My family loves reading, and we keep a special stack of books that we only bring out once a year. In December, we read our Christmas books over and over, and we were excited to unpack them from our Christmas storage boxes again this year. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite Christmas books to read with my family. If you don’t already own them, check your local library or an independent bookstore to support your community during the holidays!
The Christmas Story
Technically, it’s part of a larger book. In the Bible, Luke 2:1-21 tells good news of the birth of Jesus, and Matthew 2: 1-12 recounts the wise men’s journey to see the newborn King. You will find plenty of books with their own versions of the story, but the original text is a great read, and many families have a tradition of reading the Christmas story on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
The Night Before Christmas
The Night Before Christmas is another book that many families will be reading on Christmas Eve. This fun poem about Santa will have your whole family chanting “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Your children will giggle as the grumpy Grinch learns about Christmas kindness and transforms into a generous giver when his heart grows three sizes.
Charlie Brown Christmas
This is a classic feel-good Christmas story. From Charlie Brown’s ability to find beauty in a tiny, bare Christmas tree to Linus’s wisdom about remembering “what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” this story is too good not to read every year.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
There are several different books that tell this classic Christmas story. In all of them, Rudolph, with his bright red, glowing nose, begins life as a North Pole misfit. One foggy Christmas Eve, Santa needs a light to guide his sleigh through the fog, and Rudolph saves Christmas!
The Littlest Christmas Elf
The Littlest Christmas Elf is a Little Golden Book that I had as a child and that my children enjoy too. Allister, the smallest elf at the North Pole, is too tiny for any important job and too scared to meet Santa. When he befriends a big elf who believes in him (spoiler alert, it’s Santa!) he finds himself helping with the biggest job of all, toy delivery on Christmas Eve.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
This chapter book may take a few days to read with little ones, but it is worth it! The town’s Christmas pageant gets a new director who reluctantly allows the the “worst kids in the history of the world” to star in the show. The town soon learns the real meaning of Christmas and how showing kindness is more important than a picture-perfect Christmas play.
The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree
This Little Golden Book was given to me by my preschool teacher, and I’m glad my mom kept it because my kids love it! Forest creatures are sad on Christmas Eve because Santa always skips over the tree they live in. Their visiting Aunt Mim decides to change that and enlists everyone to decorate the tree so that Santa can’t miss them this year. The result is the biggest, most beautiful Christmas tree, and yes, it catches the eye of Santa and his reindeer.
The Polar Express
A train ride on the Polar Express takes a young boy on a North Pole journey that will give us all hope in Christmas magic.
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
My kids love the Little Blue Truck series. In the Christmas book, Little Blue Truck takes Christmas trees to all of his farm friends. The last page features a perfect ending, a Christmas tree that really lights up!
Bluey: Christmas Eve with Veranda Santa
The Bluey show is a family favorite of ours, and this Bluey book is very similar to the Christmas episode. The very funny “Veranda Santa” teaches the pups lessons about love and kindness. If you have Bluey fans in your family, there are also several other Blue Christmas books, but this one is our favorite.
Santa’s Sleigh is on Its Way to Alabama
This Christmas book details Santa’s journey through Alabama and includes state landmarks that your children will have fun recognizing.
Santa’s Toy Shop
This is another Little Golden Book that has stood the test of time. My kids like it as much as I did when I was their age. Santa has had to work, work, work to meet his Christmas Eve deadline. When he is sad that he has no play time, Mrs. Claus recommends that he play at his last stop. Will it be your house this year?
Frosty the Snowman
Frosty is a classic Christmas story about a kind snowman with a warm heart. He melts when the sun comes at the end of winter, but he will be back again some day!
Mickey’s Christmas Carol
Mickey’s Christmas Carol is a kid friendly version of the Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. My kids love seeing their Disney pals learn about the importance of treating others with kindness and love, especially around the holidays.
What is your family’s favorite Christmas book?
