Holtam knows the climate science, the economics, and the structures of governance. He points the reader to UN Reports, church work on responsible investment, the excellent A Rocha Eco Church awards, and the vastly different experiences of climate change in different part of the world. He comments on poverty and inequality. He looks at creation, love, justice, prayer, worship, our life in Christ, and more. We are made in God’s image to enjoy and serve God’s creation, our common home. There are many echoes of Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’. There is practical advice for church life and for individual lifestyles. I was amazed, in my research, to find such a huge variety of different styles: some imaginative, some traditional, some for families, some for groups, some long, some brief, some with illustrations, some with activities. There really is something for everyone in this list. May you find a resource which will draw you into God’s heart this Advent! If you’re struggling this Advent, Contemplating Christmas is the devotional for you. Full of hope, it makes space for all the disappointments, bereavements and difficult situations we may find ourselves in as the year draws to a close. Each day includes the Bible passage in full, a reflection from Abby, questions to ponder and a breath prayer. I’ve long enjoyed Abby’s beautiful and sensitive writing style: nuanced with all the experience of one who has lived through difficult times, but never cynical, always hopeful that one day Jesus will come to redeem us and our fallen world. A gorgeous yet manageable devotional to guide you through Advent. Creation to Crib (David Sims, 2021) Discover 24 of our favourite kids picture books in this incredible bundle! It can also be used as an advent calendar to open every day in December this year! This bookish advent calendar comes with 12 individually-wrapped, book-themed gifts that are perfect for any book lover. It is meant to be opened in the last 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve/Christmas, which means you’ll start opening the gifts on December 13th or 14th. Bookworms are sure to enjoy opening each day’s item for a fun surprise leading up to the holidays!

In a phrase: An imaginative “Dear Diary” style read to take you deeper into relationship with Jesus The ideal Advent companion! Rooted in both the Bible and the current environmental crisis, Bishop Holtam’s meditations help us to face the challenge of the Saviour who will finally come in judgement of what we have done to God’s world, while we are preparing to offer all we have to the Babe of Bethlehem. Read it yourself daily, study it in weekly groups – but, most importantly, wake from sleep and act now before it is too late.’ Nicholas Holtam was Bishop of Salisbury from 2011 to 2021 and the Church of England's lead bishop for the environment, chairing the Environmental Working Group from 2014 to 2021. A Durham geographer before training for ordination, he lives in Brighton and is married to Helen with 4 adult children. Nicholas is the author of The Art of Worship: Paintings, Prayers, and Readings for Meditation and A Room with a View: Ministry with the World at Your Door. Sleepers Wake! is his first Advent book. If you’re looking for a fun but more inexpensive book advent calendar option, then this Bookish Advent Calendar is the way to go!

Book reviews

Buy the 12 Day Bookish Advent Calendar now! (or buy it on Etsy here!) 2. 25 Days Book Christmas Advent Calendar Looking for a book-themed Christmas advent calendar that has lots of cute gifts to open and enjoy? This 12 Day Bookish Advent Calendar is an excellent choice! BRF’s Christmas devotional for 2022 takes you all the way through from Advent to Epiphany, with in-depth daily devotionals (which include the Bible reading presented in full – very handy), introductions to each week of readings, and questions/creative prayer to use in groups. You do need to set aside a bit more time to read this devotional, as the print is small and the daily readings are a little longer than those in other books, but the sacrifice of time will more than make up for itself in terms of the richness of thought, depth of theological understanding, and challenge of personal application contained here. Tales from the Jesse Tree (Amy Scott Robinson, 2014)

And last, if you didn’t see an option you loved on the list above, you can always create your own book advent calendar! So with the definition of an ‘Advent devotional’ as something which will encourage your faith, here are my recommendations! Christmas and Advent devotions for families

Creative Play

You can get these calendars in your choice of 12 days or 24 days of gifts, and they come in varying genres and themes and for varying age groups. You can also choose between getting advent calendars with gently-used books inside, or getting ones with all new books! This is an incredibly easy-to-read and fun devotional, with each day’s entry featuring a fictional excerpt from Mary’s diary (based on Scripture), a Bible passage, a challenging devotional and prayer ideas. I love how each day ends with a memo from Mary – a simple, short truth to remember during the day. This book definitely hits my sleep-deprived-mum criteria of being both accessible and challenging – great stuff! The Advent Creative Retreat Activity Book (Mary and Mark Fleeson, 2013)

The Archbishop of York’s Advent Book for 2022 can be used as a study for both individuals and small groups, to help you get the most out of the season. With inspiring and motivating prompts for both prayer and action, Sleepers Wake encourages Christians to see Advent as an opportunity to wake up to the reality of climate change and hear God’s call to renew the earth.

This calendar features 12 days of Pride and Prejudice themed gifts, so you can open individually wrapped gifts daily in the last 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve! All the designs in this bookish advent calendar are newly released specifically for this box, and only a few of them are holiday themed so you can use the gifts all year round. It’s nearly the happiest season of all—Christmas! Which means it’s time to start thinking about ways to make this holiday merry and bright…and one of the best ways to do that this year is with book advent calendars. THESE fine and pertinent meditations on Christian spirituality from the former lead bishop on the environment weave the Advent themes of expectancy, judgement, and hope into the serious urgency of our environmental crisis. If you’re looking for a book to help you explore lament, pain, suffering and darkness in an accessible but theologically-rich way, this is the one. It’s not been written specifically as an Advent devotional, but the six chapters follow the liturgical year – starting with Advent then Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, Easter and Ordinary Time – so to read it during Advent would be highly appropriate. I love Rachael Newham‘s warm style, dotted with anecdotes from her own experience, connecting with us in our hard times, and deeply persuading us that lament has an important role to play in life and faith. The questions at the end of each chapter would make a great Advent study for small groups – you could read a chapter each week of Advent and take the rest into January (or start the whole thing in November!). Brightest and Best (Philippa Ruth Wilson, 2022) There are biblical reflections, and prayers and poems (from Traherne to Rowan Williams). We are reminded of Bach’s music and are offered poignant reflections from a dozen illustrations: including Rembrandt, Constable, Monet, Gerhard Richter, and Earthrise.