Day 23 – Tonight, read a Christmas story. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is one choice, but there are many others. Perhaps you could pick a children’s story from the library and read it out loud to your loved ones.
In Iceland, everyone reads books on Christmas Eve. I think that is a lovely tradition, but we have our own, so why not read books today instead. Reading a Christmas story out loud to the family can build anticipation.
When I worked at Borders, I loved creating displays of Christmas books. I worked in the kids’ section, and there were a ton of books to chose from. Below I’ve made a list of some of my favorites.*
Picture books are not just for kids. They are fun stories that can be enjoyed by everyone. The pictures allow readers and non-readers to follow the story, so don’t skip them thinking they are just “kid’s books.” Plus, they can be read in one sitting, which fits perfectly in our busy lives.
If you have a favorite Christmas or Hanukkah book, let me know. I’d love to expand my collection.
Great books to read for Christmas (and one Hanukkah book)
- The Night before the Night before Christmas by Natasha Wing. I read this book every year. It is a fun take on the traditional poem.
- The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore. This is the book that started our modern Christmas traditions and is fun to read in its entirety.
- Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson. This is a sweet story with lovely illustrations.
- The Mitten by Jan Brett. She has a lot of Christmas books, but this is my favorite. It’s a sweet story with marvelous illustrations. There is a treasury of her Christmas books that I think should be on everyone’s bookshelf.
- Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. This is a great story no matter what you celebrate, but if Hanukkah is your holiday, this book shouldn’t be missed.
As I made this list, I kept finding books that I try to avoid. It grew so large that I had to share it. If you like these books, let me know in the comments. There are books for everyone. Just, please don’t read these to me.
Books that I can’t recommend:
- “The gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. If you like this story, go ahead and read it. I prefer happier books.
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This is a case of the movie being better than the book (at least a lot of them.) There are scenes in the book that are not in most movie versions, and that’s okay. The message comes through loud and clear without reading the darker passages. (If you still want to read it, the link leads to a free (for now) Kindle edition.)
- The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. This is a Christmas tradition for a lot of families, and that’s cool. Personally, this book makes me cry, so I skip it.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. I’m not a Grinch fan. I know that puts me in the minority, so enjoy this book if you want.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. In my world, this is a Halloween story, but again I know I’m in the minority. There is a lovely picture book, but I’ll just watch the movie in October.
I hope you find a special book to read to your family. I recommended this at the end of the month, but next year you could start earlier and read several stories, or one longer one that takes several nights to finish.
* The book links are to my Amazon affiliate account. This is an experiment. I’m trying to monetize my blog. I don’t want to annoy you with ads, so I’ll see if this works. I’d love for you to get these books from the library (please support your library,) but if you do want to buy them, clicking on the links helps me with no cost to you.