Book Review: Catholic Family Fun

I'm excited to review Catholic Family Fun for you because I have enjoyed it so much! I know my regular readers are probably scratching their heads, wondering why I'm reviewing a book geared towards families with children. Well, as soon as I read about this book, I thought it would be cool to show a unique perspective about it, and that's that the book is very diverse. Like I already stated, it would be perfect for families with children. But it could also be used in youth groups, faith formation classes, homeschool groups, family get togethers, and countless other situations. And as I'm about to show you, it can be used when there are no children at all!

My husband converted less than a year ago and I reverted not too long before that. For adults who feel somewhat clueless in their faith, it is really easy to be intimidated. So that's why I was excited to read this book. There are some activities that are better left for children, but there is a lot that can apply to people in our situations! And after all, it is called Catholic Family Fun... and we are a family who is Catholic and loves to have fun!

So let's get into the actual book. It's organized in a very easy-to-use way. There are things to do both at home and away from home, activities that appeal to all ages, and range from quiet to loud to hands on to experiential. The book is just packed with ideas! One thing that is really helpful for those of us who are *ahem* less creative, is that everything is spelled out completely. There is no guess work. At the same time, the activities and ideas are totally customizable for what works for your family.

A few of my personal favorites were the Ways to Serve chapter, and Ora et labora. My husband and I have been looking for ways to give back together, but our work schedules don't line up for us to do much volunteering together. This chapter gave us some practical ways to serve and even led to some donations for a local crisis pregnancy center. We had a lot of fun using the chapter to come up with ways to give back, right from the couch! We hope to use the more hands on suggestions in the near future when we have some time off together. I also really enjoyed the Ora et labora, which is the idea of praying through work. We used some of the suggestions in the book, such as praying during chores, and 'made it our own' by turning on a Catholic radio station while we clean the house together. This concept helped us to incorporate faith into areas of our life that we never would have thought of and that, in the past, we spent doing somewhat begrudgingly!

 One of my very favorite things about this book is that there are food ideas connected to almost everything. My husband and I make every effort to have one meal together each day no matter our schedules, so this is a time of togetherness and bonding for us. So having ideas to incorporate our faith into this time, besides saying grace before eating, was particularly fruitful for us. I would absolutely suggest this book for families with children, but also for couples wanting to grow  in a more childlike love for God!

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Catholic Family Fun. The Catholic Company has great gift ideas for all seasons of the liturgical year, be sure to check out their Advent selection and Catholic Christmas Gifts.

I was given a copy of Catholic Family Fun at no cost to me in exchange for this review but, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own and a positive review was not required!