Although they would probably prefer advent calendars with chocolate on the other side of a paper window, the advent we do religiously is Christmas books. I have a collection that we keep in storage with the rest of our Christmas treasures. I buy a new book each year, and the rest are wrapped from our collection. Each night {ideally!} we sit together and unwrap one of the 25 and read.
Our new book this year is OSKAR AND THE EIGHT BLESSINGS. It is set on Christmas Eve in 1938, but the focus is Hanukkah. Oskar is a boy escaping the war in Europe, now a refugee in New York City. It is a beautiful book. I love that it shares the connection of Hanukkah which I would love to learn even more about.
the books we are unwrapping this year:
- A PIECE OF SILVER- A STORY OF CHRIST by Clark Rich Burbidge; illustrated by Annie Henrie
- The Original RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER by Robert L. May
- A WISH TO BE A CHRISTMAS TREE by Colleen Munroe; illustrated by Michael Glenn Monroe
- IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE FOR KIDS by Jimmy Hawkins; illustrated by Douglas B. Jones
- OLIVE THE OTHER REINDEER by Lotto Seibold and Vivian Walsh
- IF YOU TAKE A MOUSE TO THE MOVIES by Laura Numeroff; illustrated by Felicia Bond
- THE POLAR EXPRESS by Chris Van Allsburg
- CHRISTMAS FROM HEAVEN- THE TRUE STORY OF THE BERLIN CANDY BOMBER as read by Tom Brokaw; illustrated by Robert T. Barrett
- ONLY A STAR by Margery Facklam; illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
- CHRISTMAS ORANGES retold by Linda Bethers; illustrated by Ben Sowards
- MERRY CHRISTMAS BIG HUNGRY BEAR by Don and Audrey Wood
- SANTA CLAUS THE WORLD’S NUMBER ONE TOY EXPERT by Marla Frazee
- ROOM FOR A LITTLE ONE: A CHRISTMAS TALE by Martin Waddell and Jason Cockcroft
- THE CHRISTMAS EVE TREE by Delia Huddy; illustrated by Emily Sutton
- A SHEPHERD’S GIFT by Mary Calhoun; illustrated by Raúl Colón
- GOOD KING WENCESLAS retold by Jane Seymour illustrated by Omar Rayyan
- SALLY’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE by Charles Schultz
- CHRISTMAS COOKIES: BITE SIZE HOLIDAY LESSONS by Rosenthal & Dyer
- THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS by Nancy Tillman
- THE GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry; illustrated by P.J. Lynch
- HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS by Dr. Suess
- YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS by Chris Plehal; illustrated by James Benardin
- NINE DAYS TO CHRISTMAS by Marie Hall Ets; illustrated by Aurora Labistida
- THE BERENSTAIN BEARS AND THE JOY OF GIVING by Jan & Mike Bernestain
- MORTIMER’S CHRISTMAS MANGER by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
We have done this since our girls were small. My hope is that this will remain a tradition every year. I hope when our girls have homes of their own…I will deliver 25 books for them to open each day in December leading up to Christmas. There is nothing quite like ending the day together on the couch reading a beautiful book.
What Christmas books do you read every year? What should I add to our collection?
