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Bookshop Genres The Best Gift of All: Daily Readings and Activities for 24 Days of Advent and 12 Days of Christmas for the Family by Heather Grace-Force Martin
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The Best Gift of All
Daily Readings and Activities for 24 Days of Advent and 12 Days of Christmas for the Family
by Heather Grace-Force Martin

Overview

Written for Christian families with children between the ages of 2-10 years old, "The Best Gift of All" helps gently bridge the gap between the sacred and secular during the Christmas season. Throughout the book, author Heather Martin extends an invitation to find Jesus not just in the manger, but also in the presents, trees, lights, and activities that come with the holidays.
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Description

Christian parents experience a unique set of challenges when it comes to navigating Christmas with their children. Cultural practices often feel at odds with the spiritual significance of the season. Do we pretend that Santa is real? Are all these gifts teaching children to love the material world more than the spiritual one? How can we help our kids focus on the richness of Jesus without missing out on any of the fun? This book contains 24 Advent readings and 12 readings for Christmas. Each day your family will learn spiritual truths from the Bible which are reinforced through activities, crafts, and guided questions. In the Advent portion of this book, each day's theme centers around common traditions during Christmas time and uses those traditions and imagery to point towards a spiritual lesson. For example, Christmas trees are meant to remind us that Jesus came to give us everlasting life, one that is evergreen. Presents wrapped under the tree are a reminder of the hopeful expectation and waiting people experienced while waiting for the promised Messiah. Of course, if we are to address modern-day Christmas practices, there is no getting around the guy in the big red coat - Santa. This book addresses Santa by sharing a story from the life of the real Saint Nicholas and emphasizes partaking in the practice of giving in secret. The topic is left open-ended to accommodate families who practice Santa and those who do not. For the 12 days of Christmas, each reading centers on details of Jesus's life before his ministry began. It includes the stories of the Magi, Jesus being presented in the temple, and his baptism. It also includes some of the names of Jesus and a craft each day.


Written for Christian families with children between the ages of 2-10 years old, "The Best Gift of All" helps bridge the gap between the sacred and secular during the Christmas season. Throughout the book, author Heather Martin extends an invitation to find Jesus not just in the manger, but also in the presents, trees, lights, and activities that come with the holidays.

Read more

About the author

Heather is a follower of Jesus, a leader in her family, and a gifted communicator who guides people in making meaningful connections between their daily lives and their sacred purpose. For 14 years she helped people find their vocational calling through career counseling until she heard the call to step into children's ministry resources for the home. Heather completed her education at Biola University and lives in Southern California with her husband and two young children. You can connect with Heather on Instagram at @bestgiftofall.
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Book details

Genre:RELIGION

Subgenre:Holidays / Christmas & Advent

Language:English

Pages:144

Paperback ISBN:9781667813882

Overview

Written for Christian families with children between the ages of 2-10 years old, "The Best Gift of All" helps gently bridge the gap between the sacred and secular during the Christmas season. Throughout the book, author Heather Martin extends an invitation to find Jesus not just in the manger, but also in the presents, trees, lights, and activities that come with the holidays.

Read more

Description

Christian parents experience a unique set of challenges when it comes to navigating Christmas with their children. Cultural practices often feel at odds with the spiritual significance of the season. Do we pretend that Santa is real? Are all these gifts teaching children to love the material world more than the spiritual one? How can we help our kids focus on the richness of Jesus without missing out on any of the fun? This book contains 24 Advent readings and 12 readings for Christmas. Each day your family will learn spiritual truths from the Bible which are reinforced through activities, crafts, and guided questions. In the Advent portion of this book, each day's theme centers around common traditions during Christmas time and uses those traditions and imagery to point towards a spiritual lesson. For example, Christmas trees are meant to remind us that Jesus came to give us everlasting life, one that is evergreen. Presents wrapped under the tree are a reminder of the hopeful expectation and waiting people experienced while waiting for the promised Messiah. Of course, if we are to address modern-day Christmas practices, there is no getting around the guy in the big red coat - Santa. This book addresses Santa by sharing a story from the life of the real Saint Nicholas and emphasizes partaking in the practice of giving in secret. The topic is left open-ended to accommodate families who practice Santa and those who do not. For the 12 days of Christmas, each reading centers on details of Jesus's life before his ministry began. It includes the stories of the Magi, Jesus being presented in the temple, and his baptism. It also includes some of the names of Jesus and a craft each day.


