I love the holidays! Holiday books make up a large part of our collection of Christmas books. To help families get into the holiday spirit and keep learning during the Christmas season, I decided to gather some of my favorite Christmas books and activities for families to enjoy together!

Plus, check out my holiday e-book showing you how to make books and reading a part of your Christmas traditions!

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Christmas Books

New Christmas Books Your Family Will Love

Add some new Christmas books to your collection with the latest holiday books! This list includes selections featuring some of your favorite characters, as well as fun board books and new sentimental favorites.

Christmas Board Books for Stocking Stuffers

Looking for some great stocking stuffers for your littlest bookworm? Check out this list of fun Christmas board books! There are books about snow, the difficulty of waiting for the holiday, and the love and joy that Christmas represents.

The Best Personalized Christmas Books

What better way to get your kids excited about reading, than to put them right into the book! This list shares some of the personalized Christmas books that you can put your child’s name or photo into for a holiday gift that they will love.

Christmas Books Around the World

Teach kids about the various holiday celebrations around the world with this list of books! This list includes stories from Mexico, Sweden, Germany and more.

The Best Christmas Board Books

Teach little ones about the traditions and symbols of the holiday season with these entertaining board books. They are perfect for their little hands! There are rhyming books, books with flaps, and even a book with bendable antlers!

Ring in the Holidays with Family Read-Alouds

Celebrate the season as a family with these beautiful children’s books. From a Hanukkah story about bravery and hope, to classic Christmas tales, there is a little something for everyone.

Christmas Activities

Book Advent Calendar

Do you have a large selection of holiday books? (I’m not going to lie… holiday books are my favorite, and they make up a large part of our collection). Make your holiday reading time even more fun by setting up this book Advent calendar!

Get Moving with Elf in the House

Get kids moving with this fun rhythmic story and elf activities that will have them dancing and hopping. The story follows a little girl as she hops around her house meeting new holiday friends on Christmas Eve. We paired this fun book with an easy Christmas themed obstacle course and a Christmas scavenger hunt. We even made the story interactive with a variety of musical instruments and sound effects!

Christmas Tree Activities for the Whole Family

Christmas trees can be used for more than just decoration! The book Pick a Pine Tree follows a family as they find their perfect tree and make it their own. We paired this book with a trip to a local tree farm, plus Christmas tree themed math, spelling, and fine motor activities. We even used pine boughs to paint snowy pine ornaments for our tree!

Christmas Cookies Around the World

Have you ever wondered about Christmas traditions in other countries? The colorful and informative book A World of Cookies for Santa teaches the reader about different Christmas traditions and cookie recipes from countries all over the world. We had a lot of fun trying out some of the recipes included in the book. We also used play dough and a cookie sheet to practice shapes and counting!

Sweet Treats and Gingerbread Stories

Gingerbread is an important part of the holiday for a lot of families. If you are looking to spice up your family’s gingerbread traditions (see what I did there?), then check out this list of Gingerbread Man adaptations, and some delicious gingerbread cookie recipes from some fantastic bloggers!

Legend of the Poinsettia

The bright red of the Poinsettia is one of my favorite sights during the holidays. So it’s fitting that one of my favorite children’s book authors wrote The Legend of the Poinsettia. Tomie dePaola’s book shares a sweet story about the significance behind the poinsettia, and we paired it with some fun activities. Check out how you can make your own poinsettia ornaments from a cardboard roll, and how the book can inspire you to surprise your neighbors!

Jingle Bells Rock

Can you even read the words “jingle bells” without hearing the song in your head? I can’t! Jingle Bells was one of the first Christmas songs that my daughter learned, and I even used the tune and rhythm to shush her to sleep as a baby. So it was only fitting that we gathered this list of books based on the classic carol, and had some fun with our own colorful set of jingle bells. Work on fine motor skills (and challenge your loved ones) with the Jingle Bell Balance game, create beautiful candy cane artwork with our Jingle Bell Painting, and more!

Learn about Elf Life with Memoirs of an Elf!

Kids have always been interested in elf life, so Memoirs of an Elf is a fun way to satisfy that curiosity. We paired this fun book with an easy elf hat, a candy cane hunt, delicious cookies and even a movie night for the whole family!

Holiday Giggles with the Grinch

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic Christmas story for a reason. My daughter asks me to read it over and over again, and I never mind it because I love the creative rhymes and the sweet ending. We decided to pair this classic with a themed sensory bin, Grinch cookies, a lesson in giving, and a family movie night!

Elf Fun with the Little Christmas Elf

The Little Christmas Elf tells a sweet story of perseverance, as it follows a small elf who gets her first chance to make toys for Santa. We paired this adorable story with some fun elf activities including dramatic play in Santa’s workshop, fine motor practice, elf snacks, and even a gift wrapping station!

Gingerbread Baby

The story of Gingerbread Baby follows a little boy who opens the oven too early while baking gingerbread men. This fun story pairs well with gingerbread crafts and activities, including dramatic play activities, gingerbread scented play dough, a festive game of tag, and more!

Ride in the Holidays with the Polar Express

The Polar Express is one of my all time favorite Christmas books, so it was only fitting that I pair it with some fun activities when I introduced it to my daughter. We had a lot of fun playing with jingle bells, creating a Christmas themed sensory table, and practicing fine motor skills with a Jingle Bell Drop game. Check out the hot chocolate math game and the Christmas lights scavenger hunt as well!

What are your favorite Christmas children’s books and activities? Share in the comments below!

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