This is a good book if you want to bring more Jesus into all your holidays! Definitely one to go back to all year long.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is the sort of book I need to be able to craft excellent lessons about the Christian holidays in order help young people understand the differences between the commercial and spiritual aspects.
It’s clear and well written but certainly more of a reference guide for myself than a book I would provide students.

I like this book for the encouragement of bringing Jesus into our Holy Days and even to my own birthday!! Being part book and helpful ideas, it is also part journal for notes for future years. Cooking is the hardest part for me for big holidays as it all is on me to do. I'm making sure to keep notes of meals I've done.

If you struggle with Christmas becoming about THINGS, instead of a meaningful connection to Jesus, this might be the book to help you balance the holidays a bit more thoughtful. It's an inspiring read, but not always something that is easy to implement. Read for the ideas, incorporate what works for you and your family.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have to say this book was not what I thought it was. I guess I should have looked closer at it before requesting. I am not an overly religious person. I would say I am more spiritual. But this did teach me a little about the holidays and enlightened me a little. That is a good thing.

This book really brings you back to what the holidays should mean. It delivers thoughtful and pointed tips and ideas that have you rethinking your holidays and in many ways living them fuller.

In Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus, Becky provides you with a 3-part roadmap that will help you become a masterful celebrator of meaningful holidays.

What's unique about this book is that - in the midst of helping us plan fun family celebrations and navigate potential part pitfalls, she helps us to maintain our focus on Jesus throughout the process.

Sacred Holidays is a unique holiday book that every family and party planner should read!

I think it’s a self-explanatory title where the author imparted her spiritual knowledge on the holidays celebrated by Christians, how each is important and how it affects lives. It’s a good book but not my cup of tea so I can’t really delve into it. If you are more into non-fiction, spiritual or Christian book lover then I recommend this book.

With honestly and transparency, Becky Kiser takes readers on a journey of discovery to find the best way to keep holidays full of "whimsy" and yet dedicated to Jesus in her new book, Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus. This journal gives readers opportunities to reflect on holidays, set goals for how they'd like to have more of Jesus, and also note what works and doesn't work. Kiser gives great ideas for how to include more Jesus in various holidays, including Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, and even birthdays. One of the things I appreciate most is Kiser's clear stance that while Christmas is wonderful and we celebrate Jesus' first coming, Easter should be front and center--because without Easter we wouldn't have salvation. Also, instead of trying to keep up with Pinterest or Instagram by making a bunch of changes at once, Kiser advocates picking one or two things to start with and taking baby steps toward change.

As readers journal through Sacred Holidays, they'll find they've created their own working plan for how to make the holidays less stressful, less chaotic, and more sacred and set apart. Kiser helps readers clarify what the holidays are really about and helps readers discover how to best celebrate Jesus. In doing so, she covers some controversial topics, like whether or not to celebrate Halloween and whether or not to do "Santa." Some readers may be offended at first glance, but those readers who take the time to read and reflect may find themselves surprised by what they discover. It's also important to not that Kiser does not judge anyone for how they choose to celebrate the holidays. In fact, she clearly states that each person must search the Scriptures and seek God for what is best for their own family. And she advocates grace above all.

For those truly interested in setting apart their holidays and making them more Christ-centered, this is an amazing book cum journal to keep referring back to through the years as you ready, study, pray and work through how God wants your family to make the holidays sacred and less chaotic.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

Before the holiday season began, I read "Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus" by Becky Kiser. Basically, the idea to examine the ways we've been doing a certain holiday, why we've been doing it that way, dream how we want to do it in the future and offer ways to focus more on Jesus. There are a couple of ways to read the book. Cover to cover or jump to the next upcoming holiday. I began right before Thanksgiving and continued with Advent and Christmas.

We made a few changes, adding a few ideas from the book, and removing a few from our traditions that just don't make sense at the moment.

Overall, we were all pleased with how the holidays went. Less stress and definitely more Jesus (thanks to the Jesse Tree tradition we began this year.)

Looking forward to using this book over and over again.

I was alittlelatein reading this but I learned some invaluable information. Yes, the is a great book that willbewonderful to look at all year. Thank you

Sacred Holidays sets out to give ideas for how a woman can put more Jesus and less chaos into her holidays. It has a warm and gracious tone and, I think, largely succeeds in its goal. The biggest strength of this book is that it constantly points the reader back to Scripture, though I occasionally wondered how quoted passages of Scripture related quite various points the book was making. Still the way that the book constantly pointed the reader to study Scripture in all phases of the year was wonderful and encouraging.

I think this book is more helpful for those who do not follow the liturgical calendar. Those who do are already guided in their holiday (holy day) celebrations by their church liturgies. If your church doesn't provide such a guide for you, this book may be helpful. If it does, this book might seem to be tackling questions you don't even ask. As an Anglican I found myself a little out of step with the book.

