Saturday, November 5, 2011

Advent Calendar: A New Tradition

This year we are going to put a different spin on the typical advent calendar.  We are going to use books to countdown to Christmas!

The past few weeks I have been gathering together 24 Christmas stories I want to share with my kids this holiday season.  I plan on wrapping each book individually.  Starting on December 1st, we will choose one book to unwrap and read each day.

The only book that cannot be opened until December 24th is The the Night Before Christmas.  It will be marked with "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE".

Here is a list of the books we will be reading this season:

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Christmas Tree Board Book by DK
My First Christmas Board Book by DK
10 Trim-the Tree'ers by Janet Schulman
Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck
The Spirit of Christmas by Nancy Tillman
The Night Henry Ford Met Santa by Carol Hagen
Santa Kid by James Patterson
Auntie Clause by Elise Primavera
Santa's Book of Names by David McPhail
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro
A Christmas Tree in the White House by Gary Hines
Merry UnChristmas by Mike Reiss
Olive, The Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold
Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child
Llama, Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Reudney
A New Improved Santa by Patricia Rae Wolff
How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
Polar Express by Chris Van Alsburg
A Orange for Frankie by Patrica Pollacco
Why I Love Christmas by Daniel Howarth
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
Home for Christmas by Jan Brett


I am super excited to start this tradition with my kids.  I plan on switching out a few books each year, but there are some on the above list that will always be in our advent calendar.

I know it is only November and we have not even made it to Thanksgiving yet, but I wanted to share this idea early in case you want to try it!  It takes awhile to gather all the books!

What books would be on your top 24?

7 comments:

  1. What a great idea! This will be so fun for the kids. One book I would as they become older is The Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Pollaco. I read that to my third graders each year and they were just enthralled and amazed with the story. It's one that sends shivers up your spine!

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  2. Since Coltin was a baby we have read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore on Christmas Eve. Call me a copy cat...I'm going to use your idea. I've started collecting my books!

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  3. Stealing this for the boys!

    I pulled out what we have on the shelves:

    "Mortimer's Christmas Manger" by Karma Wilson
    "The Elf on the Shelf" by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell
    "The Story of Christmas" board book by Patricia Pingry
    "Bless You, Santa" and "Shhhh!" both by Julie Sykes and Tim Warnes
    "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell" by Lucille Colandro

    Going out tonight to get some more books. We have gift cards I have been meaning to use.

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