Our Favorite Christmas Book Tradition

Please join Felix the Elf as he counts down to Christmas with The Advent Box Christmas Activity Booklet!

Felix shared this holiday tradition with me when the kids were small. You wrap Christmas books and then, starting December 1st, you open one to read together every day until Christmas. Our kids each received a new book every Christmas, so now they all have quite a collection!

Tip: wrap the books before you pack them away so they’re ready to go next December. You can mark them with a Sharpie in case you’d like to read certain books on certain days. We always read The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve. I always set a book by the Advent Box each day, but you can put the entire stack out in a basket or under the tree.

Here’s a list of great books to get you started!

A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Angela’s Christmas by Frank McCourt
Angelina’s Christmas by Katharine Holabird
Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
Christmas in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Holly Hobbie
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Peef: The Christmas Bear by Tom Hegg
Santa Mouse by Michael Brown
Snowmen at Christmas by Carolyn and Mark Buehner
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
The Night Before Christmas Pop-Up Book by Clement Clarke Moore and Robert Sabuda
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
Winter’s Gift by Jane Monroe
Wombat Divine by Mem Fox