A Merry and Bright Adventure: A Christmas Devotional for Family, Faith, Food, and Fun

by Katie J. Trent

With all of the exciting sights, sounds, and smells of Christmastime, it can be hard to get children to focus on the real reason for the the birth of Jesus Christ. But let’s face all of us can get caught up in the hustle-bustle of planning for family gatherings, decorating, and shopping for gifts. Author Katie J. Trent offers a solution to the mad rush of Advent with A Merry and Bright A Christmas Devotional for Family, Faith, Food, and Fun. This unique family devotional will help you discover new ways to enjoy the season with Christ at the center of it all. You’ll grow in your relationship with Jesus—and each other—as you learn the history behind holiday traditions and discover Jesus in everyday moments.A Merry and Bright Adventure Kid-friendly lessons and Scripture readings for ages three and up focusing on a specific holiday tradition for each day in December leading up to Christmas. Simple prayers and discussion questions such as “What gift would you bring Jesus if you met Him today?” and “Why were angels important in the Christmas story?” Family adventures ranging from making ornaments and gifts to spreading Christmas cheer to others, stargazing, and carol singing. A baking buddies conversation connection with a short Scripture to go with the theme for the day and a recipe. There are thirty-one recipes in all to give families some options. Full-color photos throughout. A Merry and Bright Adventure is packed with ways to make Advent a special time for the whole family. Katie’s goal is to help you make the season more meaningful and memorable, not more stressful and chaotic! “Think of this devotional as an arsenal of tools for your toolbelt,” she says. “Feel free to pull out the tools that are helpful each day and reserve the rest for another day—or another year. Have fun and enjoy the season together.”

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2024

About the author

Katie makes family discipleship easier--and deliciously fun! She's the bestselling author of "Dishing Up Devotions: 36 Faith-Building Activities for Homeschooling Families", "Recipes for a Sweet Child: Creative, Bible-based Activities to Help Your Family Thrive", and "A Merry and Bright ADVENTure: A Christmas Devotional for Family, Faith, Food, and Fun."

Katie's a popular speaker and homeschool mama of two who's also a Pinterest drop-out with a messy house and happy kids—most of the time. After spending years helping others improve their lives through professional counseling and ministry, Katie realized the most fulfilling (and challenging) work she would ever do actually happens within her own home. Find more resources to build strong, faith-filled families at KatieJTrent.com.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful guide for your family Advent & Christmas celebrations! It has devotions, prayers, recipes, activities, and more! It's beautifully put together, and will be a treasured resource year after year.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

this would be great for a family because there are lessons and recipes and crafts and acts of kindness that would be fun and meaningful to do with kids.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christmas is a special and fun time in our home. We also homeschool and we love Christmas schooling during December. Learning about the birth of Jesus is the focus of Christmas for our home and I love finding wonderful resources to help me share this with our kids.
This book is a great resource to celebrate the Advent season. It has 25 chapters that each begin with a scripture reading, a specific holiday tradition, a prayer, and a recipe. If you homeschool, like we do, there is a homeschool ADVENTure guide!! It provides some great and easy ways to build the activities into your daily routine. The book also includes a grocery shopping list and supply lists, this makes it super simple to prepare and be organized!
My teenage daughter was super excited to see the recipes shared in this book. She absolutely LOVES Christmas and can not wait to start this book! I know my son is going to be excited to try all the yummy recipes. I think the great activities that are made would be wonderful gift exchanges.
I think it's going to be hard to wait until Advent to start this because it really is a special time for us and the book is wonderful. I can see us using this year after year and making it a family tradition.

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

We didn't get around to doing every single day of this advent devotional, but the days that we did do were helpful in that they tied Scripture and culture together in an accessible way for kids and adults alike. I think the only thing I didn't like about it was that most of the recipes weren't nutritious. I have nothing against indulging in delicious dishes from time to time, but if kids are looking forward to a fun activity every single day then you can kiss your healthy diet goodbye. Although it's not required that you do every single activity, and some of the days even suggested healthier alternatives, I found that this was not the one stop shop that I was hoping for. If we do this devotional again next year, then I will have to do some research and find relevant activities that won't send us into a sugar coma.

[Kelly Cadilla-Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Beautiful Way to Celebrate Jesus Anytime of Year!
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2024
I absolutely love this devotional and is a beautiful way to celebrate Jesus! It is filled with incredible activities geared for family fun and celebrating that Jesus is with us (which can be done anytime of year!) We also homeschool and I am usually exhausted when December hits, but this year I am SO excited about planning Christmas school early! We have been talking about how Jesus is our light and pulling activities to illustrate that to the kids this week. Absolutely LOVE this book and how Katie Trent inspires us to disciple our children in a FUN FILLED way!!!!!!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Catholic mom of two small kids, I’m so excited for this book! Not only is there a homeschool guide to help me apply the lessons to our schooling, but there are fun crafts and a variety of delicious recipes to keep my kids’ attention. I especially like how we learn the Christian origins of holiday traditions. This is the perfect devotional to share with kids each year to keep Christ in Christmas and add fun to our homeschool!

[Molly Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie has done it again! This devotional has it all: a strong Scripture base, family friendliness, amazing recipes and activities that tie in with the devotions. I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking to bring Christmas back to a truly Christ-focused time, but still have fun and eat all the tasty foods of the season.