
However, it wasn’t until I spotted this post on Pinterest that I ever thought to wrap them and make an advent activity out of reading together.
I love that idea! And since we’ve been raising children (and collecting children’s books) for almost 25 years now, we have plenty of titles to choose from.
In fact, I’ll probably wrap two or three of the shorter ones together, so nobody gets shortchanged on cuddle time those nights.
And for day 25, I’ll wrap a copy of the Bible, so my husband can read Luke 2 aloud before the family opens gifts on Christmas morning, just like my own father always did when I was growing up.
There are also several chapter books that we like to read this time of year, such as A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
, and our own Glad Tidings
, but since they don’t fit into the “picture book” category and it usually take us a few days to get through them, I won’t wrap those for the basket, but will keep them in the drawer by my reading chair until we’re ready for them.
Here are the books I’ll be wrapping this year:
- Good King Wenceslas
by John M. Neale
- Christmas in the Trenches
by John McCutcheoun
- The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
by Gloria Houston
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss
- ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
illustrated by Hilary Knight
- The Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry
- Away in a Manger
illustrated by Thomas Kinkade
- The Visit: The Origin of the Night Before Christmas
by Mark Kimball Moulton
- A Small Christmas
by Wong Herbert Yee
- I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles
by Jean Marzallo
- Carl’s Christmas by Alexandra Day
- Christmas Day in the Morning
by Pearl S. Buck
- This is the Star
by Joyce Dunbar
- What Can I Give Him?
by Christina Rossetti
- Who Is Coming to Our House?
Joseph Slate
- The Little Drummer Boy
by Ezra Jack Keats
- Night Tree
by Eve Bunting
- O Holy Night
illustrated by Faith Ringgold
- This Is the Stable
by Cynthia Cotten
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
by Robert L. May
- The Story of Holly and Ivy
by Rumer Godden
- If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
by Laura Numeroff
- A Wish for Wings That Work
by Berkeley Breathed
- Silent Night
by Joseph Mohr
I know there are lots of great Christmas books out there — these are just a few of our family’s favorites. What books will you be sharing with your children this year? Do you have favorites I’ve forgotten? Tell us about them, as we’re always open to adding more!
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