The Best Christmas Books You Need in Your Home

These are some of the best Christmas books you need if you love reading with your children. It is one of my favorite times to share with my daughter. I I especially love sitting around the tree with Christmas music softly playing as we read together as a family.

One low maintenance tradition we celebrate each Christmas is the 24 books of Christmas. From December 1-24, we open and read together one Christmas or winter book everyday.

Wait – I though you said LOW MAINTENANCE?!?!

I know 24 books doesn’t SOUND low maintenance, but this really is pretty easy. I buy one fairly large gift bag and a package of tissue paper. While some people prefer to wrap a book for each day, I found that I just wasn’t the kind of person who will keep up with that.

While my daughter is busy, I take all her Christmas/Winter themed books from her room a few days before December 1. I am always amazed how she opens each book as if it were new and truly enjoys the magic of rediscovering her favorites even if she is a bit too old for some. I add a couple of new books each year, so she has a couple of real surprises.

After she goes to bed, each day I wrap one book in tissue paper, put it into the bag, and put the bag under the tree.

She is getting too old for some of the books from the first years we did this, but can’t quite bear to part with them, like Christmas in the Manger, Frosty the Snowman, The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas, and Bear Stays Up for Christmas.

 (to keep this affordable, the first year I did a dollar store toy or Christmas coloring book every other day and only purchased 12 Christmas/Snowy day books)

Some of our Christmas books are light-hearted tales of reindeer and sweet little children (or mice!). And we enjoy the beautiful illustrations and seasonal stories.

But there are a few stories that have become as much a part of our Christmas traditions as decorating the tree and setting up the nativity.

The first book that has become treasured in our home is The Carpenter’s Gift. I give this to my daughter the day we watch the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center. I DVR it so I can pick a convenient night.

The Carpenter’s Gift is a fictionalized story based on the first Rockefeller Center tree and focuses on the kind of sacrificial giving Christmas is really about.

The ending generally makes me teary-eyed.

I won’t ruin it, but the best gifts are the ones we give away.

Another favorite, is the Nutcracker. This version is perfect for younger readers. It is beautifully illustrated and keeps the story very simple. Reading it always builds excitement for our annual Nutcracker date.

I purchase tickets and put them in the bottom of the bag under this book. After we read the book together, she found the tickets and was so exited! And thanks to reading this book, she was better able to follow the story of the ballet.

Military families will especially enjoy the story of a family waiting for their soldier to return.

In 2017, my husband shared more of our reading times than he usually did. His time in the army was winding down, allowing him more time at home.

He was able to share one of my favorite stories with us for the first time. It was emotional for us all. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree is set 100 years ago, during the Great War. It’s about a soldier who leaves to serve before Christmas and isn’t sure he’ll make it home in time to provide the church with the tree he promised.

The little girl in the story is playing a sweet angel in the church pageant. She has simple wishes for Christmas, a doll and her daddy. Her mother moves mountains to give her daughter the things she can, but can’t bring daddy home faster.

As a wife and mother who has missed her soldier too many times at Christmas, I struggle to get through the last few pages, but the story is beautiful and meaningful.

Little girls and adoptive families will appreciate Holly & Ivy. 

Holly & Ivy is about an orphan girl and a Christmas doll who both just want to find a family for Christmas.

It’s hard to read without getting emotional as Ivy proudly declares she is going to see her grandmother (who does not exist) over the Christmas holiday from the orphanage. She randomly searches for a family, but when she finds Holly all the details seem to fall right into place.

The story also has two other narrators: Holly, a beautiful new Christmas doll who dreams of being loved by a little girl for Christmas, and a childless couple aching for a daughter.

All three of these characters are searching for the others. My heart aches along with them as I read this sweet and tender story to my daughter. We hug each other a bit tighter knowing the twists and turns God used to bring us together, too.

We love to choose stories that remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

Lastly, If He Had Not Come and God Gave Us Christmas are such a good books that remind us of the true meaning of Christmas.

If He Had Not Come paints the picture of what our world might be like if Jesus had not come. It helps us realize how much of the goodness in our world is reflections of Christ in us.

And God Gave Us Christmas is part of one of my favorite series. Narrated by a polar bear telling her daughter about how God gave us Christmas, the story reminds that we have fun traditions like presents, but that the gift of Jesus is the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

We added one special book in 2018 that I just know will become of our favorites. Each day is a character quality that will help us all be more Christ-like. It’s called a Character-Filled Christmas Book and we’re really enjoying it. It is all about the kind of heart and service we should strive for all year, but especially during the Christmas season.

Lastly, we read the Bible Christmas story, because it’s the greatest story ever and God’s best gift for the world.

And a few more books we added to the collection recently . . .

Reading these special books every night in December is a treasured tradition that I pray will last longer than her need to have me read to her. It helps us draw closer and get excited for Christmas together.