Read Holiday Books with the Kids (12 Days of Christmas Family Fun)
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I have a little stash of Christmas books that I pack away with the decorations every January. We dig them out about this time every year.
Oh, sure, one or two renegade books floats around the house for the next year, but generally speaking, these are special occasion books; some are even leftovers from my own childhood.
I find that having stories for special occasions, like the music or the cookies, is another way to bring consistency to our holidays. It brings comfort and ritual and something to enjoy and look forward to. And even some of the “bigger” kids will gather around to hear the stories. Love that!
Some of our favorite books to read include:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt
The Christmas Eve Ghost by Shirley Hughes
Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston
Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story by Sally Lloyd-Jones
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (picture book edition) by Barbara Robinson
12 Days of Christmas
This week we’re sharing quick and easy ideas for family fun while some friends are sharing tips in different areas.
- Christmas Homeschool Fun: 1+1+1=1
- Christmas Decorations: Songbird
- Tips for a Healthy Holiday: The Thrifty Mama
- Saving Money: Surviving the Stores
- Travel Tips: Mom’s Travel Tales
- Christmas Recipes: Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
- Homemade Christmas Gifts: The Happy Housewife
I’d never heard of The Perfect Christmas Tree until this year….but yours is the 3rd recommendation I’ve gotten in 2 days! My copy is already on its way 🙂
There’s a lot of pressure to name my one very favorite Christmas book, so I’m naming my favorite “offbeat” Christmas book instead. My kids love Richard Scarry’s very zany The Night Before the Night Before Christmas. It’s definitely wacky but definitely fun, and it’s one of our favorite Christmas read-alouds.
Loved Richard Scarry as a child, but I’ve never heard of that book. Will have to check it out.
I just posted yesterday about how I make an “Advent Book Basket,” as way to make reading the Christmas books even more fun! I think that my favorite of all time is either, The Gift of the Magi (O’Henry), or The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever.
http://teachinggoodeaters.blogspot.com/2011/11/reading-our-way-through-advent.html
We read a number of books by Tomie de
Paola, like Legend of the Poinsetta, Legend of old Befana, and Jingle the Christmas Clown. He has a lots of beautifully illustrated Christmas books, many based on folktales where the main character is looking to honor the Christ child at Christmas.
Love Tomie de Paola!
“The Littlest Angel” would be one that I’ve loved from childhood on. Another one would be “The Most Important Christmas”, as well as “Apple Tree Christmas”, just to name a few. Oh, and if you’ve ever read “The Jolly Postman” with your kids, you might enjoy “The Jolly Christmas Postman” – love all the Christmas cards! 🙂
I have never heard of any of those! Off to look….
We started a new tradition this year called the 24 days of Christmas. We’ve got 24 Christmas themed books set aside, one for each night, so when one child is doing the Lego Advent Calendar, the other child gets to choose a Christmas book to read that night. I know another family that wraps their books so the kids get to open a “present” each night.