101 Days of Christmas: Unwrap a Book Every Day

by Mandi on September 22, 2011

children's christmas books

source: Mandi Ehman

Although I wouldn’t recommend starting this activity today with 94 days until Christmas, I wanted to share it early to give you plenty of time to get prepared!

Unwrapping — and reading –  a Christmas book every day during Advent is a fun tradition that the whole family will enjoy, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s fun to add to your collection over the years, a little at a time, but you can also borrow books from the library or trade with a friend halfway through the month.

Here’s a list of books that our family either loves or has on our own wishlist because they come highly recommended:

The Reason for the Season

Reading about the reason we celebrate Christmas is an important part of our family’s Advent focus, and these are some of our favorites:

Classics

Whether the original classic or classics adapted for children, these favorites have been enjoyed for generations:

Just for Fun

We love to read about our favorite characters at Christmas time, and Fancy Nancy, Llama Llama and Madeline never disappoint:

I’d love to hear about your family’s favorite Christmas stories in the comments as well!

Join us as we celebrate 101 Days of Christmas with new DIY projects, gift ideas, traditions and more every day from now through Christmas!

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way as well as a wife and homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

  • Mindy Malon

    I love your suggestions.  However, I cannot read “The Crippled Lamb without going into full “ugly cry.”  Therefore, we have it, our children are welcome to look at, but we all know Mommy can’t read it out loud!”

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Okay, this made me giggle. I just have this picture in my head of you trying to get through it, LOL!

      Jacob’s Gift is my favorite. I think it just speaks to the dorky kid inside of me who didn’t always fit in with the cool crowd!

  • Jennybell68

    I did the wrapping and unwrapping thing once (we started the day after Thanksgiving), but while fun, it’s a lot of work and a big waste of paper.  Now, we just pick a book to read every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Also, I want to add The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to your list of Classics (with a little read-aloud editing when the Herdmans cuss).

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      True about the paper…I wonder if there’s a greener way to go about it? I like wrapping (it makes my type-A heart happy, LOL!), so I don’t mind the time investment as much!

  • jnnfrdueck

    I started this tradition last Christmas!! My kiddos loved opening a “new” book each morning in December leading up to Christmas Day.  I bought all of my books at thrift stores or library sales.  This is something we will continue to do for many years to come!

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Do you think you’ll look for new books to add to your collection still, or will you just rotate through the ones you already have? (And what a FUN thing to pass down to your kids one day when they start families of their own!)

  • http://www.morethanmundane.com Krissajeldy

    We love Annika’s Secret Wish…”A heartwarming Christmas story about a little Swedish girl who learns
    the importance of giving and the power of Christ’s sacrificial love.”

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      Thanks, Krissa — this sounds like a great recommendation!

  • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

    Perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!

  • Julie DeBisschop

    I am making a Christmas book advent calendar for the kids.  The list of 25 books is here.  http://pinterest.com/jujudebisschop/christmas-books-for-advent-calendar/

  • Robin

    Room for a Little One is my absolute favorite!  I highly recommend!!

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      The illustrations are beautiful; added it right to my wish list!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1510957460 Cailea Matusewic

    Maybe instead of wrapping paper pick a special bag. Even if its a paper gift bag if its reused its a little more green. It can just go in a special spot each night so the kids can find it each morning.

    • http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

      That’s a really cute idea, Cailea — I like it!

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