I’ve written about this one before, but I thought it might be fun for you to see this one in action. RSS Readers will need to click through to see the video.
Christmas stories featured in the video are:
- The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
- The Littlest Christmas Tree by Janie Jasin
- A Pussycat’s Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown
- Racecar Driver’s Night Before Christmas by Una Belle Townsend
Other favorites include:
- Christmas in the Big Woods (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Merry Christmas, Mom & Dad by Mercer Mayer
- Clopper the Christmas Donkey by Emily King
- Peter Claus and the Naughty List by Lawrence David
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
If you’re interested in starting this tradition, don’t worry…it’s not too late. Just do 12 days of Christmas this year. Or a week. Then build up your book stash throughout the year next year, and start on December 1, 2009!
Special thanks to Mary Hunt for posting this idea on her website a few years ago. I’ve been in love with this tradition ever since I saw it there!
What are your favorite Christmas traditions?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!






















December 4th, 2008 at 6:14 am
I absolutely love this idea!!! Thank you so much for sharing it again - I haven’t been a reader for very long, so I missed the previous post about it.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:47 am
What an awesome tradition! I wish my boys were still little! I’ve passed it along to some friends who have younger kids! Thanks for sharing!
December 4th, 2008 at 7:51 am
What a great idea! I wish we had children so we could put this one to use.
PS, that kitty paw coming under your door was so cute!
December 4th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I LOVE this idea! I definitely plan on doing this with my daughter next year - she’s still baking at the moment
I also posted a link on a Mommy message board. I know a few people who will love this!
December 4th, 2008 at 8:19 am
This helps answer the constant “Can I open just ONE present” whine that we often hear. The kids get to actually open something — a wrapped book, not a “real” present — but they feel like they HAVE unwrapped something. I’m using this with my grandkids this year!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Great idea! To make it even more frugal, you could make gift bags from Xmas fabric (purchased after the holidays of course), and reuse the bags year after year too!
December 4th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
i LOVE this idea and plan on using it when i have children.
until that happens, maybe i can think of a similar tradition to share with family and friends. yay for the excitement of unwrapping gifts and spending time with loved ones.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Love it!! Love you!!!
March 1st, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Hi, I really liked your tradition of reading Christmas books throughout the month of December. I also think it’s great to wrap them up.
As a librarian/teacher, we’re always trying to find new ideas to have parents read to their children or have children read to their parents. This is a wonderful idea.
I’ve passed on your tradition to many of my friends and co-workers.
By the way, I’m the author of the Racecar Driver’s Night Before Christmas, and I’m really glad you chose my book. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks.