Hi everyone! I’m Katie, and I blog with my husband over at Clarks Condensed. Christmas is one of my very favorite holidays, so I’m excited to share a fun way to celebrate Christmas with you all!
One of my favorite decorations at Christmas time growing up was an advent calendar. It was a simple, green felt tree that had pouches underneath it that had a tiny ornament, and a piece of candy (and let’s be honest…I was most excited about the candy!) It was such a small thing, but I always loved it. Advent calendars are a great way to help children count down to Christmas!
As I’ve thought about the type of Christmas countdown I wanted to do, I’ve seen a lot of great ideas. There’s cute ones you can buy at the store, activity advent calendars (where you do something fun every day up until Christmas) and spiritual ones. However, the one that I really want to do is a Christmas Book Advent.
Basically, you wrap up 25 Christmas books, and place them in a basket. Each morning, your child (or spouse, or grandchild, etc.) gets to open one book, and you read it together as a family. On Christmas Day, you could even wrap up the Bible, or a kid’s version of the story of Christ’s birth, and read that. I think one of the best things a parent can do with their child is read, and hopefully this advent calendar will help instill in the child a love for reading. Sure, getting a piece of candy may be more exciting, but the memories created from this Christmas Book Advent Calendar will last far longer.
Collecting enough Christmas books for this may seem a little bit intimidating, but by looking at garage sales, Amazon.com, or thrift stores, I’m sure you’ll be able to collect enough in no time. To get you started, here is a list of 25 great Christmas books to be on the lookout for:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Corduroy’s Christmas by Don Freeman
Olive, the Other Reindeer by Drew Barrymore
Clifford’s First Christmas by Norman Bridwell
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (illustrated)
Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers
The Christmas Train by Thomas S. Monson
The Happy Christmas Tree by Clarence W. Sickles
Christmas Tree Farm by Ann Purmell
Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider
Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck
The Berenstain Bears’ Night Before Christmas by Mark Berenstain
Snowmen at Christmas by Carol Buehner
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rick Bunsen
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