I started this blog post a year ago after I was asked what books I use in our Christmas book advent, and in such a timely fashion I'm just getting around to finishing it. Your welcome! ;)
I started this tradition when Nolan was 2. We wanted to start a tradition for our new family and I saw a few people doing this online and felt it was perfect for our emerging reader. I started with only library books and slowly added to our collection via after Christmas sales, garage sales and gifts. That is why I'm posting this in October, so if you want to give this a try you still have time to reserve books at the library or order them from amazon if you wish.
We now do this through the entire month of December because we love it so much. I highly encourage you to try it even for just a week leading up to Christmas.
How we do it is every night from December 1 -31 we unwrap and read one of our books. I let the kids take turns unwrapping each night and we read all together even when we had a 6 month old. Pretty simple but means a lot to us.
Here are a few tips we've learned over the last few years.
*Wrap each book individually and line them up somewhere they can see so they have a visual reminder of how many days/books until Christmas. After Christmas I start over with winter theme books until new years.
* Use only hardcover or board books because they are easier to wrap and stand up by themselves. We have a few paperbacks that I just leave around so if they want to read those we can.
* Wrap a few books a night because wrapping 31 all at once is ambitious. I start in mid November so we are ready by December 1. This year I'm hoping to find a green alternative to wrapping paper (burlap/fabric/reusable bags?) so I'll keep you posted on that.
* Number your books so you can plan for other activities related to each book. I will use examples under the book descriptions but some folks just grab them from a basket randomly. Whatever works for you!
* Pick a variety of books from silly, classic, interactive and some with a message unique to your family. Our family is not religious so we talk more about Santa, giving back to our community, the importance of family, and Christmas being more than presents. If we go too mushy for a few days in a row Nolan loses interest so I stagger them a little to mix it up and to allow a few days for the deeper stories to sink in.
Here is what we will be reading this year:
This book is our very favorite. We have it in board book but will be replacing it with the hardcover version after this year. It's about an overgrown tree at a Christmas tree farm that is passed up every year because he's too big. He super sad that he is passed up AGAIN so his woodland friends decide to make his wish come true. We all love this book and I look forward to it every year.
Nolan likes the illustrations in this book but the message is pretty great too. I guess bad kitty is a series, but we haven't read any of the other ones. This one is written in rhyme about bad kitty who runs away after he doesn't get what he wants for Christmas. While away he meets a lonely old lady who takes him in and tells him about her life and family. Bad Kitty feels bad about about leaving his family, decides to return home and invites his new friend to come along. Very sweet message about reaching out to others.
Bear stays up to be with his friends on Christmas even though he should be hibernating. He makes it through all the usual Christmas traditions but will he make it until Christmas morning? Nolan always likes to pretend he doesn't know how it ends and acts surprised.
I don't think I need to explain the plot of this one. But I number this one to correlate to a Thursday night so we can watch the movie on our Friday family movie night. Nolan just got into this book/movie as before 5 he thought it was too scary.
To be totally honest, I like this one way more than the kids, but they think it's fun so it stays. Mama bunny hears there's a blizzard coming so she makes baby bunny a hat. Baby bunny loves it so much he asks his mom to make one for all his friends for Xmas. His friends are all kinds of animals so she makes elaborate and creative hats for each one and when the blizzard comes they realize it was the perfect gift. I'm a big fan of diy gifts so this was an easy choice for me.
We love llama llama books so this was an obvious choice for us, but the message is so sweet. Llama llama grows impatient after being rushed around to do Christmas shopping, baking, etc and loses it. Mama llama decides it's time to slow down and just be with each other and cherish the holidays together. I usually put this one in the middle as a reminder to SLOW DOWN.
I think everyone knows this one, but I will point out the obvious and say we read this on Christmas eve. I really like this version because the illustrations are very detailed and my kids find new things on each page every time we read it. We grew up with a pop up version of this book which was pretty awesome too.
Nolan specifically asked for this one after reading it in preschool last year and luckily I found it at a consignment sale...win! I will save this to read between Christmas and new years since it's more winter themed.
Oh boy I love this one. I recently bought this one online since it's out of print but worth the hunt to track it down. So this family goes out in the woods every year and chooses a tree but instead of cutting it down they decorate it with strung popcorn, bird seed ornaments and other animal friendly treats. Then they drive home and imagine the animals gathering together to snack on their Christmas tree under the moonlight. I plan on doing this with the kiddos this year, it's the first year I think they will enjoy it and can't wait!
This is another of the kids favorites because Olive the dog is so silly! He hears the Rudolph the red nose reindeer song and thinks the line "all of the other reindeer" is actually "olive the other reindeer" and that he is really one of Santa's reindeer so he heads up to the north pole. Santa and the reindeer humor him and bring him along but when they hit thick fog Olive saves the day. So silly and sweet!
I can't remember much about this one other than the hat is textured and the kids love to pet it. That alone makes it great.
A classic my train loving boys had to have. We read this on Thursday night and watch the movie the next night for Friday movie night. My kids don't love the movie as it's a bit long but they love the imagery, especially right after reading the book. We also do a Christmas Eve polar express in our Honda pilot where we all get in PJ's, drink hot chocolate, listen to Christmas carols and drive around to look at Christmas lights. We have been doing this since before we had kids which is pretty fun that it carries on.
Christmas is over and Santa feels a little let down that there's nothing to look forward to anymore. His elves and Mrs Claus remind him that there is something to look forward to all year. We read this on Christmas night once everything is settled down. As someone who gets the post Christmas blues I appreciate the reminder as well.
