My Favorite New Christmas Tradition and a List of Children's Christmas Books

Last year around this time, I read a post somewhere on someone's blog (sorry someone out there, I cannot for the life of me remember where it was). But just know this is not my own creation, just an adoption of what others are already doing out there. Here it is:

You gather, buy, and/or check-out from the library 24 Christmas books, wrap them up and put them under the tree. Every night in December, the children get to unwrap a book and then have it read to the before bed.
Kage and I tried it last year and it was a hit!! Neither of us actually got together 24 books. We started small and hope to build our collections every year until we hit 24. I think last year I started with 6.

You can include a range of books (board books, picture books) depending on the ages of your children. I have decided to only collect "Christ-centered" books or books with a Christmas message instead of more secular/Santa ones. Kage included secular books in her collection but decided to number each book, so the Christ-centered ones would be read closer to Christmas which is also a great idea. Another way to add to the excitement is to make sure the books are packed away for the year and only come out in December.

Here is a list of the favorites in our collection:

One Special Star (infant-preschool) - Simple text used to countdown from the shepherds to baby Jesus.

Lift the Flap Nativity (infant-preschool) - What kids doesn't love a lift-the-flap book? This sturdy board book tells the Nativity story with scripture references.


Mr Willowby's Christmas Tree (3-7) - A simple story told in rhyme about one Christmas tree that brings joy to many.

Christmas Tapestry (4-8) - This book is definitely better for older children. The story and illustrations are more sophisticated but beautiful.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (3-8) - Everyone loves this classic tale of Christmas spirit.

Here are the ones that I am looking to possible add to my collection this year. Most of them were reviewed in the Chinaberry catalog (one of my favorites for their book reviews) and are almost all listed for ages 4-8:

This is the Star - Gorgeous artwork with rhyming verse.

A Certain Small Shepherd - Said to be an unusual version of the traditional Christmas story.

The Last Straw - The story of a heavy laden camel bringing gifts to the baby Jesus.

Emma's Gift - A sweet story of giving with cute illustrations.

Claude the Dog - this one has been around for a while. Many reviewers comment that it always brings them to tears.

We Were There:A Nativity Story - An interesting perspective on the Nativity story from unlikely visitors: a scorpion, cockroach, rat, and snake to name a few.

Danny and the King - this looks like a good story for older children.

The Donkey's Song (boardbook) looks like a cute book for baby.

Please add your suggestions (and hopefully they are not still packed away in your Christmas box!) I need to add to my list so hopefully in a few years, I will actually have 24 books!

**don't worry about adding links, just a title (and maybe the author) as well as an age range for the book would be great.