Christmas Book Advent + Favorite Christmas Books!

A favorite Christmas tradition…Christmas Book Advent. Open and read a Christmas book every day, December 1st-25th.  Also included is a list of favorite Christmas books…beloved stories to be treasured and shared with your family every Christmas season.

There is just something so magical about listening and reading Christmas stories, and it’s one of our family’s most favorite Christmas traditions.  It’s one of the most perfect ways to celebrate the season, and spend some really wonderful family time together.  What could be more cozy than curling up on the couch each night, snuggling in blankets, and reading about the most beloved time of year? For all of those reasons, our Christmas Book Advent is one of the most beloved traditions of the holiday season.

Christmas Book Advent

How does it work?  I wrap 25 Christmas books (my favorite way to wrap is with brown paper and red baker’s twine–love!), and each day in December from the 1st through Christmas Day, my kids open a book for us to read together. Once they’re unwrapped, I leave them out so they can can continue to read and re-read them.I collect Christmas books, and every year I add to our collection and choose a few more favorites or new discoveries.  I supplemented with books from the library for a long time until I had enough to do on our own, but I still like to grab a couple there.

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If you love the cute numbered tags, you can download them HERE.

It’s never too early or too late to start your own collection!  Just buy one or two favorites a year, or more if you can!  Supplementing with library books is the way to go…just be sure to check with them to see how long you can have books out, and plan accordingly. Our library has always been a 30 day checkout, with no renewals for holiday books, so I checked my books out right around the 24th of November.  Once we moved here, I found out that we only get a 2 week checkout period, so I have to change my plan. If you have children in school, make sure to check their Scholastic book orders–it’s a great place to get books at low prices. If you can’t buy books now, get all of them from the library, or even try garage sales or thrift shops where you might find a few treasures for cheap.

I just received some new books in the mail for this December, and it literally made me giddy! I CANNOT wait to get started!  My children are little, and I choose books accordingly, but I also challenge them a little bit, and select old-time classics and favorites that might be more than their typical listening level.  These stories capture their attention, and they feel that extra something special that surrounds them, and they love to listen to even longer books than they might normally.

I also include some board books, which my smallest ones love, and are appropriate for babies up to preschoolers.  My school kids can be involved by reading these to their siblings, and they love that. I tend to shy away from character books, but if your children love those most, why not a add a few to your own library!  For those of you with older children, or only adults in the home,  try reading a chapter book aloud each night- like our family favorite, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. That’s something else we look forward to, and even the little ones listen in.

Here is my list of favorite Christmas books…although it’s not all of them, because the list would be too long!  But these are the ones we we love most and are a part of our Christmas Book Advent.

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS BOOKS

• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, Susan Wojciechowski
• Little House Christmas Treasury, Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Room for a Little One, Martin Waddell
• The Tale of Three Trees Angela Elwell Hunt
• A Christmas Carol Susan Wojciechowski
• The Christmas Candle Richard Paul Evans
• The Little Match Girl Hans Christian Andersen
• The Legend of the Christmas Tree, Rick Osborne
• The Gift of the Magi, O.Henry
• The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, Gloria Houston
• Christmas in the Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Who is Coming to Our House? (Board Book), Joseph Slate
• A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree, Colleen Monroe
• The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg
• Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree,  Robert Barry
• Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect, Richard Schneider
• Christmas Day in the Morning Pearl S. Buck
• Winter’s Gift Jane Monroe Donovan
• A Christmas Carol (picture book edition), Charles Dickens
• The Little Fir Tree, Margaret Wise Brown
• Humphrey’s First Christmas, Carol Hever
• Oranges for Christmas, Linda Bethers
• Jingle Bells, Iza Trapani
• The Light of Christmas, Richard Paul Evans
• Drummer Boy, Loren Long
• The Nutcracker, Susan Jeffers
• This is the Stable, Cynthia Cotton
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson

What are your family’s favorite Christmas books? I’d love to hear them!!

 

 

 

Other Christmas ideas you might like…

• Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt (Kids + Adults)
• How to Write Letters to Santa and Get a Reply
• Vintage Farmhouse Christmas Pillows
• Christmas Kindness Countdown Chain

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