In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life by Courtney DeFeo is a great read that reminds us to have fun.

This is a fun, easy read for the Christian parent who wants to bring more joy into their home.
Defeo breaks down 12 virtues that parents desire to teach their children, and gives verses, quotes, definitions, and examples of ways to incorporate that virtue into your daily lives.

What if someone told you the way to your child's heart is through their laughter? Teaching them the joy of Christ is just as important as discipline? This book teaches parents that laughter and fun is one of the most important parts of your child's life and winning them over to Jesus. 

Each chapter tackles a different virtue, one for each month of the year, complete with family activities, a memory verse and discussion questions to go along with that virtue. It's a super fun book, and one that will change your family's life!

I was able to read an ARC of this book through Net Galley, and requested it since I have always worked to give my own five kids a magical childhood and love the idea of a book about making laughter a daily part of our family life.

I didn't realize by the title or cover that this is first and foremost a book specifically designed to teach children about Christian virtues related to scripture, God and Christ. This is not a negative thing, of course, but readers should know it in advance in case this does not match with their religious views or what they're looking for in the book. Religious teachings are part of nearly every paragraph of the book, so this would not be a good fit for families who follow other faiths or are not religious.

The author gives lighthearted ideas for ways to play and be silly, focused around 12 virtues like joy, forgiveness, faith and humility. Each chapter is interspersed with activities like playing dress up in parents' clothes from other eras, rubbing a balloon on their hair to make it stand up, playing catch the flag, seeing who can be tickled with a feather for the longest without laughing, etc. The ideas are suitable for families with young children. Each virtue is designed to be covered in one month, with a few ideas on ways to incorporate it during that month. There are 60 ideas total, such as #51: "I Spy Gratitude" where family members take turns saying "I spy with my little eye something God gave me and I am grateful," and then they take turns guessing what the person is thinking of.

The book is short, lighthearted and encouraging, with a fun format that is likely to be great for Christian families looking to put a little more joy in their homes.