This year, instead of hanging one of our two advent calendars that require 24 little gifts that I will surely end up stepping on or stuffing into our already overflowing book drawer, I decided to do a book advent calendar. While my kids don't have the greatest sense of what day it is, which means I'm still getting the "how many days until Christmas, mom?" questions every few days, we are enjoying the slew of wonderful books, opened each day by one of the kids and read together as a family.
Between our own collection of Christmas books, along with the library and a Barnes and Noble gift card (and educator's discount card!), we've got a book for every day until December 25th. For us, this is rather exciting, because I often find that other than our bedtime story, we don't do as much reading together as I would like.
Of course, there are tons of wonderful holiday books, not just Christmas, but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa as well, which I hope you'll share in the comments. These are just five of my absolute favorites — old ones and new discoveries — that I think you and your family might enjoy as well.
I hadn't actually read this modern classic book and didn't realize that Olive is… *spoiler alert!* a dog! It's such a sweet little tale about a dog who misinterprets the lyrics to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and ends up earning honorary antlers from Santa.
After seeing the movie so many times (the cartoon, not the one with Jim Carrey), I actually realized that I'd never read the book. Or at least, it had been a very long time. This book particularly captivates my rambunctious son, who rarely sits still for anything. But the Grinch gets him every single time. And I'm pretty sure he makes my heart grow three sizes.
I discovered this book a couple of years ago when it was first released and it's probably the loveliest Christmas book I've ever read. Between the illustration and clever rhyming prose that incorporates lyrics from well-known holiday songs, it's hard not to like it. But the message it sends, which is that the spirit of Christmas is being together with our families. I get teary every time I read it.
We've had this book for ages and my kids love it so much that they sneak it out of my Christmas bin where I try to keep it safe. Illustrator Arthur Racham brings the text to life with simply amazing Victorian-inspired cut paper pop-ups. It's truly a work of art and keeps my kids captivated while I read the story that can, at times, get a little long winded (sorry Mr. Moore).
I've been fascinated by the Ani-Motion books and I admit that the fancy feature is not actually my favorite part of this book. Rather, on each page, the prior days' characters are represented, so you can read (or sing) and then find all the calling birds, french hens, and everything else. So if you've got kiddos who love to read and follow along, they'll enjoy it while the others search point the characters out.
So tell me your favorite holiday books!
I only heard about Advent calendars online, it's not something we do here traditionally. But when I have my own kids, I'd love to start this tradition. And doing it with books sounds like a truly wonderful idea.
Here's two more funny/sweet titles to look for to add to your collection!
Merry Un-Christmas is about a family who has to celebrate Christmas 364 days a year. She looks forward to the one day that its NOT Christmas. Super cute and funny to read about their holiday traditions.
Twas the Night Before The Night Before Christmas- kind of a parody on the original set in modern times. Mom gets sick, the lights don't work, the baby has an accident on santa's lap, but the family all comes together to make the holiday season special despite the crowds and mishaps. Its very sweet!
I love The Night Tree by Eve Bunting.
"The Best Christmas Pagent Ever" is our family's favorite holiday book. My kids LOVE the Herdman kids, who make us laugh with their naughty antics, but teach us the true meaning of the Christmas story. There is also an movie version of this book that is fun. But the book is SO much better!
OMG!!! I love Olive the Other Reindeer!!! It is so hard to find someone who has heard of it. There was a TV movie but it is really hard to find…I have only seen it once. Another cute movie (I know…it's not a book, but I haven't seen this in a book yet) is The Very First Noel. It is so cute and really expresses the spirit of Christmas.
When our son was a neworn (1998) we started the tradition of getting a new Christmas book each year (and writing the year on the back cover). It is so fun to get them out every year now! "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" is definitely our favorite. I think we'll either get "Treasures of the Snow" or "The Christmas Carol" next year.
What are your favorites from your 20 years of getting new books each year?
If You're Missing Baby Jesus by Jean Gietzen and Christmas Tree Memories by Aliki, 2 of my favorites.
This is our all time favorite also! I was thinking we need to re-read it when the kids get out of school on Friday.
Can't forget Mortimer's Christmas Manager – a little mouse moves into a nativity set, lugs the statues out every day, only to have the family keep putting them back. One night he here's the Dad telling the story of Christmas and realizes he can't live there. Very sweet story, great for preschool age.
And another favorite is Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. It's about a man who has a tree delivered that is too big and how many families end up with the trimmings as their tree.
I love "A Christmas Dress For Ellen" by Thomas S Monson its very heart touching and inspiring.
Thank you for these suggestions! Each year my kids and I take a day and go shopping for a special ornament that represents our past year and a new Christmas book. We have bought so many that nearly every night is filled with a book from years past. There are many that we really like. One suggestion is The Not so Wise Man by Alan McDonald ~ a really cute book.
A Bad Kitty Christmas by Nick Bruel.
Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree. It's about how the top of one big tree gets from house to house of Mr. Willoby's animal neighbors. Good Book!
It's a really great one for older boys who are outgrowing picture books, but have a mom whose not quite ready to let go.
My 3 year old grandson LOVES the movie…we are working on the book. But I know he will eventually love it as much as the movie. Many more readings to come. I tear up every time I read it.
I did this for several years with my kids and they loved it! I thought they might be getting too big and didn't do it this year and my oldest asked me when I was going to wrap our Christmas books. I love Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl Buck. I can barely get through it. My kids always look forward to pulling out The Jolly Christmas Postmanm by the Ahlbergs. My Christmas would not be complete without some of Tasha Tudor's beautiful books – like The Dolls' Christmas! And finally I was given a beautiful copy of A Christmas Carol two years ago, illustrated by PJ Lynch, which has become one of my favorites!
I have been wondering about the Spirit of Christmas…I'll order it now that I know it's a goodie! We love Snowmen at Christmas, A Wish to be a Christmas Tree (gets me weepy every time!) & Humphrey's First Christmas!
My girls are now 15 and 11 and for several years now we have read "The Autobiography of Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guinn". It is divided into 24 chapters, one per night, and goes back to the beginning of Bishop Nicholas and how he gave his first gift. We take turns reading it to each other out loud as well.
I think it helped my 11 year old who was teetering on the belief/disbelief of Santa. She believes in Santa, but knows that parents have to help him.