9-year old enjoyed reading them too and was not "bored" by the simplicity in any way.

I am pleased with this "book" but be aware that it is very small-it is more of a pamphlet of basic guidelines than an actual book. I will update after advent with a more thorough review.

I wanted to add more Jesus into Christmas this year to teach my children that it is more than just Santa and getting presents. This was a great book for young children. My 4 year old daughter was very into the stories.

tiny little book. Not what I expected. Also, written for the Catholic faith. I guess I didn't read the fine print. I was looking for a Christmas devotional for a protestant, Christian family.

Not a lot of details. I could have come up with a list on my own, I wanted how to, not a list. So very disappointed.

Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family has been on my (LONG!) list of books to buy and read so I was thrilled when I won it during one of RAnn's Christmas in September giveaways.Every year when the second week in November comes, I start to think about Advent and Christmas (Like many of us). I resolve to make Advent the spiritual season it was meant to be and NOT to get caught up in the secular, materialistic celebration of the season. This resolve has been particularly paramount the last few years as Andrew has become more aware of Christmas.Alas, most years I start strong but has the weeks pass I get too caught up in the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas, and lose focus. I get harried and rushed and basically just try to survive the craziness. Then Christmas comes and I'm exhausted and wondering where the last few weeks went.Hopefully, this year will be different since I will be taking a different approach and using this book. Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family is a small, but jam-packed, book that offers a selection of activities and suggestions for making Advent meaningful - and I can hardly wait to get started!In this book, Kathleen reminds us of the "unique place Advent holds in the Christian calendar" - especially for us Catholics. BUT, she is is practical and shows us how to keep Advent in its place by showing us how to interject the Advent spirit into the many activities and obligations we have in preparing for Christmas. The result is the perfect marriage between the secular and spiritual aspects of the season!Using traditional Advent activities, Kathleen outlines a daily plan that incorporates a morning and evening ritual, including a "good deeds" manger. The suggestions are simple; and yet, if we allow them, we may find ourselves deepening our relationship with the Lord - which is the purpose of Advent.Besides the myriad of suggestions, there are two things I particularly appreciated about this book. First, is the reminder that in Advent we focus on BOTH of Christ's comings: His birth and His second coming at the end of the world. And second, is the explanation of the Jesse tree. I've heard of the Jesse Tree, but it wasn't a tradition in my family growing up so I never understood what it was about. Now I'm looking forward to starting this tradition in our family. :)

One of the things I like best about having my little one in Catholic school is that she comes home and tells me how they celebrated a saint's feast day, or a Holy Day of Obligation, or Advent or Lent. Still, we all know that if it doesn't start at home it doesn't go very far. My older kids didn't go to Catholic school when they were little so I was always on the lookout for good child-friendly religious activities, especially to use during Advent and Lent.Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family is a handy easy-to-use Advent guide aimed at parents of young children. Basically the author, Kathleen Basi suggests that families begin their Advent days by checking an Advent calendar, and then, at dinner, use an Advent Wreath and a Jesse Tree. She also recommends a manger for baby Jesus, a manager the kids fill with straw as they do good deeds. Basi includes several lists of activities that can be done during Advent, from caroling to attending daily mass to baking Christmas cookies.While Basi herself admits that her ideas are not original, what she is "selling" is the plan, the organized way of approaching the days before Christmas so you can truly celebrate Advent rather than just Christmas Shopping Season. Personally, I can tell you that our family will be using her version of the Jesse Tree. We do it yearly, and while a Google search will give you any number of different sets of ornaments to make or color, what I always have trouble finding is a story to go with each that is short, understandable to young children, and faithful to the scripture. Kathleen's version is all of these.I'd like to thank Kathleen Basi and First Wildcard for my complimentary review copy.

I picked this up when I was checking out selections at my local Catholic bookstore a week or so ago."I don't really need another Advent resource," I thought, and I actually believed that, until I spent a few minutes with this book.It is the total "You can do it! Even if you're Slacker Sarah!" resource. Basi recommends setting up a morning and an evening ritual for Advent. In the morning, she has a simple Advent calendar approach. In the evening, it's time for the Jesse Tree and the Advent wreath.Before you go and run like the overwhelmed mini-me you are, let me just say this: I think I can do this. And if not all of it, then some of it, with ideas for the future.This is the sort of Advent resource I'll be dog-earing and using later. There are a number of ideas and you could use them all (the Good Deeds Manger spells "mancub eating all the materials, even if they don't seem edible to normal people" to me, but maybe next year...) or you could do what I'm going to do and pick a few.The writing is accessible and approachable (which you know I'm a big fan of) and I think this book is going on my "Advent Favorites" list already.