24 Books for Kids! Perfect for a fun Christmas Countdown! || Letters from Santa Holiday Blog
24 Christmas Books for Kids that are perfect for Book-ish Christmas Countdowns!
Christmas books for kids – truly one of the best parts of Christmas. Snuggling up by the Christmas tree, or beside the fire, reading an old favorite to your wee ones under the Christmas lights cannot be beat! One of my all-time favorite Christmas traditions is our annual Christmas countdown with books. We do this every year, and I hope we always do. What surprises me most is that it is still the Little Helper’s favorite countdown (we do a few!). I hope it stays that way for years to come!
I have raved about this whole idea of using Christmas books for kids as a Christmas countdown enough in other posts so I will spare you the details here (though if you want some inspiration for your own you can read this post).
I thought it might be fun to put together a list of 24 of our favorite Christmas books for kids – one for each day of the countdown!
But before I do that, I just want to share 3 of my favorite ideas for “presenting” your book-ish Christmas countdown!
My 3 Favorite Christmas Countdowns with Books!
Unwrapped Book Advent Calendar via Reading Confetti
This wonderful Countdown uses 24 sweet little scrolls with a name of a Christmas book on each, inside of gorgeous wee boxes! This is especially perfect if you need a little time to get your book stash up to 24! The kids will never know the box is empty for the first week or two!
Unwrapped Book Advent Calendar via Reading Confetti || 24 Books for Kids! Perfect for your Christmas Countdown || Letters from Santa Holiday Blog
Christmas Books…A Christmas Tradition via The Idea Room
This is such a simple Countdown – you can use plain brown paper or white, which you probably have at home already. Then just add some pretty ribbon or twine, some printable Countdown labels, and you are ready to roll!
Christmas Books…A Christmas Tradition via The Idea Room
Christmas Book Bags via Design Dazzle
Toni inspired me a few years ago to stitch up some lovely book bags like this for our book advent. But have I done it? Nope! Actually, as I write this…I think the Little Helper is old enough now to give me a hand, so maybe I will actually get it done this year! Time for a trip to the fabric store…yay!
Christmas Book Bags via Design Dazzle
24 Christmas Books for kids…perfect for your Christmas Countdown!
These are all books that we actually do have in our Christmas book tote, with the exception of “How to Catch an Elf”! Some of them we no longer read as the Little Helper has gotten a little old for them, but I can personally vouch for them all being really good books which will be part of your Christmas Countdown for many years to come. I just realized as I wrote, that I guess I will need to do a follow-up post with books for older kids! Oh well, one thing at a time…
If you would like to take a closer look at any of the books, just click on the title above each book! To make your life easier, I have linked them straight through to Amazon for you :). Or if you prefer, you can find some of them on my brand new, very own Amazon page (yay! it’s so exciting!!) – just click right here!
How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace
Well, like I said, I haven’t read this one yet but from what I understand the story is about children setting traps to catch an Elf (after giving up on catching Santa) and all the tricky things they do. If you have read it, let me know how it is!
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Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by James Dean
Good old Pete the cat steps up to the plate to save Christmas when Santa falls ill on Christmas eve. It’s not easy, but Pete gives it his all and shows just what can be done when you don’t give up.
Merrry Christmas Stinkyface by Lisa McCourt
Who doesn’t love Stinkyface? In true Stinkyface style, he conjures up all sorts of mishaps that might interfere with Santa being able to follow through on his special delivery, and his sweet mother lovingly soothes his little heart at every concern. Of course Santa is in good hands, and is well taken care of!
Big Book of Christmas Jokes for Kids by Maxime-Alexandra Lavergne
Best kids Christmas joke book ever!! And I can say that because my own Little Helper wrote it (with a little help from yours truly). Our illustrator friend Tara did a fantastic job bringing the jokes to life with her fantastic artwork. Loads of Santa jokes, elf jokes, reindeer jokes, knock-knock jokes and more! Oh, and did I mention Santa jokes? 🙂
The Longest Christmas List Ever by Gregg Spiridellis
Little Trevor is determined to write the best wish list ever for Santa. The problem is, it just goes on and on and on! Trevor learns a hard lesson – with a happy ending!
The Spirit of Christmas by Nancy Tillman
If you are a sentimental sap like I am, you will love Nancy Tillman. Her incredibly beautiful illustrations and gentle words make me teary every time I read one of her books. This time ,the Spirit of Christmas narrates the story, visiting all of the things that make Christmas special.
Bear Stays Up by Karma Wilson
Bears forest friends are determined to help him avoid hibernation so that he can experience Christmas. Bear struggles to stay awake, and does manage to experience all of the things that are important about Christmas, including getting up close and personal with Santa himself!
