I have a box of Christmas things marked "OPEN BEFORE THANKSGIVING." It contains the items we need to celebrate Advent: our wreath and candles, booklets of Advent readings from previous years, our Christmas music CD's, homemade nativity scenes, and three of our favorite family read-alouds for the Advent season.

Jotham's Journey - A story of young Jewish boy, the son of a shepherd, who gets seperated from his family.  In the process of searching for them, he finds the Savior!

Bartholomew's Passage - The second story in the trilogy, Bartholomew meets Jotham and has his own adventure leading up to Christ's birth.

Tabitha's Travels - Intertwining her story with that of Jotham and Bartholomew's, Tabitha finds Christ in her own way.

We've read and reread these books many Christmas seasons. The context of a story seems to provide a much richer experience for the children than a nightly devotional. The books are broken into small chapters to be read daily through Advent. Each reading offers a scripture verse and additional insights to make the Christmas season a meaningful time of worship.

Start with Jotham's Journey. Curl up with your family and some hot chocolate. You won't be disappointed come Christmas Eve!