Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family [Paperback]

Kathleen Basi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2010

Here's a treasure trove of exciting ideas that will enable your family to focus anew on preparing for the holy time of Advent and Christmas!
With a fresh, lively set of suggestions that will attract young and old alike, Joy to the World will help lay the foundation for long-lasting family memories.
Joy to the World takes a three-pronged approach to the season:
The Advent calendar, where daily activities are organized into four categories of Service, Spiritual Growth, Homebody, and Pure Fun
The Evening Ritual, incorporating the Advent wreath and the Jesse tree, and featuring simplified Scriptures that young children can readily understand
The Good Deeds Manger, which puts the family's focus on preparing their hearts for the coming of Christ

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kathleen M. Basi earned a master of music degree from the University of Northern Iowa. She has held a variety of positions in the field of liturgical music. Her articles about faith, family, and liturgy have appeared in several Catholic periodicals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Liguori Publications (July 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764819372
• ISBN-13: 978-0764819377
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.2 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Catholic liturgists are conditioned to spend December in a huff---every time Santa shows up, or somebody mentions the baby in the manger, they get irritable and shriek, "But what about the second coming? What about ADVENT? Christmas begins on December 25th!" But even liturgists have young children, and Kathleen Basi's attempt to reconcile the secular and sacred traditions of December led to the writing of Joy to the World: Advent Activities for your Family--and a conviction that Christians can and should enjoy the best that the secular world has to offer in the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

Kathleen is a stay-at-home mom, freelance writer, flute and voice teacher, composer, choir director, natural family planning teacher, scrapbooker, sometime-chef and budding disability rights activist whose essays and articles have appeared on NPR as well as in several national magazines. Kathleen puts her juggling skills on display at www.kathleenbasi.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Advent Activities for the Whole Family November 3, 2010

By Jennifer

Format:Paperback

Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family by Kathleen M. Basi [Liguori Publications (July 1, 2010)] is a book of advent readings, activities, and rituals. Published by Liguori Publications, a Catholic publishing company comprised of a "community of religious priests, brothers, lay people, and contemplative nuns," Joy to the World: Advent Activities for Your Family is an effort to "reclaim Advent... to reconcile the secular with the sacred."

My family is not Catholic, although my husband was raised and schooled within the Catholic church, and while at times Ms. Basi does lump Protestant denominations and secular culture together as one, the ideas she presents for reclaiming Advent are good, and can be easily used by families wanting to bring more of the true meaning of Christmas back into the season, Catholic or not. I particularly liked the ideas for the good deeds manger; the list of service, spiritual growth, and homebody ideas for Advent activities; and the simplified readings for instituting a Jesse tree tradition with young children.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts printed in this review are entirely my own. Special thanks to Rebecca Molen of Liguori Publications for sending me a review copy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book to help celebrate Advent December 27, 2010

By Amy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice little book to supplement - more like a pamphlet December 14, 2010

By A.nonymous

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.