Hello and welcome to our Huge List of Christmas Favorites!
When my children were little, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was to take 25 Christmas books and wrap them in Christmas wrapping paper. I put them together in a big basket near the Christmas tree. Then each morning, starting December 1, the kids would take turns picking out a book and opening it. We would make hot chocolate or spiced tea and enjoy a cozy time of reading together. Such sweet memories!
In this list, we’re including both books and movies we have collected over the last 25 years.
Christmas Books:
Here are the advent books we’ve used and love:
Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide
Bartholomew’s Passage: A Family Story for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide
Tabitha’s Travels: A Family Story for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide
We read these top five over and over in our home:
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Elmo’s Christmas Colors by Constance Allen
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston
The Mitten by Jan Brett
And here are a few more we’ve collected over the years or checked out from our local library:
If You’re Missing Baby Jesus: A True Story that Embraces the Spirit of Christmas by Jean Gietzen
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
A Christmas Carol: A Young Reader’s Edition of the Classic Holiday Tale by Charles Dickens
The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola
The Night Before Christmas: The Anniversary Edition by Clement C. Moore
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Christmas In The Country by Cynthia Rylant
The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Angela Elwell Hunt
Miracle in a Shoe Box: A Christmas Gift of Wonder by Franklin Graham
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Madeline’s Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans
My Christmas Treasury by Gale Wiersum
The Christmas Donkey by T. William Taylor
Frosty The Snowman by Annie North Bedford
Just in Time for Christmas by Louise Borden
Angelina’s Christmas by Katharine Holabird
A Full House: An Austin Family Christmas by Madeleine L’Engle
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
The Shoe Box by Francine Rivers
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler
Thomas’ Christmas Delivery (Thomas & Friends) by Tommy Stubbs
The Christmas Dolls: A Butterfield Square Story by Carol Beach York
Christmas Movies:
The Preacher’s Wife – This one is my very favorite – I mean, it’s Whitney!!!! I love watching it while we decorate our freshly cut Christmas tree.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Miracle on 34th Street (We enjoy both the older version and this newer one. The Santa in this one reminds me of my dad. xo)
Christmas with the Kranks (Here is a bonus DVD offer with The Holiday – another favorite of mine but definitely PG-13.)
Christmas Carol: The Movie (with Kate Winslet)
The Man Who Invented Christmas
Jingle Jangle – this one came out on Netflix last year!
We love the fun and endearing memories we’ve made over the years reading and watching these favorites together. Now that three of my children have moved out on their own, those memories are more cherished than ever.
Get your books ready to wrap! December 1st will be here soon.
I’d love to hear your favorites, too, so please share them in the comments!
{This post contains my affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This simply means that when you make a purchase through my links, I get paid a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!}
The Scarlett Thread 