Create a Christmas Book Advent for Kids
Finding time for reading with the kids during this busy holiday season can be difficult, but creating this Christmas book Advent for your kids is an exciting way to spend a few sweet moments together as a family.
Holiday traditions don’t have to be extravagant. I’ve found that it’s the more simple traditions that my children seem to love the most. I hope as they grow older they remember snuggling up together by the tree and sharing a good holiday story.
Why Should I Wrap My Holiday Books?
Reading is a GIFT! Each day of December my children enjoy choosing one wrapped book from the basket to unwrap and read together. It’s something so simple that they really look forward to. Sure, you could just gather and display all of your holiday books but how much more fun is the surprise even if you’ve read the book ten times?
How to Choose Books for Your Advent
Read-Aloud Revival is a really great resource for wonderful holiday book suggestions. There you’ll find lists for all ages and reading levels. I recommend choosing picture books that can easily be read in less than 15 minutes. I believe picture books are great for all ages! Choose a mix of classics, easy reads, and add in a few newly written titles as well.
How Many Books Do I Need?
Most advent calendars begin on December 1st and end on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so you’ll need 24 or 25 books in order to unwrap a book a day. If this is your first year collecting and wrapping Christmas books for Advent I would suggest beginning with the books you have on hand and adding a few more to your collection each year. Most likely you don’t have 25 different holiday books and that’s perfectly fine. Work with what you have! Maybe you have 12 so you celebrate the 12 days leading up to Christmas with a book a day.
Each year I pick up one or two new books to add to our collection. We have well over 25 books now so I wrap up our favorites and display the others in a basket as well.
Saving Money on Books for Your Collection
I am most certainly not suggestion you rush out and purchase 25 new Christmas books. There are a few ways to save money and still give your children a fun new tradition. My favorite places to shop for books are thrift stores! In fact, the majority of my kids books are second hand and well loved. So take a little trip to your local thrift store and peruse the book section. You may be surprised at the treasures others give away.
Did you know there are lots of used book sellers on Instagram? Try searching hashtags such as #livingbooks or #ftlob_available for quality literature. This is likely to lead you down a rabbit hole of great virtual used book shops.
Another suggestion would be to visit your local library and check out a few books to borrow and add to your own. Just be sure you return them on time!
Wrap Those Books
Wrapping 25 books is a lot of work. I get it. However, it’s a sweet and simple way to enjoy a few moments together each day amidst the busyness of the holiday season. I prefer to use brown craft paper that you can get in most craft sections but feel free to use whatever you like. You could even go the extra mile and add ribbon and bows but I prefer to keep it simple.
So make a cup of coffee, put on your favorite Christmas playlist or holiday movie, and wrap those books. I promise you won’t regret it and your children won’t forget it!
The Start of A New Tradition
What do you think? Will you give your kids the gift of reading together this holiday season? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
More Suggestions
Add numbers to your wrapped books if you like the idea of reading them in a certain order. However, I’ve found that my kids love choosing their own for the day just based on the size and shape of the wrapped book.
Choose a mix of reading levels and have your child read aloud to you. It’s a good way to sneak in a little extra reading during holiday break.
Have your last book unwrapped on Christmas Day and maybe hide a gift card to your local bookstore inside as a special surprise!
Have coloring books, blocks, or even playdoh available for your littlest ones to play with while you’re reading so there’s less distraction.
