The Joy of Advent: Family Celebrations for Advent and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Advent will be knocking at our doors before we know it! Charlene Rack is happy to recommend this book to every Catholic family. 

The Joy of Advent: Family Celebrations for Advent and the Twelve Days of Christmas

by Rebecca and Stephen Grabill
Published by Paraclete Press

I'm an older mom, with grown children, and a small house that rarely hosts our whole family anymore (because we can barely all squeeze in, and one daughter lives a 12-hour drive away), so The Joy of Advent lit a fire in me to do better with my own Advent prep this fall. Just because there’s only two of us is no reason to get lazy! As I did my first skim-through of the pages, looking at the treasure trove of illustrations was enough to get me excited.  

The ultimate Advent resource

This lovely book, co-authored by Rebecca and Stephen Grabill, is the ultimate Advent resource. You will find it filled to the brim with old (and new) Advent traditions to incorporate into your family’s Advent Season. Stephen and Rebecca will walk you through all the days of Advent, continuing all the way to the feast of the Epiphany. The research that went into this undertaking is quite impressive: the information, craft and activity suggestions (with directions), along with the support they offer will be a huge help for busy families trying to do your best as you juggle the usual day-to-day responsibilities of life. The aim is to make it easier on moms and dads while still giving plenty of simple, focused options to help your children get the most out of Advent, too.

The offerings are too many to list, but I can assure you that it is all rich in faith and family, as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus.  It will be up to you to select which informative nuggets you choose to share with your children, and if all you can do on a jam-packed/gone-awry day is page through the book with kids gathered around, it will still feed your souls.  There are also printables, accessible on JoyOfAdvent.com, making activities with the kids a much easier task. You will find these offered throughout the book.  

I also appreciated the great number of illustrations, many of them from the book’s illustrator, Clare Therese Gray, but also the historical illustrations which are included. My favorite was “The Genealogy of Christ, ca. 1180” on page 190 in the book. I had never come across this image before and was stunned by its detailed beauty and its importance regarding salvation history.

The book’s cover is absolutely lovely, with illustration of signs of the season. It’s perfect to leave sitting on the coffee table for guests to peruse, or perhaps even displaying it in your Marian home shrine during Advent.

One thing I know for sure: This will be a book that gets passed down through the generations, continuing to encourage your children and their families for many years to come! You might even decide to make it this year’s Saint Nicholas gift for all of your older progeny groupings! It would be a gift that keeps on giving, year after year. 

Is this a book you'd like to read? Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2024 Charlene Rack
Images: Canva