Saturday, November 24, 2012

Christmas Favourites



I have held off on this post until after American Thanksgiving because it seemed like the Thanksgiving holiday was being taken over by American consumerism/commercialism and I didn't want to fall into that trap. I have already purchased a few small gifts but I haven't played any Christmas music or watched any Christmas movies until yesterday.

So let the Christmas festivities begin!


One of the most memorable traditions we started 10 or 11 years ago was something I learned on the Five in a Row message boards. I wrap 24 Christmas books in Christmas-themed wrapping paper and place them in a basket. Each morning, starting December 1, one of the children gets to go to the basket and chose a book to be unwrapped and read. I haven't carried out this tradition in the last two years, due to travel and moving, so we are bringing this one back for December 2012 and all the children are excited about it!


Here are our top 5 favourite Christmas books (I took a quick poll):
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Elmo's Christmas Colors (Golden Sturdy Board Books) by  Constance Allen
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree: An Appalachian Story by Gloria Houston
The Mitten 20th Anniversary Edition by Jan Brett

Here are the advent books we use 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 are reading this one this year.)

And here are a few more we've collected over the years or check 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 with CD: Gift Edition 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 (A Young Reader’s Edition)
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
Madeline's Christmas (Picture Puffins) by Ludwig Bemelmans
My Christmas Treasury (Little Golden Books) by Gale Wiersum
Just in Time for Christmas by Louise Borden
Angelina's Christmas (Angelina Ballerina) by Katharine Holabird
The Christmas dolls: A Butterfield Square story (A Yearling book) by Carol Beach York
A Full House: An Austin Family Christmas by Madeleine L’Engle
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

The Shoe Box (novella) by Francine Rivers
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
One Snowy Night by M. Christina Butler

Thomas' Christmas Delivery (Thomas & Friends) (A Sparkle Storybook) by Tommy Stubbs

Christmas-themed movies (We don't own many of these but can find them at our local library.):
White Christmas (Anniversary Edition)
Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition)
Miracle on 34th Street (We enjoy the older version and this newer one. The Santa in this one reminds me of my dad for some reason.)
The Bells of St. Mary's
A Charlie Brown Christmas (Remastered Deluxe Edition)

I would love to know your favourite Christmas books and movies! Please share in the comments.


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4 comments:

  1. Loved this post! I love a lot of the books on the list. At Rachel's age, she likes books like Who is Coming to our House and Room for a Little One.

    2 books I have really enjoyed reading as I have been adding some books to the Christmas section in Honey for A Child's Heart: Apple Tree Christmas and The Story of Holly and Ivy.

    It's tricky with some Christmas books as I I cold be the 8 person in the hold line!

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  2. Isn't it so sweet to be able to start some traditions with Rachel, Karen! I also enjoy the books you mentioned. Hopefully your library books have started trickling in by now. Enjoy!

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  3. Fun post! We liked Silent Night. Based on a true story during WWII in Germany.

    Thanks for sharing your list!

    Blessings
    Leslie

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    1. Thanks, Leslie! I had forgotten about Silent Night. I'm glad you reminded me. I like that one, too, and my boys, especially are very into WWII.

      Merry Christmas and much love!

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