Holiday Countdown: Christmas Book Advent

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Looking for an easy way to create some holiday magic? Try a Christmas Book Advent! We started this tradition when my oldest son was 2 years old and we have enjoyed it every year since! I love that it only takes a little prep ahead of time and is something you can enjoy for the entire month leading up to Christmas! Read my tips below for how you can create your own Christmas Book Advent this year!

To start this tradition, you will need to have a list of books that you use!
Find my list of recommended books to include in your Christmas Book Advent here.
I have compiled a list of 31 Books to Read this December here.

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Check out books from the library

Utilize your local library! Pick out the books you want and place them on hold. Pay attention to the due dates and make sure you read the library books early in the month, so you can return them on time!


Include winter-themed books

The first few years we did a Christmas Advent, we had nowhere near 24 Christmas books to include. (This is when the library can be a useful resource!) Instead of sticking to only holiday books, I decided to include some winter-themed books into our holiday countdown. We have also started to include books on other winter celebrations, including a few books Hanukkah.


Make it fun by wrapping each book

Wrapping the books is not a requirement for a Christmas Book Advent, but the surprise of unwrapping a book each day adds to the magic! I like to use brown craft paper or reuse packing paper from packages, but you can also use your favorite holiday wrapping paper!
Tip: Remember to remove the dust jackets before wrapping the books! This prevents the dust jackets from getting ripped as the books are opened!


Decide if you will number the books

The first couple years we did the Christmas Book Advent, I wrapped the books and let my kids pick any book each day. And somedays we picked two, because each of my kids wanted to open one! (Usually, the next day we wouldn’t open any and just read the opens we had already opened.) Once my kids were older (and knew their number symbols), I started to number the books. By numbering the books, you can pre-plan what books will be opened on certain days. I like to open the book “A World of Cookies for Santa” at the beginning of the month, so that we can try the cookie recipes throughout the month. We usually open the book “The Shortest Day” on the winter solstice and “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve. ( I love the illustrations in this version and we also enjoy the version by Jan Brett.)


Keep the books on display

Keep the books on your child’s bookshelf, in a basket, or in another spot that is accessible to your child! I usually also keep all of the wrapped books on our bookshelf and as we unwrap each book, we place it back on the bookshelf. That way once a book has been opened, we can continue to enjoy it throughout the month! I love having a front facing bookshelf to display our books through the season. This is the front-facing book display we own. But I also love the quality and design of this one.


Final thoughts

Remember there is no “right” or “wrong” way to create a Christmas Book Advent! If you are reading this on December 1 and don’t have enough time to gather and wrap24 books, you could do a “12 Books of Christmas” countdown or countdown the last 2 weeks before Christmas! Trust me, your kids will enough it just as much!

If you are looking for book suggestions to read this holiday season, make sure you check out this list that I put together on my Amazon Storefront!
Happy Reading! xoxo Allison


You may also be interested in this post:

31 Books to Read this December

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