Written for Christian families with children between the ages of 2-10 years old, "The Best Gift of All" helps bridge the gap between the sacred and secular during the Christmas season. Throughout the book, author Heather Martin extends an invitation to find Jesus not just in the manger, but also in the presents, trees, lights, and activities that come with the holidays.

Read more

About the author

Heather is a follower of Jesus, a leader in her family, and a gifted communicator who guides people in making meaningful connections between their daily lives and their sacred purpose. For 14 years she helped people find their vocational calling through career counseling until she heard the call to step into children's ministry resources for the home. Heather completed her education at Biola University and lives in Southern California with her husband and two young children. You can connect with Heather on Instagram at @bestgiftofall.
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Book Reviews

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Jeanette 		perfect for engaging little hearts Bottom line: this is a well written resource and fun guide for parents to engage young hearts with intentional focus on Jesus and his good plans and ways. There are activities (take or leave them easily) an the readings are short but focused for young readers. Thanks so much! Read more
Jaclynn 		Used Christmas images to point to Jesus We loved this book! It was fun to talk about different things we see throughout the Christmas season and how they can remind us of Jesus and why he came. The activities were fun and engaging. We are planning on doing it for a second year in a row! Read more
Joseph 		Thoughtfully and tenderly written, and fun! This book is thoughtfully and tenderly written and filled with practical important and fun ideas to implement the spiritual foundations discussed with each day! Read more
Samantha 		Thought provoking Enjoyed reading this book. The activities at the end of each were super cute and creative. Enjoyed learning about different Christmas traditions and where they came from, also enjoyed learning more about the wise-men gifts and their significance. The book was thought provoking and gave useful ways to discuss these important topics to kids. Read more
Tiffany 		The Best Gift of All Daily Readings and Activities for 24 Days of Advent and 12 Days of Christmas fo I really enjoyed using this book with my family! The daily readings present information in an engaging and accessible way. I could easily just cover major points if I was short on time that day, or go more in-depth with the discussion questions and activity suggestions. The format also makes it easy to present information for different age levels. The author does a great job of making big ideas and scripture more concrete and relatable to children. Another thing that I particularly liked (and appealed to my children) was how the readings were connected to modern Christmas traditions/symbols. Overall, my family had a great experience using this book! Read more
Angela 		This book will be a wonderful annual Christmas season family activity and tradition. As a grandmother, I was blessed to be a part of the family reading and activity time for 6 days of "The Best Gift Of All" while I was visiting during the holidays. I loved that my grandchildren, ages 6 and 3 1/2, were so excited and asking about when we were going to have the Advent readings. They learned the repetitive "Jesus is the best gift of all" and enjoyed saying it together as we lit the Advent wreath. The author did a great job of making it understandable and meaningful for the age group. The kids always looked forward to the creative family activity that went along with that days lesson. I appreciate the thoughtful way she prompted relatable questions to bring empathy and life application to the kids. It was such a rich and enjoyable family time. I did buy a book and continued to enjoy it, especially knowing the importance of Advent that my grandkids were learning and experiencing. I love that the 12 days of Christmas are included. I highly recommend this book. Read more
john 		Invitation What a wonderful book to share with your family during the holiday. It helps us to slow down and spend time with our little ones and talk about what the holiday is about. Finding Jesus in so many traditions that we don’t really think about and take for granted. Thank you for this sincere and gentle to connect with Christmas and what it means. Read more