I thought this book was great. I really loved the beginning about how to make the holidays more Christ centered. Then this book broke down what to do before the different holidays to prep and make and keep them more sacred instead of commercial. This really was a fantastic read, and I'm hoping to return to it often as I make this a better part of my life and holiday celebration.

What a fun resource "Sacred Holidays" is. Author Becky Kiser does a wonderful job of encouraging the reader to surround every holiday with a sacred attitude, and provides creative, easy-to-implement ideas in order to make each holiday special, rather than commercial. She does not belittle or criticize anyone's method of celebration, but asks the reader to remember to slow down and enjoy the holiday and loved ones, rather than giving in to the busy-ness of the holidays. Also included is interactive journaling (which is minimal and doesn't take up too much of the book) in each section, allowing the reader to log ideas to implement for each holiday. The book is entertaining and fun, but lovely and encouraging. It is organized by holiday, so one is able to refer back to the book holiday by holiday very easily. And easy ready, but highly recommended!

Thanks to the publisher, who provided me with an electronic copy of the book free of charge. I was not required to write a review. The opinions here are my own.

Sacred Holidays provides many practical ways to find that peace that only Jesus can provide. It’s not only for Thanksgiving or Christmas; it’s for every holiday of the year, which makes this book refreshing and unique.

Ideas for Joyful Holidays
The author leads you through a thoughtful journey of what hasn’t worked in your past holidays, what HAS worked, and what you can do to move forward in peace. She offers creative ideas for making each season more joyful and intentional. I’ll pull out a few:

Advent: Read verses while you light candles (ideas included)
Christmas: Pick a memory ornament or have a family fundraiser for a cause
New Year: Choose a word for the year and pray over your Christmas cards.
Lent: Make a Jesus tree or light Lent candles.
Summer: Too many great ideas to choose from!
Halloween: Pray over your street or host a pumpkin carving/painting party.
These ideas will help you foster family closeness and a giving spirit toward others. She also includes budgeting tips, adjusting expectations, handling conflict, and even dealing with grief during holidays. All the holiday bases are covered.

I like the author’s down-to-earth tone and bevy of doable ideas. She encourages you to do what works for you and your family–no pressure involved. If you want to be more intentional in celebrating holidays with your family, Sacred Holidays will help you do just that.

I received a preview copy of Sacred Holidays from B&H Books and Netgalley.

This is the most well-balanced book I’ve read on celebrating the holidays all throughout the year. I liked that this book is written for everyone: young, older, single, married, with or without children. There’s something for all in this book. It’s not a “how to” book of ideas, although the author does include some of those. This book focuses on discovering your own personal view of each season and celebrating your holidays in an intentional way. It’s a tool to help you all year long as each holiday draws near. Mrs. Kiser is not shy about sharing her own personal viewpoints on some holiday traditions ( such as Santa and Valentine’s Day), but she does realize that Christians share differing views on these subjects. There’s also plenty of scripture shared throughout the book on several topics to be an encouragement.

There’s a chapter in grief in this book that takes a look at how loss affects our celebration of the holidays. I thought it was excellent and has already been of personal help to me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book is transforming as the reader reaches a deeper understanding of the holidays and the opportunities that come with each one. I appreciate the author's writing style and the way she made me feel like I was a friend. I learned alot through this and am eagerly anticipating the coming holidays. I hope to truly experience the love and joy of this season instead of feeling that I fall short, run behind and am exhausted the way I have been in years past. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book and I plan to share it with many of my friends.

This bookmis a much needed breath of fresh air on how to approach holidays. This is not a read through and put on bookshelf kind of a book. It is to be used as a reference guide for each holiday. It is written like the author is sitting with you and is very engaging.

I have been wanting to read this book since I was doing a daily devotional using part of this book for Halloween. It has been a wonderful tool for me to use since I stress a lot about different holidays and not staying up on top of where others are. I compare myself and my holidays to what others are or what they do. It has allowed me to realize that I am my own person and I have to find the real reason in the holidays and not feed so much into why the holidays are commercialized. Thank you for allowing me to help work through my troubles with this book. I will find out soon how I do with Thanksgiving since I'm hosting it this year at my house. Thanks for a great book!

What a delightful book! I think this book is SO needed in our Instagram/Pinterest holiday driven world. I know I find it far too easy to get sucked into comparing what I see online vs what I experience in reality. This means I can easily lose track of what's really important, God, and honoring God's desire and Him in the holidays. Each holiday has an easy-to-read section and the first half of the book is general information for all holidays. I love that the author didn't skirt away from including Halloween in this book too! This book was a breath of fresh air. I think it would be an excellent Christmas gift or a great book to work through as part of a New Years resolution to find the sacred in your holidays.