Do you have favorite family Christmas stories? We look forward to reading these stories every year. They are unique and memorable. A perfect combination!
One of my favorite traditions is reading Christmas stories together as a family. We love browsing the Holiday section at the library and reading all the new Christmas books, but we have a few that we come back to every year. I like these stories because they aren’t your usual tales of Santa or the Nativity. They have their own unique twist to make them especially memorable and meaningful.
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The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
A parable of three trees that each have different dreams of what they want to become when they grow up. When each tree is cut down, they feel that their dreams have been cut short, but in the end they all have their dreams fulfilled in different ways than they would have imagined. I like that this book is simple enough to read to a child and help them understand the importance of Jesus Christ.
‘Twas the Night: The Nativity Story by Melody Carlson
This follows the familiar rhyming scheme of “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”, but talks about the manger scene, rather than Santa Claus. Reading “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve was a tradition when I was growing up. My husband and I really wanted to focus on Christ aspect rather than the Santa part of Christmas and I found this to be a great blend of old and new traditions. Even my husband said ‘that is worthy of owning and reading every year.’
I Believe in Santa Claus by Diane Adamson
I loved that there is a book that can tie Jesus and Santa together. I have had a hard time accepting the whole Santa thing and knowing how to tell my kids about it, but this book was great for showing the symbolic comparisons and the reason for Santa.
The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne
This story started out with the script feeling a bit like “The Christmas Story” but not as silly. The book tells of 2 brothers who volunteer in the cancer area of the hospital under Dr. Chris Ringle who the children believe is Santa Claus. While volunteering at the hospital, they are paired with some of the more difficult patients, given the charge to befriend them. They learn that friendship is one of the most precious gifts. It is a great story with a much better ending than I could have anticipated!
Christmas on Mill Street by Joseph Walker
This book is written much like the Christmas Story or The Sandlot movie dialogues. It reads like an extended short story. Funny tales of being dared to sled down the biggest hill in town (while having never ridden a sled before), and worrying about if there really is a Santa or not. All this coupled with befriending an older woman in the neighborhood. Life is always exciting when you experience your first white Christmas!
Hopefully you find these books as entertaining and delightful as we do! To see our other favorite Christmas books, check out my “Christmas” bookshelf on Goodreads.com!
What are your favorite Christmas books?
