Festivals Family and Food

Such an informative book, good for a growing child and mother. Enriches the childhood and relationship. I had this book myself as a child, and now I bought for my new nephew and his mother, the same. Its like a resource book for parents and rainy days: and would be oh so valuable also for early years and primary school teachers. Secondary school would be too late for this resource, but there are still great reciepes which work for Home economics teachers. It is centred around home life, festivals and family, and food! Just like the title says.A rich resource which has not wasted money (printing cost) on glossy pictures, just has all of the information you need to make your home festive and real in a way children enjoy. Very good for a stay at home Mum.

I really like the simplicity of the crafts, games, and recipes in this book. It's arranged by season, with four sections. Each holiday usually has a recipe, poem or short passage, activity, and short explanation. The crafts are very back to basics, which I love.

lots and lots of fun, poems, songs, if you are homeschooling and using the waldorf/ rudolf stiener method. this is a good first book to get

I loved this book while my kids were growing up and used many of the crafts, songs, games, and especially the recipes. I lost that one in a flood so I'm glad I could find it again. It arrived in the time specified and in perfect condition. Very happy with my familiar and much-loved book.

Wow, my first Amazon review! Wish it were more positive cause I'm that kinda gal but here goes anyway. Our family has a hodgepodge of unschooling/Montessori/Waldorf/seasonal and nature-loving accents. Husband is a Montessori teacher and used to teach at Waldorf. We love being outdoors and playing with plants, rocks, trees and stuff. Needless to say we are always looking for earthy creativity in the form of seasonal crafts and working with nature's little treasures to put fun, imaginative and meaningful constructions together. We love the idea of rites of passage, seasonal festivals, seasonal tables (we have a seasonal tree).This book seemed like a good fit. I like All Year Round from what I have seen of a friend's copy, but shy away from outright purchase of it because of the Christian tone (we're Unitarian-types). So I got this instead thinking it would fit a similar scope minues the religious agenda. It seemed like it did. It seems like it should. But it just didn't nail it for me.I'll start with the foods. They are fatty and non-progressive, laden with suggestions for food coloring, mayo, sour cream, tons of butter etc. Alright I confess we're a vegan (and high-raw) family, but it's not like I was expecting vegan or raw recipes. I was hoping for more earthy, harvest-type foods. Fresh pressed fall cider, summer berries harvested in the woods, wild edible herbs and salads from your backyard, local farmer's market stuff, even canning/pickling tips, farm/garden fare and fun holiday goodies like popcorn balls, nutmeg pumpkin soups, cornbread and homemade rosemary or apple breads, cranberry sauce etc. There is some of that stuff here and there but very little of it and none it it natural and whole foods based. I always keep thinking "This food is gross." Sorry if that sounds harsh; I don't mean it to. I realize that this was printed in like the early 80's and there was a different food vibe going back then but there was also a great back-to-the-land movement then and I guess I thought these authors were part of that scene. Ok so you get my point on the food thing.The festivals bit gave me some loose ideas but did not have hardly any educational content in the form of history, folklore, legends, stories...things I could really get into. I'd love to tell some of those stories to my girls but will have to keep searching (yes, suggestions welcome!) It just had stuff like how to build a Maypole and some songs to sing around it but not the content and understanding of why the Maypole is cool or important. It's kinda like you have to already have that knowledge and if you do this book wouldn't add much insight for you anyway.The crafts used some raw nature materials but also needed glue, string, scissors, foil, etc. I was hoping for more hardcore just-what-you-can-find-on-the-ground gnome and fairie villages and stuff. And also to include legends and stories about those fairies/woodland creatures would have added more fun and purpose behind making some of the projects.The book has a nice harvest-type book cover and warm homemade-quality notes and sketches that keep me reaching for the book again, but then I always walk away let down. No cool stories to tell, no recipes I would use, very few crafts simple or appealing enough to actually make. I'm a music teacher and the songs are a nice touch but the lyrics are more obscure-nursery-rhyme-from-another-time in nature (which I guess is fine; I am a believer in music preservation too) but I was longing for harvest/bonfire/seasonal and sort of melancholy-yet-childlike timeless tunes.I think all of the above things I was seeking comprises the book I would have loved to be written. Maybe there's one out there like that and I'm hoping to find it.If there are some inaccuracies in my report it's cause I don't have the book with me; just recalling what I remember from it the 15 or so times I've tried to give it an earnest chance. I don't outright dislike the book and it's clear the authors put a lot of love and caring into their work; I just haven't found it very useful for what I was looking for.

This is a book I used for many years with my now grown children. My daughter requested a copy for her own use with her daughter. It's just packed with songs, recipes and games appropriate to the seasons and festivals of the year, including some not so traditional ones like Martinmas and Guy Fawkes Day!

This is a great book! So many ideas for celebrating Waldorf festivals. We use it all the time. Whether you're new to Waldorf or just looking for some new ideas, this book has got you covered.

Festivals, Family and Food is the quintissential book on celebrating the year and the seaspns! A "must have"! Wonderful reading!