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The only thing better than Christmastime, family traditions and children’s books?!– the opportunity to combine them all! I absolutely love this fun family tradition and can’t wait to start it this year with my girls.
This enjoyable tradition is inexpensive to carry out annually (once you have acquired your book collection) and is sure to bring a smile to your child’s face!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- A collection of 24 or 25 (dependent upon which version of the tradition you plan to implement) holiday themed children’s books
- Wrapping paper
- Marker
- Tape
DIRECTIONS:
1.) Begin by collecting your favorite holiday books.
If possible, implement some of your favorites from your younger years. Part of the reason I love this tradition so much is that it allows me to reminisce with my favorite childhood Christmas books. (Last year my mom surprised me with a collection of all of my personal Christmas books that I can now pass down to my children. She had kept them stored away neatly after years of receiving them as gifts from my parents and grandparents.) If after collecting your favorites you find yourself to be a few books short, a great place to find fun holiday books at a fraction of the cost is both the Dollar Store and the dollar section at Target. No need to spend a small fortune for this tradition to work!
Looking to create the perfect personalized holiday children’s book this year? Be sure to check out the latest holiday books at ISeeMe.com! Can you imagine the look on your little kiddo’s face when they see their name incorporated into a Christmas story that is sure to be a new favorite?!
2.) Wrap up your holiday books.
Time to wrap up the classics! Purchase your favorite wrapping paper or better yet, don’t spend a penny! If you are at all like me, you have a few wrapping paper rolls left from previous years that are taking up space in a closet. Mix and match and use up those rolls! Your kids won’t care what the paper looks like, trust me! (Tip: be sure to make note of any book favorites before you wrap them up and forget which is which, as you’ll want to be sure and label them to be opened earlier in the month.)
3.) Determine which version of the tradition you want to use and label away.
Once you have finished wrapping your books it is time to label them. You can choose to label the books 1-24 if you wish to start on December 1st and end on Christmas Eve. You can choose to label the books 1-25 if you wish to start on December 1st and end on Christmas Day or if you wish to start the night before December begins and end on Christmas Eve. Personally, I chose to wrap 25 books total, starting on the night before December starts and ending on Christmas Eve with the classic, “The Night Before Christmas”. You can then choose to have your kiddos start by opening book #1 and count up with the days of the month or begin with book #25 and count down to Christmas. I chose the latter, marking each one “25 days until Christmas, 24 days until Christmas” and so forth. Or perhaps you wish to not label at all and allow your children to pick whichever book they want each day. Personally, I like the idea of labeling so I can better control which book they open each day (does that make me a control freak?!).
4.) Let the memories begin!
Place your books under the Christmas tree and have fun with the “rules”. In our household, I’ve decided to label the books daily so that I can insure some of the classics and favorites are opened earlier in the month and thus there are more opportunities to enjoy them. I’ve also decided to let my girls open the daily book first and once finishing reading, they then get to choose one more book from the ones previously opened so far in the month to read as well. Clearly there is no right or wrong way to implement this family tradition, so have fun!
How about you? Have you started this family tradition? What other ways do you personalize this idea? What is your favorite holiday children’s book?
What a great idea! Will definitely be doing this next year!
Glad you like it!! I’m sure your little guy will love it 🙂
Such a fun idea! My parents usually give pajamas every Christmas, but I definitely like this idea. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
Thank you! I LOVE the pajama tradition! My parents do the same for the kiddos 😊
This is an awsome idea! I take a note!
Thanks, Francesca! Enjoy!
love this idea and believe we will be doing it. Book fair at school this week great place to pick up these books thanks for sharing such a great idea
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Excellent idea, Angie!! A book fair is an excellent place to get the books necessary to start this tradition!
Such a fun idea! Do you do all new books each year?
Thanks, Ashley! Definitely not! I use the same books over and over unless of course my kiddos receive a new holiday book as a gift from the years prior, then I incorporate it. I never end up buying new ones though as 1) it keeps costs down and 2) i think it helps build the fun with the tradition when we the kiddos can relate with the classics they read the year prior. 😊
I don’t! Same ones every year 😊 helps add to the tradition!
When my kids were young we bought a new Christmas book every year. I have saved them and will give them to the girls when they are settled in homes of their own. I love the tradition of reading books together.
I love that! They will value that eventual gift soooo much!
Found your blog and this post through the Blogger’s Pit Stop. How I love this idea! I am retired elementary school librarian so you know this girls loves children’s books. I just received a bunch of books from an Amazon order to use in a book review post on my blog. I can wrap them up afterward and do a mini-version of this tradition. Thank you for this fabulous idea!!
You are most welcome!! I am so glad you enjoy it!! A retired elementary school librarian?! How fabulous! I always thought I would have loved that career!! 💛
What a lovely tradition, I have not heard of it before. Books are so special. I still remember some of the stories from the first book I ever received from my Grandmother. I still have the book, it may be missing a couple of pages.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stop
That is so special that you still have it!! I still have mine from my grandmothers as well! I hope you pass it down for generations to come! So special!
I started something like this a couple years ago and am so glad I did! Thanks so much for joining the To Grandma’s House We Go link party!