12 Days of Christmas Reading For Kids

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12 days of Christmas Reading –

A few years ago I saw a Pinterest post encouraging people to wrap 24 books and place them under your Christmas tree. Each night starting on December 1st, have your child unwrap a book and read the story. I loved this idea so much and decided to modify it to 12 days. I went through my kids books and discovered we had 8 Christmas books so I only had to buy 4 more. I wrapped them all up and put them all underneath the tree. The kids were so excited to open a new “Gift” everyday. I have 2 kids so they alternated days as to who would pick and unwrap the book. We have done this 3 years in a row now and my kids get very excited for this fun tradition.

Here are my lessons learned over the years:

– Plan! If you do not already know where all of your Christmas books are go find them now. If you do not  have enough Christmas books go get more now.

-Check out used books stores and thrift stores for books. A friend of mine found books as low as 25¢.

-Make the time. I know you are busy but you can make the time for this. It takes maybe 15 mins a night. By day 3 your kids will be asking to unwrap a story.

-Most children have required reading as a part of their homework. Incorporate this into their required reading for school. Engage their teacher and tell them your plan.

-Have fun! Some of these Christmas stories get me really emotional. Take this time to tell your children the true meaning of Christmas.

-Talk to your kids about different Christmas traditions around the world.

– Visit your local library, it’s free! I am adding this tip. My good sister-friend Tracy is doing the full 24 days of Christmas Reading and decided to wrap books from the library. I am adopting this idea this year to cycle in some new stories.

 

Here is a list of some of my favorites:

    1. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawny Bergen and David Hohn
    2. The Berenstain Bears and The Joy of Giving by Jan Berenstain
    3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas Dr. Seuss
    4. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
    5. The Mitten by Jan Brett


9 thoughts on “12 Days of Christmas Reading For Kids”

  1. It is a WONDERFUL idea! Not only the excitement in opening a gift but giving a gift to a child in “time” spent. Also, for the babies who are not yet readers and those just learning it gives them the excitement of seeing words, hearing words, and building their vocabulary amongst other things. I love the idea…and plan to do this for my grandchildren. Thank you for the post

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