The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert
This is not only a beautiful story about a little girl who wants to become one of Santa’s Elves – the story of how it came to be is equally spectacular! The photos in the book started out as family Christmas cards (dad is an amazing photographer!). Her mom was so inspired by the photos, she developed a little story about the wee girls quest to meet Santa and become one of his Elves. This is one you definitely don’t want to miss!
The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving by Jan Berenstain
It’s a typical Berenstain Bears book – lot’s of moral teachings. Brother and Sister learn a good lesson during their Christmas Eve pageant about the true Spirit of Christmas, and the importance of giving.
The Littlest Christmas Tree by R.A. Herman
The littlest Christmas tree is longing for someone to take him home and show him all of the incredible things people do with their trees at Christmas. One by one, all the trees find a home…all but the littlest tree. But not to worry…there is a happy ending in store!
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
This is a true classic! The story of one little boy’s journey to the North Pole, with many adventures along the way, culminating with a very special visit with Santa! We love this story so much we have created a whole night of Polar Express Adventure for our little family!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
I don’t think I really need to say much about this one! But hey…if you are a Grinch fan, you might want to check out our fun Family Grinch Night!
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Tina Gallo & Charles M. Schultz
And speaking of classics! I don’t think I really need to say anything about this book, do I?
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell
This is a truly beautiful book! It’s hard to believe the Christmas story can be retold so completely in such an entirely different way! This is one of the books I most look forward to reading every year – the message is just so perfect!
The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson
This beautiful book steps away from the usual depiction of a jolly round red Santa surrounded by Elves. This solitary Santa dresses in blue and lives alone at the North Pole. However the tale of how this gentle old Santa lovingly cares for his reindeer and prepares for his journey around the world is beautifully illustrated, and quite magical!
A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe
This is a charming story about an old tree in the forest who has never been chosen to be a Christmas tree. As often happens in the forest, his friends rally around to help make his special Christmas wish come true!
God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren
This lovely story is a beautiful way to help your kids connect the Christmas they love, with Santa and Christmas trees and presents, with the original Christmas story!
How to Catch Santa by Jean Reagan
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of catching Santa in the act? I still remember struggling to stay awake long into the night hoping to sneak out and surprise Santa at the tree (quick aside – The Little Helper did catch Santa twice at our little house! True story!) Watching this brother and sister duo hatch their plans to catch Santa will take you right back to those childhood memories!
Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson
Mortimer finds himself a perfect new home in a mouse-sized house conveniently located right beside the Christmas Tree! Imagine his surprise when he learns the real story about the people and animals that are meant to be living in his little stable!
It’s Christmas David! by David Shannon
Oh David! David tries his best to impress Santa as he works his way through the holiday season. But you know David! He is a handful, and Santa is watching! The question is, will Santa bring him something from his lengthy wish list? or will this be lump-of-coal kid of year?
How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
This delightful little book follows Santa from job to job while he searches for the right fit. Fortunately Santa meets some Elves who help him discover his rightful place in the world as Santa Claus!
The Pajama Elves by Hayden Edwards
This is one of my favorite books, telling the story of Santa’s very special Pajama Elves, charged with making and delivering very special pajamas that help wee ones sleep to allow Santa to make his special visit! The illustrations are captivating!
The Magic Christmas Key by Leann B. Smith
Young Andy becomes the keeper of Santa’s magic key, and finds it to be a much greater responsibility than he expected! A truly wonderful story, and this version comes with a Santa Key!!!
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore & Charles Santore
No list of Christmas books for kids would be complete without this classic! I am sure we could all recite this Santa story start to finish! I find that every version of the book is special in its own way, each with its own magical illustrations, and this one is no exception!
I hope you have found this post on Christmas books for kids useful! One thing to remember…you really don’t have to have all of your books ready to go on December 1st. You can wrap up placeholder books, and replace them with your Christmas books once you get them! The kids will never know the difference!
And if you want to keep costs down, I have 2 little tips:
- Take a look through your own bookshelves first! Santa has probably brought several books for kids already over the past few years that will work just fine!
- Visit your local thrift stores. We have found dozens of Christmas books for kids over the years in various thrift, charity and consignment stores. One year we hit the mother lode in Value Village in October and walked out with 34 amazing books for just a few dollars. That was at least 3 years ago and I am still adding in books from that stash!
- Remember – you only need to switch out a few books each year as they get older. The kids love reading the books from years past, especially when they have been hidden away for 11 months! We put twoor sometimes three of the “easy” books into one single day until we are sure she is ready to pass them on.
As the Little Helper gets older, we donate the books she no longer has an interest in. Although to be honest, it is her choice, and she finds it hard to pass them on, as she has special memories attached to pretty much every book in the tote. Which is why we are onto our second giant tote of Christmas books for kids! Hubby Helper just loves shifting those totes around the garage, let me tell you!
Happy holiday reading!
24 Books for Kids! Perfect for a fun Christmas Countdown! || Letters from Santa Holiday Blog
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