Reading Advent Calendar | 12 Days of Children’s Holiday Books

Reading Advent Calendar | 12 Days of Children's Holiday Books
©S847 from Getty Images on canva.com

Looking for a budget-friendly, fun way to get your children in the holiday spirit while also making a memorable family tradition? Introducing… The 12 Days of Holiday Books. 

Photo courtesy of the Courtney Brabham

WHAT IS A READING ADVENT CALENDAR?

The concept is simple! Rather than the typical advent calendar of opening 24 pieces of chocolate (anyone else’s kids have enough sugar over the holidays?!), we are starting a new tradition this year to have our 4-year-old daughter open up books instead. We are planning to do the 12 days before Christmas which has us starting the first book on December 13th and the last book being opened up on Christmas Eve!

Disclaimer: Our family celebrates Christmas, but feel free to make this tradition work for whatever holiday you celebrate with your family.

HOW DO I MAKE A READING ADVENT CALENDAR?

The way we plan to do it this year is to individually wrap 12-holiday books and then have our daughter choose one to open up each night to read as a family before bed. As I’m sure you know, the excitement of opening up a present as a kid is so much fun! You can either label each gift with a number 1 through 12 or have your child choose whichever they like. I’ve also seen people who have had their elf “drop off” the book each morning on their front door step – wrapped or unwrapped!

Reading Advent Calendar | 12 Days of Children's Holiday Books
©nkbimages from Getty Images Signature on canva.com

DO I HAVE TO BUY 12 NEW BOOKS?

No! But you can if you choose. I have rounded up all of our Christmas books that we’ve collected over the years and wrapped those. Since we keep them in storage after the holidays, my daughter hasn’t seen them since last Christmas and they are practically all new! Another great idea is to grab borrowed books from your local library.

You also don’t have to do holiday books. This can be any kind of book your child is into! Paw Patrol? Unicorns? Pete the Cat? You name it. For a budget-friendly option, you can simply wrap 12 books your child has not read in a while and make it a fun family activity to read it all together.

OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY BOOKS:

  1. LITTLE BLUE TRUCK CHRISTMAS… filled with counting and Christmas cheer, readers read along to how the little blue truck delivers trees to all his animal friends.
  2. THE NOT VERY MERRY POUT POUT FISH… a cute, engaging take on finding the perfect gift for the people you love.
  3. ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN GEORGIA… we received this as a gift one year and it is so cute! It’s the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas” story we know and love mixed with some Georgia flare.
  4. DASHER… a well-illustrated, fascinating origin story of how Dasher came to be one of Santa’s reindeer.
  5. RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER… the original story of Rudolph with wonderful illustrations. My daughter loves looking at the pictures in this one.
  6. PAW PATROL CHRISTMAS… for those who have Paw Patrol-loving children like mine.
  7. SNOWMEN AT NIGHT… a magical story about what the snowmen do at nighttime while we sleep.
  8. BEAR STAYS UP FOR CHRISTMAS… animal friends come together to help keep their hibernating bear friend awake for Christmas.
  9. THE POLAR EXPRESS… a classic story about believing in the magic of the holidays.
  10. MERRY CHRISTMAS, MOUSE… we love this one since each page is full of counting various Christmas items, like little elves and robot ornaments. A perfect book for littles.
  11. HOW TO CATCH AN ELF… We love this series. This one uses playful rhymes to show the adventure the children go through to catch one sneaky elf!
  12. LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA… Llama and her mama are busy getting everything together for Christmas, and that little llama wonders if Christmas will ever come.

What is your family’s favorite holiday story? Let us know in the comments! Happy Reading!

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Courtney Brabham
Originally from Charleston, SC, Courtney moved to Atlanta in 2021 and quickly made Georgia her home. She has always loved writing and graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of South Carolina (Go Gamecocks!). After spending two years as a stay-at-home mom, she now works in marketing for a national tire company. She lives with her golf-loving husband and spunky daughter who loves Frozen, animals, and any outdoor playground. Courtney is a proud enneagram 6, a fitness enthusiast, and an avid reader. She enjoys trying new restaurants and exploring new places with her family, drinking iced coffee, and blogging on motherhood and healthy living on her personal website, www.itscourtfit.com

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