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Have you ever heard of a Christmas book Advent calendar? It’s so simple and yet so fun. And best of all, it’s the perfect way to incorporate read-aloud time into your family’s holiday traditions.
With a Christmas book Advent calendar, instead of a toy or a piece of candy, your child opens a Christmas picture book every day. It’s like a chocolate Advent calendar … only better!
First, gather enough books so that you’ll have one for every day of Advent. You can use my library list to gather books from the library, or you can use this holiday activity as an excuse to build up your own library of beautiful Christmas books!
So how many books will you need?
The traditional Advent calendar begins on the Sunday nearest the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (November 30) and continues through four Sundays, ending on December 24. This year (2022) Advent begins on Sunday, November 27, so that means you’ll need 28 books.
Wrap enough Christmas books for every day of Advent and add a numbered tag to each one. Create your own tags or download our Printable Advent Tags and choose a set to print and attach to your wrapped picture books.
Now it’s time to display your Christmas book Advent calendar.
Put the books under the Christmas tree, on a shelf, or in a basket. You might even want to keep them hidden so that your kids will have to hunt for them.
How you display them is up to you. Be creative and make it fun!
Now comes the fun part. On each day during Advent, have your children open one of the wrapped books for your family to read together. The “togetherness” is part of the joy of this engaging holiday activity.
Perhaps this is the year you’ll start a new reading tradition in your household. Grab a cup of cocoa, a warm, snuggly blanket, and some kids, and get started with some beautiful Christmas books!
If you’d like to create your own picture book Advent calendar but need some picture book inspiration, here are some of my favorite picture books for Christmas. Click to download a checklist of my favorites to take to your local library.
Looking for MORE books? You can find more great library lists here!
Does your family have any favorite holiday book traditions? I would love to hear about it in the comments below.
Erica Palmer
says:What a beautiful, concrete way to count down to an anticipated occasion! I like the adaptability of this idea – while many of us are familiar with advent calendars for Christmas, you could use a book-a-day countdown for any meaningful holiday, a birthday, a special trip, or another similar experience. Additionally, you do not have to purchase all of the books you use. As long as it does not damage the book, library books on related topics are ideal for an advent or countdown calendar.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYes, great points, Erica!
Angela
says:My kids love this, but we do it for the 12 days of Christmas (following) they love the excitement of another surprise, even if it isn’t a book for their age. We sit and read it together
Robin
says: Customer ServiceOh, what a great adaptation, Angela! Thanks for sharing.
Rachel
says:I really love this idea! The first few years I try it, I think I’ll wrap the books in whatever I have on hand (reusable bags, pieces of fabric, etc.). Then if my child loves it and the tradition sticks, I may possibly invest in more festive cloth drawstring bags to reuse every year to wrap the books.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceRachel,
Reusable gift bags are great idea!
JIll
says:We are doing the books this year! We found many at the library sale and utilizing many of the Good and Beautiful books! With 5 kids, it is exciting to see them engaged in a book rather than the computer or TV.
Diana
says:I love this idea. But I like to mix it up with great books that aren’t only holiday related.
Katie
says:This is a fantastic idea! I love the change from chocolate.
Chilsea Tankersley
says:Oh I love this idea! Thrifting books would be fun too. Thank you for the resource!
Elizabeth
says:We gave a book advent a try for the first time this year and it has been a huge success! All of my kids (ages 8-2) look forward to opening and listening to the book each day! Thanks for the idea!!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceElizabeth,
Thanks for letting us know this book advent is working so well with your children! Love it!
Jasmine
says:A gift each day! Maybe put a tag on for each child if there’s more than one reading level. Why not do this during other holiday breaks?
Shalyn Sanford
says:Love this idea!
Chrystal
says:Yes! This is such a great idea to get children excited about reading!
Yahiliz Seiltgen
says:Absolutely great idea!
Paul
says:Super cool idea!
Mindy Welhouse
says:Love this idea!
Kristin
says:We love doing this as a family, only I don’t limit it to holiday books. I try mixing in favorites as well as ones we haven’t read in awhile.
Maria G
says:I love this idea!
Katy
says:We did this and the whole family loved it!!
Amy
says:What a sweet idea! I’ll definitely be implementing next year when my boys are a little more able to read on their own. We love read alouds so I might put a basket of those beneath our tree for now!
Bree
says:I LOVE this idea! Sometimes it gets so hard during the hustle and bustle of the season to take the time to read aloud every day. This is a wonderful way to keep the daily reading going during the busiest time of the year!
Amanda Lepore
says:Great idea!
Kristen E.
says:We love this tradition! I don’t wrap the books, but I do put all of our Christmas books in a special basket in the living room during Advent and Christmas. And then the children get a new book to add to the collection with their stocking on St. Nick’s feast day.
Amanda
says:This is a good idea! Can’t wait to try it out next Christmas!
Shannon Lane
says:I love this idea! So fun to reuse books year to year and add a new one to the collection.
Angela
says:My sister does this in her classroom and the kids love it! They can’t wait to open up the next book.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceOooo, I love this idea in a classroom setting, Angela!
Angela
says:We get a new Christmas book each year to add to our collection. Then I keep them with the Christmas decorations and only bring them out when we decorate. We get to re-read all the Christmas books in December, plus any new ones for that year.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceAngela,
I thought I was the only one that used Christmas picture books as decorations! The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot is one of my favorites!
Cassandra
says:We did this for years and it was the best!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceGreat to hear, Cassandra! I think it’s a beautiful tradition!
Emma
says:This is an awesome idea! I’ve been wanting to do more read aloud time as a family
Robin
says: Customer ServiceWonderful, Emma!
Emily
says:Love this idea! Will definitely try next year and maybe the remainder of this one too!
Jo
says:We love doing this with our family!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you, Jo!
Jen
says:Such a fun idea! I love Christmas books!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThanks, Jen! Christmas books are something special!