This is another Favorite book! I get a lot of my holiday celebrating ideas. It is a great way to celebrate family! I think a true homemakers classic!

This book will make you want to live in the Victorian era! It is wonderfully written with fascinating details about life in the early 19th century. Ban Breathnach's ideas for borrowing Victorian traditions are almost inspiring. I think this book would be better suited for larger families, or at least families with more than one child. Many of the traditions sound great but would certainly be fun with siblings to share the experience with. Also if you have only boys, they may not appreciate some of the more flower-themed traditions! Overall this book is a great read, whether you want to incorporate Mrs. Sharp's traditions or not. Sadly, I don't believe Ban Breathnach has written any other Mrs. Sharp books. I would love to read more like this one.

This is an older book but I still remember reading 25yrs ago. That should tell you something. And in this rushed and crazy world of today I feel it has much to teach us.

If it were truly a resurrected book from a century before SBB created Sharp, I'd be more interested. In fact, thinking that is what put it on my to-read shelf. As it turns out, I don't need the book... I remember all the wonderful traditions my parents and grandparents taught me, and I read historical fiction, and besides, my kids are grown and we're all doing just fine thank you.

If I found a paper copy to flip through, I would... but my only access is a scanned copy on openlibrary.org and that is not a recipe for success.

Is it of value to young families who don't have the memories to cherish that I do? Probably. But I'm just not sure, and suspect that there is lots of competition for the niche.

Feb. 2022

Fun things for a mom to incorporate in celebrations and activities.