Our Christmas Read Aloud Picks

I LOVE the Christmas season and want to enjoy every last minute with my kids who are growing all too fast! With a toddler in tow, our time is scattered, and I’m yearning to bond with my big kids in the slivers of time we have. Stepping back and thinking about the best way to intentionally connect with my kids, I knew in a moment… it must be books!

I have several categories of Christmas books for us to enjoy:

1. We have a giant pile of picture books, mostly thrifted from over the years, with favorites and new titles borrowed from the library as well. We’ll read those during any stolen moment we can find. You can find my giant list of favorite Christmas books here.
2. Chapter book read alouds: This year we’ll be reading The Grumpus, which is by the author of the Winston series that we read the last two Christmases and just adored. If we finish that, I have earmarked The Christmas Genie by Dan Gutman, and I Saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge.
3. Audiobooks: We’ll enjoy these in the car and when I need my hands free to occupy the toddler. Our plan this year is Top Elf, and if we finish that, Treasures of the Snow.
4. Podcast: We’re going to listen to the Merry Beggar’s audio advent calendar, a dramatized reading of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, in 10 minute episodes each day leading up to Christmas
5. Bonus- Mom Reads: I’m planning to read Holiday By Gaslight, and to complete a study called The Fullness of Time by Mama’s Refill (about Galatians 4:4-5).

I have SO MANY lists of Christmas books (I really love reading at Christmastime!). Here is an index of all of my book lists!

Beyond the Books:

I found this free, adorable book coloring page from Everyday Reading (which I had an oversized print made of for around $2!) to hang on a door in our kitchen. There are reading “challenges” for each day of advent.

Several years ago I read Living the Season Well: Reclaiming Christmas and learned so many beautiful traditions to include in our advent. Traditionally, advent involves the four Sundays before Christmas; we will light  a candle at our sabbath meal, contemplate the “watchwords” (wait/prepare/rejoice/love), and read a scripture passage. Last year we began incorporating a candle lighting liturgy and my kids still recite it whenever we light a candle through the year! (Candlelighter: “Jesus is the light of the world!” Response: “The Light no darkness can overcome!”)

We already light a sabbath candle each week, and during advent we include tapers, adding one each week for the 4 weeks of advent. Sidenote- last year I bought FOUR sets of flameless taper candles, one after another, until I found the perfect set. I adore the ones I finally found. They flicker, have a remote, are dimmable, and totally fooled several guests to our home as being “real”! Such a relief to have a nice candle-like experience with wild boys in the house! I leave these on all evening.

Merry Christmas, readers! Wishing you a blessed season! I’ll be posting our favorite picture book read alouds of the season on my IG. Look for me there!