I was busy updating my list of Kids Advent and Christmas Books and I realised that actually over the years our collection has grown to include many Advent and Christmas books to cherish at any age. You know the type, ones that will become family heirlooms or that you get out each December to read again and again.
There is something reassuring about putting your feet up and dipping your nose into a seasonal book. A tradition that you repeat year after year, one that you really look forward too.
Whilst my boys were growing up we had an Advent Box that came down from the loft with the advent calendars. It was filled with seasonal DVD’s (before streaming services were invented) and books for us to enjoy over the month of December. If you love traditional Christmas books then you will also love our paper advent calendars
Advent and Christmas Books to Cherish at Any Age
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The Fir Tree (UK Link/US Link)
I am a total sucker for the Sanna Annukka’s illustrations and add to that the traditional fairy tales of the season and I am swept off my feet. I have all these books and adore them.
The Nutcracker (UK Link/US Link)
The Snow Queen (UK Link/US Link)
The Faber Book of Christmas (UK Link)
This book provides a wonderful cornucopia of christmas gems. It contains a good mix of everything and is an an honest ‘tip of the hat’ to the season. It is not sugar coated nor dour but rather pulls together christmas memories, poems, stories, recipes from bygone years thru to now.
A Literary Christmas: An Anthology (UK Link/US Link)
For as long as Christmas has been celebrated, poets and writers have sought to explore every aspect of it, whether the story of the Nativity, gatherings with family and friends, or the festive traditions that have grown over the centuries. A Literary Christmas is a seasonal anthology collecting poems, short stories and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language.
The Snow Queen and Other Winter Tales (UK Link/US Link)
This anthology gathers 100 tales that share the winter theme of Andersen’s classic. In addition to stories by Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, it includes works by Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Wilde, selections from Andrew Lang’s fairy books, and Alexandre Dumas’s The History of a Nutcracker.
V&A: The Twelve Days of Christmas (UK Link/US Link)
A delightfully illustration version of the 12 days of Christmas filled with hand-picked patterns from the V&A’s collections. Featuring art work by William Morris and Charles Voysey.
The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, & The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain (UK Link/US Link)
“The Christmas Books” contains five Christmas novels by Charles Dickens, including: “A Christmas Carol”, “The Chimes”, “The Cricket on the Hearth”, “The Battle of Life”, and “The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain”. Dickens’s Christmas novels perfectly enraptured the spirit of the Victorian Christmas revival and even inspired a number of traditional aspects of the holiday, including seasonal food and drink, family gatherings, dancing, and more.
The Book of Christmas: Everything We Once Knew and Loved about Christmastime (UK Link/US Link)
Packed with fascinating facts about ancient religious customs and traditional feasts, instructions for Victorian parlour games and the stories behind our favourite carols, The Book of Christmas is a captivating volume about our Christmas past.
The Book of Christmas: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Festive Traditions (UK Link/US Link)
This is a really nice book, with lots of facts, stories and the history behind most of our Christmas traditions.
Letters from Father Christmas (UK Link/US Link)
Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R.Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful coloured drawing or some sketches. The letters were from Father Christmas.
A Treasury of Christmas Stories and Songs (UK Link/US Link)
A Treasury of Christmas Stories and Songs has Christmas favorites for the family! Bring everyone together to enjoy this collection of traditional tales, classic rhymes, and cherished songs and carols. Each one is beautifully illustrated to conjure up the wonder and the joy of Christmas.
The History of Christmas: 2,000 Years of Faith, Fable, and Festivity (UK Link/US Link)
The History of Christmas will take you on a journey from Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, through Roman times and the Middle Ages, into the Reformation and then the Victorian era. You will finally touch down in our modern–day Christmas with all the things that make us think of this wonderful season – decorations, presents, delicious food. But as you take this amazing journey, you will discover the surprising twists and turns that Christmas has taken over the years.
Snow in the Garden: A First Book of Christmas (UK Link/US Link)
This beautiful Christmas anthology contains winter adventures, seasonal poems, festive recipes and easy-to-make craft activities as well as Shirley Hughes’ trademark warm and classic illustrations. Whether reading stories and poems to little ones or encouraging them to make beautiful crafts and Christmas treats, this book is the perfect introduction to this very special time of year.
Christmas Poems (UK Link/US Link)
For more than thirty years Wendy Cope has been one of the nation’s most popular and respected poets. Christmas Poems collects together her best festive poems, including anthology favourites such as ‘The Christmas Life’, together with new and previously unpublished work. Cope celebrates the joyful aspects of the season but doesn’t overlook the problems and sadness it can bring. With lively illustrations to accompany the words, it is a book to enjoy this Christmas and in years to come.
Noel Streatfeild’s Christmas Stories (UK Link/US Link)
In this captivating collection of festive stories, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures, and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this exciting new collection will bring joy to readers of all ages.
Originally written for annuals, magazines and the radio from the 1940s-60s, these stories by this much-loved author have never been collected before and will be a welcome discovery to all Streatfeild’s admirers.
The Ultimate Christmas Cracker (UK Link/US Link)
Here in one bumper book is his final and 50th Christmas Cracker, alongside all the very best bits as picked out by his daughter Artemis Cooper. This is the perfect Christmas gift.
Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days (UK Link/US Link)
Jeanette Winterson brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold Christmas stories, linked by personal memories and twelve delicious recipes for the Twelve Days of Christmas.
The Christmas Chronicles (UK Link/US Link)
This is much more than a cookbook. The Christmas Chronicles is the story of Nigel Slater’s love for winter, the scent of fir and spruce, ghost stories read with a glass of sloe gin, and beeswax candles with shadows dancing on the ceiling. With recipes, decorations, fables and quick fireside suppers, Nigel guides you through the essential preparations for Christmas and the New Year, with everything you need to enjoy the winter months.
Nigella Christmas (UK Link/US Link)
Here is everything you need to make your Christmas easy and enjoyable, from party food ideas and scrumptious cakes and puddings to the main event itself – turkey with all the trimmings, a vegetarian Christmas dinner or a wide range of delicious alternatives. Mine is a little dog eared, but very loved!
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