I have a sister (she won’t be named, but there are only 2 so you might be able to figure it out) that may or may not have believed in Santa until she was 12. One reason for her dedicated and long time belief being this tradition…or more specifically the book mentioned in the book list at the end of this post – The Story of Santa Claus. But even if you don’t have long time believers in Santa Claus in your home, this tradition is still one you don’t want to miss out on.
Pajamas.
A lit up Christmas tree.
Blankets.
A cozy family sitting on the couch.
A Christmas book.
Those are the things you’ll need for this Christmas tradition we have grown to love. As a child I always looked forward to the 1st day of December. Not only did it mean we were finally in the month of Christmas, but it also meant each night we would be sitting by the Christmas tree reading a Christmas book.
Before December came my mom would wrap up 24 books (sometimes more so we could double up on some nights!) and place them under the Christmas tree. Then we would take turns each night picking out a book to read together, getting all of us in the Christmas Spirit. Christmas Eve was often reserved for our favorite “Twas the Night Before Christmas” pop up book.
This doesn’t have to break the bank or take too much time. Collect books over the years and head to your local thrift store to find Christmas books to buy. You can even head to your local library and check some out for 3 weeks to use. And for the wrapping paper, try the dollar store. It doesn’t need to be fancy – just meaningful.
Precious moments were shared many nights around the Christmas tree reading stories of hope and love and the Christ child.
In case you need some ideas to get started, here are some of our favorites!
Here is a list of the titles and authors:
Cajun Night Before Christmas by James Rice
A Christmas Dress for Ellen by Thomas S. Monson
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
A Lonesome Bear Called “T” by Rick Reinert
Merry Christmas Little Critter by Mercer Mayer
Silent Night Holy Night as narrated by Walter Cronkite
The Story of Santa Claus by Scribbler Elf
Trisha
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We used to always read Christmas books when I was growing up. It is still one of my favorite parts of Christmas (I’m 28 now without my own children to use as justification for reading children’s books. ;-D). Merry Christmas Little Critter was one of our favorites too. And from the pictures, it looks like you had the same version of The Night Before Christmas (pop-up) that we had.
Yes! It’s a complete classic. Love that you grew up with it too!