With Christmas being only a week away, I thought it would be fun to look at some potential Christmas traditions you could start with your family. Specifically, literary traditions. I love starting new traditions or doing something new each year and here’s some ideas I’ve compiled. Some may be better to do earlier in the month of December, but nevertheless I think they all could be worth trying in the last week of the season.
Read a Book as a Family on Christmas Eve
To start us off we have a relatively simple one. For this tradition, you would want to pick out a short Christmas themed picture book. You could go classic with The Night Before Christmas or pick a more modern story like Otto the Ornament. You could do this one a couple different ways. One, you could pick the book out and wrap it up. Then on Christmas Eve, unwrap it as a family and enjoy the story together. Or, you can all go pick out the book together on Christmas Eve and come home to read it before bed. Or any other way that works best for your family!
Christmas Eve Book Presents
This next one is pretty similar but more suited for older children. For this one, each family member gets their own books. You would unwrap them all as a family on Christmas Eve and then separate to read them at bed time. I like this one because it allows for some quiet time before the excitement of Christmas morning. Some great books could be The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, or Winter Wishes by M.H Clark.
Christmas Book Exchange
Often around the holiday’s you hear about ornament exchanges or cookie exchanges. This got me thinking, how fun would a holiday book exchange be. Now of course, this could occur anytime of the year, but during the holidays it could include hot cocoa, cookies, and Christmas lights. It would be a great time of year to come together and share your favorite book of the year. You could set it up like white elephant were everyone selects a book with the opportunity for swapping. I will definitely be doing this next year!
Holiday Book Donation
Another important tradition during the holiday season is giving. There are many different programs you can sign up for during the season. Some program specialize in getting children both wants and needs. At this time of year I think it’s important to care for others. Whether you are participating in one of these programs or you would just like to donate, I think a book drive or donation is a great way to give back. Especially if looking at your shelves you are able to identify some books you no longer want or need that someone else may very much enjoy.
Holiday Book and Stuffy
One thing I like doing for the holidays is making gifts. When my first nephew was born, I crocheted him a rabbit for Christmas and paired it with one of my favorite picture books, The Rabbit Listened. I did the same when his baby brother came along and I’m doing the same this year for my first first niece. I love sharing books with people, especially children. If you are not creatively inclined, you can always pair a book with a special stuffed animal book set.
Literary Holiday Treats
Jonas and I did this last year and we had a blast. We collected our favorite books that mention holiday treats and spend a day in the kitchen baking and making. Some of our favorites included Turkish Delights and Pepparkakor. If you want to know what those are from, head on over to the post we made about all the treats and goodies!.
Book and A Movie
Going back to our first few traditions we listed. This time, pair the book with it’s movie. There are quite a few books that have been made into movies or vice versa. Some of the popular ones include The Polar Express, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or The Nightmare Before Christmas if your family is more into the spooky side of things.
Holiday Bookmark Crafts
Getting to the crafty side of the holidays, gather some supplies and make some holiday inspired bookmarks. This could be fun with little or older children and can easily be adjusted to suit the age. You could simply print out bookmarks and color in the designs, or offer a little more freedom and design your own with some cardstock and ribbon. If you are feeling extra creative, you can use leather or wood.
Book Christmas Decorations
There are plenty of decorations you could utilize books for. The library my office is in collects green books and stacks them to make a Christmas shape. If you are willing to risk the integrity of your book spines, you could also open them and stack to create a layered tree. If you have any damaged books, you can utilize the pages to create wreaths. The options truly are endless!
12 days of Bookmas
Lastly, we go back to the spirit of giving. This could be fun to do with kids or with a significant other. For this, think of an advent calendar. Your task would be to find 12 books, wrap them and label them for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. You could get a variety of books, new books to try, or holiday books. It will be a fun activity to participate in each day leading up to Christmas and definitely something I’ll be considering for next year.
What are some of your favorite holiday traditions, literary or not? Let us know in the comments. With Christmas being next Monday, there will not be a post. We will have one more post this Friday before we take a week break for the holidays. We have some exciting things for the new year ahead and can’t wait to share with you.
As always, happy reading!