Customer Reviews

Christmas Joy: A Keepsake Book from the Heart of the Home

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like all of Susan Branch's books, this one can be read over and over again each Christmas, and be enjoyed like it's the first time you've opened it. Very heartwarming and filled with wonderful recipes and crafts for the Holidays. This book makes a great gift for teachers!

I loved this book. I can't wait to use her ideas for gifts, decorating, and for making cookies this year for Christmas. She does such a beautiful job illustrating and hand-lettering each of her books that it's a pleasure just to flip through them.

This book has it all and is delightful. I bought this as a gift for my sister-in- law and am I ever glad I also got one for myself. Itis beautifully illustrated and is filled with recipes, decorating ideas and special thoughts. Its one of those books that you get out each year at Christmas time and you read it again and again.

This book is excellent. I absolutely love it. Susan gives so many wonderful ideas that are also so easy to do. I cannot wait until I can actually use the ideas. I am going to buy several of these books to give as early Christmas gifts to my family and friends. I could go on and on....

This book was great to curl up with the day after Thanksgiving and prepare your thoughts and ideas for the coming holidays. The stories and ideas put a smile on your face and a good feeling in your heart. The table decorations were fun to use. I look forward to preparing for my Christmas Eve Brunch and using some new ideas this year.

I always keep Susan's books on my shelf because they are all keepers. Her Christmas book is no exception. It may be little, but it is full of cute illustrations, helpful tips, and yummy recipes. It really puts you in the Christmas spirit. I can't wait to try some of her ideas.

I purchased the autumn book and really enjoyed it, so I ordered Christmas Joy. I was tad disappointed to see this was such a small and slender volume. It has the same cute recipes and suggestions but fewer of them. It is also fairly short- only 46 pages. I read it in about 15 minutes.

Overalll, a cute book, but I was expecting more.

I thought this book was a wonderful look at the holidays, and some different things that you wouldn't ordinarily think of. I recommend this book to give to anyone. Try all of Susan Branch's books. They have wonderful recipes, thoughts and saying.

I wrestled as to how to rate this book. I have virtually all of Susan Branch's books and have enjoyed them tremendously over the years. One of my favorites has been "Christmas from the Heart of the Home" from 1990. Therefore, upon seeing what was seemingly a new holiday offering from Ms. Branch, "Christmas Joy", I was, err... well; "joyful" at the prospect of more great things from Susan. Unfortunately, upon receipt and subsequent review, this "new" work is nothing more than a recycled version of the 1990 work "Christmas from the Heart of the Home", and in a tiny size about half that of the original book. Additionally, reading (re-reading) some of these pages, pages that were intended to appear in an 8X10 book is an exercise in reaching for a magnifying glass. For example, the verbatim reprint of "stocking stuffers" page from the 1990 original. For the first time in my life, I contemplated reading glasses.

In a word, I was very disappointed and will not be adding this book to my Susan Branch selections in the library, it became a re-gifted hand me down.

So, if you are considering buying this book (should I say booklet?), I would recommend that instead you seek out a used copy of "Christmas from the Heart of the Home" instead. You'll get about 75 more pages of content, and won't go blind trying to read some of the small font in this latest "copy-cat" version of the original version. I should have done more homework before getting my hopes up for a fresh offering.

If I had never seen the larger, more robust 1990 version with its extended content, I would have probably rated this book as a 4 or 5. Instead, I feel generous giving the work a 3. I found no new "Joy" in this purchase.

I had to have it to completer my collection of her books ... they are each one so nice to have. Some are better than others but I wouldn't want to be with out any of her cook books!