A New Advent Tradition That Might Actually Work For Our Family

November 30, 2011 by 26 Comments

This year we’re trying a new Christmas tradition at my house.  At least I hope it will become a tradition.  We’ll see how it goes….

In years past I’ve tried various Christmas countdowns–Advent calendars and Jesse trees and the like–and they’ve just not clicked for our family.  The daily activity always seemed like one more thing to get done instead of a meaningful way to prepare for Christmas.

But our whole family loves to read–even the baby–and a nightly story is already part of the bedtime routine.  So this year, my husband and I wrapped a gigantic pile of Christmas books (most of which we already own) and we’re putting them under the tree tonight.  Starting December 1, we’ll unwrap one every night, until Christmas Day.  This will be our Christmas countdown.

The challenge with a literary countdown for my family is the range of ages:  the baby is one, but my oldest is nearly 9, so this list includes quite a few board books, but some chapter books, too.

I’m not crazy about every one of these books; there are definitely some I’d like to replace.  But we have 25 to open without shelling out tons of cash or clearing out the “holiday” section at the library, so I think we’re off to a good start.

What are your favorite Christmas books?  Which ones should I add to my list?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday

Click here to have new posts delivered to you in a reader or by email!

<a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0395389496/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=themodemrsdar-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0395389496″>The Polar Express</a>

  1. Introducing Work Shift: How to Create a Better Blend of Work, Life, and Family
  2. How to Deal with Your Crazy Family (from an Accidental Expert)
  3. My Frugal Decision to INCREASE My Family’s Grocery Budget
Filed Under: Books & Reading Tagged With: ,

Comments

  1. Carrie @ Busy Nothings says:
    November 30, 2011 at 7:33 am

    I LOVE this idea! Adding that to the “If we ever have kids” list of ideas, for sure! I grew up with stacks of Christmas books and I still have them all. Some of my favorites were:

    “The Littlest Angel” (http://www.amazon.com/Littlest-Angel-Charles-Tazewell/dp/0824955757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322656189&sr=8-1)

    “The Most Important Christmas” (which seems to be out of print, but Amazon has some through other sellers: http://www.amazon.com/Most-Important-Christmas-James-Nelesen/dp/0570041104/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322656254&sr=1-1)

    And a new favorite is “The Jolly Christmas Postman” (http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Christmas-Postman-Allan-Ahlberg/dp/0316127159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322656316&sr=1-1)

    I’ve always loved “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” – good stuff!

    Reply
  2. Stephenie says:
    November 30, 2011 at 8:04 am

    I love Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. Beautiful illustrations and a sweet message.

    Reply
  3. Cindy says:
    November 30, 2011 at 8:12 am

    I love this idea. Our kids are teenagers (and would only roll their eyes at this) so maybe with the next kid. Definitely something to file away for later.

    Reply
  4. Joanna says:
    November 30, 2011 at 9:27 am

    You’re missing my all-time favorite – The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree. My mother read this one to us every Christmas growing up, and I still ask her to read it each year even though I’m now grown with a family of my own. :)

    http://www.amazon.com/Year-Perfect-Christmas-Tree-Appalachian/dp/0140558772/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322663238&sr=8-1

    Reply
  5. Lucky @ Making My Own Luck says:
    November 30, 2011 at 9:34 am

    I love this idea! The Gift Of The Magi is my fave — it’s actually free for kindles on amazon right now.

    We’ve been reading the Night Before Christmas to my 3 yo DS every night this week (by his request, but I’m happy to oblige). The only problem is all of the pictures of Santa and toys get him too hyped up before bed. I think we’ll switch to the Polar Express tonight!

    I don’t think I can pull this together this year, but I’ll have to keep it in mind for next year.

    Reply
  6. Kristin says:
    November 30, 2011 at 9:59 am

    Great idea. :) I have a hard time doing official “advent” activities, myself. Visiting from WLW.

    Reply
  7. Grace says:
    November 30, 2011 at 10:56 am

    I love this idea! Here’s a couple more ideas for books. I bought these for my niece and nephew this Christmas. They are about K-1 level.
    On This Special Night by Simon Mendez
    The Christmas Baby by Marion Dane Bauer
    The Stable Where Jesus Was Born by Rhonda Gowler Greene
    Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Power of Giving: A Christmas Story by Howard Binkow

    Reply
  8. Sarah@EmergingMummy says:
    November 30, 2011 at 11:33 am

    Great idea, Anne! Love it.

