Customer Reviews

The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-by-Season Companion to 400 Celebrations and Activities

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I just finished reading this wonderful new book and found it to be both a fascinating history lesson (it provides lots of background information about holidays and traditions from around the world) and an accurate view of family life in modern America. The suggestions it provides are practical and realistic for families who are trying to combine many different cultural backgrounds or step-parents and -siblings.

Most of the other traditions books out there are more of a how-to handbook (with recipe-like instructions) to be consulted on occasion, not a book you can sit down and read cover to cover like this one. The Joy of Family Traditions is a beautiful book with a warm, cozy feel. I also appreciated the sections of this book that talked about family traditions that involve charitable giving, and volunteering. I highly recommend it.

I'm a new mom, and I was looking for information on traditions I can start in my new family. My parents had a small number of things they did with us kids regularly, and they are some of my favorite memories. I was looking to expand on that and find new ways to interact with my kids that honor the special moments in their lives and that make our time together as a family more memorable.

This book is a great resource for that. The book is broken down into the four seasons, and within those seasons, the various holidays, festivals, and historic celebration periods are explained. The author gives examples of how some families celebrate these events and makes suggestions about how you can incorporate the meaning of these celebrations into your own life, starting new or enhancing existing traditions in your family. Even beyond the examples and suggestions, the information really gets your own creative juices flowing.

The book is incredibly rich, and it's good for people with or without children in their lives. I'm so glad I bought it!

A beautiful book with creative ideas, like having a family hibernation weekend in February. The author recognizes that not all families are the same and that their traditions should reflect family members' heritage, culture, ethnicity, and personalities. She is also very sensitive to the challenges of creating meaningful traditions in blended (step) families. It is the Mother's Handbook for building family bonds.

Not only that, but it is so beautifully designed from cover to cover that it is the perfect holiday hostess gift or Mothers' Day gift.

And whatever you do, DON'T skip the introduction.

Lucy Adams author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny

With three young children, finding time for in-depth reading isn't a possibility. This book is a great collection of traditions from around the world and throughout history. Some of these are written in a narrative, story-like format and make them accessible to our oldest one as well. The facts seem to check with other books we have on solstice, so we trust it.

Definitely worth it for busy parents.

This book has many great ideas about how to create family traditions that will be remembered after your children grow up. It also give you ideas that you can use to taylor your own traditions. Traditions and celebrations do not have to be big expensive productions but they can be joyful and memorable.