The reindeer go on strike due to "poor living conditions" (they want a hot tub and TV) and Santa stubbornly tries to replace them instead of meeting their demands. The replacements are hilarious and obviously don't work out so Santa and the reindeer reach an agreement. You can say it's about corporate greed, unions, or whatever but it cracks the kids up to see a flock of flamingos try to fly the sleigh and that's all I need.
Nolan's favorite for sure. A little boy asks Santa for a pirate ship and makes him pirate gingerbread men as a reminder. They come alive overnight and shenanigans ensue. We read this the week that we start baking all our Christmas cookies. Nolan even made a pirate gingerbread man last year.
We have almost all these how do dinosaurs books because we love them and it's a great way to sneakily teach kids manners. This book is no exception but with a holiday twist.
This one is also out of print but such a great book about how Santa found his job. But first he tries his hand at being a mail man, circus performer, and chimney sweep. All these experiences help him land his dream job.
Nolan loves imagining the snowmen he makes come alive at night to all get together. I always hope to time this with snow but around here that is asking a lot. It hasn't happened yet, fingers crossed this is the year!
Evidently it's common knowledge that aliens love underpants and they also love Santa so when Santa's sleigh breaks down they help him spread cheer their own special way. It says underpants a lot and that usually leads to a lot of laughing around here.
Interactive lift flap book about a puppy exploring all the new Christmas stuff around him. Pretty simple and best for little kids. We will be retiring our copy after this year.
This was the first book I bought for this project so therefore I will always keep it in the rotation. A little boy with a wild imagination thinks of all the ways Christmas can go wrong and his mom helps him solve the potential problems. The little boy reminds me of Nolan who's imagination tends to wander to worst case scenario so we especially love this.
Another simple one that will always be here because it's a classic. It's scratch and sniff the smells of Christmas. Oranges, hot chocolate, gingerbread and pine, etc.
This is a new one this year but it has construction equipment and lift the flap meaning both boys will be heaven.
Nolan recently got into this series and I know he will enjoy this addition. It's a play off of 12 days of Christmas but unique to these mouse books.
We will be retiring a number of our board books after this year since Miles will be 3 by next Christmas and ready for more substantial books. Here are a few I will be looking out for as we adjust our collection.
Since I haven't read them yet, I'm stealing the descriptions from amazon. Don't they sound so sweet!?
Davy and Santa save the day while celebrating the true spirit of Christmas! When Davy’s father says: ‘Santa Claus likes us to share things and help each other,’ Davy takes it to heart. Soon Davy has fed all of the hungry animals and now his family will have to go hungry this Christmas. But on Christmas Eve, they hear a knock on the door. Could it be Santa Claus? Perhaps Davy and his family will have a merry Christmas after all!
When Wilma decides her garden needs a new beginning, she gathers string, scissors, shovels, sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and Parker, her five-year-old neighbor. Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many they plant, how many perish, and how many grow to become fine, full Christmas trees. A cozy, holiday read-aloud and a lyrical way to usher in the month of December.
Little Santa loves the North Pole. The rest of his family? Not so much. So, when they decide to move to Florida, Santa is miserable. Lucky for him, a blizzard foils their plans. The only way out of the house is up the chimney. Up goes Santa, to look for help, and along the way, he meets a reindeer and a large group of elves, who are more than eager to join in the rescue!
"Mr. Willowby's Christmas tree Came by special delivery. Full and fresh and glistening green--The biggest tree he'd ever seen." That was the trouble. The tree was so tall, it couldn't stand up straight in his parlor. Mr. Willowby asked his butler to chop off the top of the tree. What happens to the treetop? Where will it be for Christmas? Snuggle up with this story and follow along through a forest full of friendly creatures who get to share in a bit of Christmas joy.
It's a pop up book, need I say more?!
When celebrating a special Christmas tradition things go awry. Papa, Dad, their amazing kid, and one fabulous grandmother work together and implement a plan to save Christmas for a child they have never met. It's a story where joy is found in giving and selfless acts unite families.
When a terrible storm whisks Grandpa and Grandma off the road on the day before Christmas, it scatters their grand children's presents all across Mother Goose Land. Their search for the lost gifts leaves them empty-handed but with hearts overflowing with love. But what will Grandpa and Grandma tell their grand kids when they arrive without presents? A knock on the door leads grandparents and grandchildren on an exciting Christmas Eve adventure, a night filled with music, magic, and the best gifts of all - gifts of the heart.
This one would be perfect for new year's eve-
In Snowflakes Fall, Newbery Medalist Patricia MacLachlan and award-winning artist Steven Kellogg portray life’s natural cycle: its beauty, its joy, and its sorrow. Together, the words and pictures offer the promise of renewal that can be found in our lives—snowflakes fall, and return again as raindrops so that flowers can grow.
From icicles clinging to roofs and houses strung with colorful lights to visiting Santa and hunting for the perfect tree, this classic-in-the-making celebrates all of the holiday’s excitement. Evoking both winter’s changes to the world outside and well-loved traditions taking place within, here is a story to encourage readers to curl up with their loved ones and bask in the magic of the Christmas season.
Winter is drawing near, and like every year around this time, the forest animals catch the train that will take them to warmer lands. The trip is going smoothly, until one passenger suddenly yells: “We’ve forgotten Squirrel! We’ve got to go back and find her!” A delightful tale of friendship and solidarity, Winter's Train takes young readers on a touching touching journey that brings out the very best in everyone.
Alright so longest blog post ever, hopefully someone out there will be inspired to do this too as it really is fun! Let me know if you have a favorite Christmas book we should add to our list.