    Reply
    • Sarah@EmergingMummy says:
      November 30, 2011 at 11:34 am

      Rats! Hit Submit before I was done.

      I was going to say that one of my old favourite is the compilation of short stories “Christmas with Anne” by LM Montgomery. The publisher put together all of her short stories about the Christmas season into a book and I always like to dip into it a bit during the Christmas season – it would only be a read-aloud for a bit older children of course.

      Reply
  9. Kate says:
    November 30, 2011 at 11:34 am

    We’ve always enjoyed the book a night tradition during the Christmas season. There is a lovely set of Little Golden books that can help pad out the Christmas selection. I also second Carrie’s recommendation of the Littlest Angel, which always makes me cry, and the Jolly Christmas Postman, which is a lovely book with activities to go with most pages.

    Another tradition that we started last year and absolutely LOVE is listening to an episode of the 1930s radio show The Cinnamon Bear. It is an adventure story with Crazy Quilt Dragons and Looking Glass Mountains and a search for the missing Silver Star. We listen to an episode a night, finishing on Christmas Eve. You can find links all over the internet, but this site also has the original coloring book from the 1940s.

    hhttp://www.cinnamonbear.co.uk/download.htm

    Reply
  10. Emily says:
    November 30, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    What a great idea! I think I’ll steal it for next year.

    Reply
  11. sarah beals says:
    November 30, 2011 at 3:07 pm

    Love this idea. Will do a modified version this year, and jump in next year. Just reserved a bunch of books at our library. Will save money that way. I also like Great Joy by DiCamillo.

    Reply
  12. Evie says:
    November 30, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    I LOVE this! I think I will copy. I have been feeling like we should do something advent-y since my boys are excited about Christmas this year, but don’t quite get it yet. (They think it is an object, as in “Look mama, there’s Christmas” when they see a tree or a Santa Clause). I think they’re even little enough that they won’t notice if I rewrap books and use them again, so I don’t need to find as many. Thanks for the great idea!!

    Reply
  13. Adventures In Babywearing says:
    November 30, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    This is such a fabulous idea. We have SO many books already around here, too. Also, I have to tell you that your comment about Gray’s coat is just THE BEST.

    Steph

    Reply
  14. Black Tag Diaries says:
    November 30, 2011 at 10:56 pm

    I LOVE THIS IDEA! hmmm… i wonder if i wrapped up all of the books i’ve been wanting to read, maybe i’d actually read them? and shut up about the lulu lemon store in louisville. definitely checking that out SOON.

    Reply
  15. Hannah @ Lovely Woods says:
    December 1, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    Great idea. I know what you mean about needing to find a tradition that preserves your family’s sanity and simplicity.

    My recommendations are:
    Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo
    The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden

    Reply
  16. 'Becca says:
    December 1, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    I love “Woodrow Kennington Works Practically a Miracle” by Katherine Paterson, a hilarious short story about sibling rivalry and Christmas magic. Your younger kids might not appreciate it yet, but a 9-year-old would. You’d want to read it in advance to note the couple places where you’ll want to say “heck” instead vs. the place where they are actually talking about Hell. It’s in several different short story anthologies.

    Reply
  17. Diane T says:
    December 1, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    I totally love this idea!! I think I’m going to steal it…only a day or two late! Thanks!

    Reply
  18. MelD says:
    December 7, 2011 at 4:34 am

    You and your older kids will love Jostein Gaarder’s Christmas Mystery if you want to keep the books down to a single one next year in Advent – the story is very clever and runs backwards into history at the same time as a small boy goes on a geographical journey from Norway to Bethlehem following a lamb with a bell round its neck, with a chapter a day for 24 days. My girls loved this and demanded it year after year…

    Reply
  19. Adriana @ Classical Quest says:
    November 26, 2012 at 10:02 am

    I love this.

    Now I’m off to count my Christmas books to see if we have enough to do a count down this year!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Advent Calendar Idea – Books! » One Full Turn says:
    December 6, 2011 at 8:31 am

    [...] Book Advent Calendars! (Mentioned here and here.) Basically you wrap Christmas-themed books and you open one each night to read. This is [...]

    Reply
  2. How I'm Using My Seasonal Bonus Time--and How You Can, Too (and a Giveaway!) says:
    November 26, 2012 at 6:00 am

    [...] to prepare for December. I have time to order a silly Advent calendar and a serious (but fun) one, wrap all our books for our storytime Christmas countdown, and think thoughtfully about what memories I want to make this holiday season before it begins in [...]

    Reply

Speak Your Mind

*

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.