Snuggle up and read these Children’s Christmas Books! Enjoy a huge list of the best Christmas books for kids & adults during the holiday season. You’re certain to find a book or two that will inspire joy & bring magical wonder to the entire family.
Do you have any Christmas Traditions? As a larger family of seven, it was important to my husband and I to instill some traditions that were just for our family. For us this included experiences as a family, The Elf on the Shelf, an advent calendar and reading beloved Christmas books for the kids.
Growing up, my grandfather always read The Night Before Christmas. It was nostalgia-seeking for readers of odder generations but it was also well-loved by younger, newer generations. While I still keep this tradition alive, some of our favorite Christmas books have changed.
What should I read to my family for Christmas?
The most read Christmas book is the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore. This Christmas cult classic was first published in 1823 and has been beloved and read-aloud for generations. However, there are plenty of Christmas books for Children that are great reads for your family. Consider some of these uniquely well-loved Christmas books for your family. Full of beautiful illustrations, Humphrey’s First Christmas is seriously a must for the nativity story. Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer is a good Christmas story to read that doesn’t stray from the meaning of the season. It tell the story of the birth of Jesus through a camel’s perspective.
Both Christmas in the Manger Board Book and Who Is Coming to Our House are excellent Christmas board books for toddlers in preschool.
Of course, the best Christmas books for families, don’t end there. Snuggle up and get in the holiday spirit when you take a look at this huge list of the….
50 of the Best Christmas Books for Children
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The Night Before the Night Before Christmas
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The Polar Express
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas
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A Wish to Be A Christmas Tree
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Merry Christmas, Stinky Face
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Charlie and the Christmas Kitty
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Reindeer Christmas
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A Bad Kitty Christmas
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The Berenstain Bears Get Ready for Christmas
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The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book
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Snowmen at Christmas
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Danny Dozer’s Perfect Christmas Tree
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God Gave Us Christmas
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The Christmas Story
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I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles
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Llama Llama Holiday Drama
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Richard Scarry’s Best Christmas Book Ever!
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Santa’s Favorite Story: Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas
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A Christmas Carol
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Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House, No. 29)
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The Christmas Owl
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Merry Christmas Mom and Dad
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Light of Christmas
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A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas
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Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons
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Disney Princesses Sing-Along Christmas Songs
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How Santa Got His Job
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Bear Stays Up for Christmas
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Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Ed
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Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story
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The Littlest Elf
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The Wild Christmas Reindeer
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Christmas in the Manger
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Mortimer’s Christmas Manger
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One Little Christmas Tree: A Children’s Christmas Picture Book
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Christmas Tapestry
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Stick Man
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Jingle Bells
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Clifford’s Christmas
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The Christmas Wish
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Twas the Night Before Christmas: Edited by Santa Claus for the Benefit of Children of the 21st Century
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Christmas in the Trenches
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The Legend of the Candy Cane
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The Night Before Christmas Pop-up
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The Nativity
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The Nutcracker Ballet: A Book, Theater, and Paper Doll Fold-out Play Set
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Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
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Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May.)
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The Nightmare Before Christmas: 20th Anniversary Edition
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Humphrey’s First Christmas
Amazon Christmas Books for Kids
Amazon has has a nice list of Best Sellers in Children’s Christmas Books including some new Christmas Books.
Check out some of these newer Kids Christmas Book Ideas.
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Room for a Little One
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A Cup of Christmas Tea
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Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
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Merry Christmas Mouse
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The Sweet Smell of Christmas
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The Cool Bean Presents: As Cool as It Gets
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How to Catch an Elf
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Sounding Joy
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Bear Stays Up for Christmas
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Santa Stops at Disneyland
What is a good way to read Christmas Books for Kids?
There are many ways you can incorporate both classic Christmas books and some newer holiday books for kids. Try a few of these ideas for creating the love of reading in your child with Christmas Picture Books.
Christmas Book Advent Calendar
Count down the days of Christmas with a new book each day. Wrap each book with Christmas wrapping paper and number 1 to 24. Each day grab a new book from the advent calendar. While these Christmas books can be about the story of baby Jesus in Bethlehem, they can also be mainstream books like Clifford or The Berenstain Bears.
Christmas Eve Box
Enjoy a lovely Christmas eve box with Christmas PJs, popcorn, hot chocolate, Christmas cookies mix for Santa, and of course a really good Christmas Book. December 24 is a great day to snuggle by the Christmas tree and read great Christmas books with the family.
Christmas Gift
Use some of these favorite Christmas books to gift during the holiday season. They don’t have to arrive December 25th under the Christmas tree. Christmas gifts can be gifted and enjoy the entire month. One idea is to pair any of your favorite kids books with Christmas cookies. What a great idea for teachers!
Reading Book Basket
Your child doesn’t have to know how to read in order to enjoy a book. Instill the love of reading by making books readily available. During the holiday season, dim the bedroom light, turn on a lamp and gift your child 15 extra minutes before bed to enjoy a good book. They can pick one kids Christmas book from the basket, read it on their own (even if that is looking at the beautiful illustrations) and enjoy a good book. This habit each night will help instill a love of books and how photos and words can tell a good story. Alternatively, erase the silent night and read aloud. Let your child hear inflection and excitement as you tell beloved Christmas tales each night before bed.
Frugal Tip: There is no need to order all of these books. While it’s nice to have some of these Christmas books for kids in your home library, feel free to borrow or loan them from your library. Order in advance and keep for a few weeks time. Have a running library of books you borrow for a short time! Also create a Facebook group and exchange children’s holiday books with friends.
More Family Fun this Christmas
Love the 50 of the Best Kids’ Christmas Books Round-up? Look at how to gift these books in our post 25 Christmas Traditions to Start Right Now. Pin to Pinterest on your Christmas Boards.
If sharing the reason for the season, also read the book of Luke about the birth of Christ. You can start this tradition on December 1st or incorporate these Advent Bible Verses for Kids into your daily readings. Pin to Pinterest.
Don’t forget our other Christmas Tradition, The Elf on the Shelf! The Elf on the Shelf comes with a doll and Elf on the Shelf book so you can tell the story of a fun North Pole visitor that visits families every holiday season. Pin to Pinterest.
Originally published November 25, 2015. Updated August 2022.
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