One of our family traditions we also enjoy every year is doing Advent. While there are some ways to do this very “traditionally,” we enjoy using Advent storybooks by author Arnold Ytreeide. He has written three titles: Jotham’s Journey, Bartholomew’s Passage, and Tabitha’s Travels.

For the four weeks leading up to Christmas, there is an exciting chapter about the main character, ending with a cliffhanger. This keeps both Mom and Dad and the children begging for more–but not until tomorrow!

We have been enjoying doing one of the three EVERY year since the author first wrote Jotham’s Journey in 1997. We tried one or two other programs when we finished the three books, but we always come back to these. While each book in the “trilogy” stands alone, it is fun to see how the main characters meet up with each other in the stories of Bartholomew and Tabitha.

When our first three children married, we gave each of them their own set of books to save and use with their children at Christmas. Now they are enjoying doing these Advent storybooks with their own children.

I personally never tire of doing one of these stories each year at Christmas and I’m amazed at how much detail I forget after three years. Believe me, these readings keep me on the edge of my seat, too!