The Best Christmas Books for Kids

I’ve collected a list with the help of friends and family of the best Christmas books for kids.

Reading Christmas books during advent is one of our family’s favorite traditions. After the Epiphany on January 6th, I pack up the Christmas books and put them away until the day after Thanksgiving. The kids are doubly excited to see read the books since they haven’t seen them for almost 11 months. Each year I add a few more titles to our collection. Since my oldest child is now 28, I have collected quite a few Christmas books over the years and since my youngest is only 11, the collection continues to grow…

Some of the books on the list are Christian books and centered around the nativity, some are secular and focus on holiday traditions, and some are just plain silly. They are a wide range of reading levels, but most of them are picture books and meant to be enjoyed as a read-aloud. Most importantly most of the books focus, in some way, on having a giving heart and thinking of others during the Christmas season.

You can use this list below to create a Book Advent Calendar for your kids or some fun book-themed Elf on the Shelf ideas. You can also use it to find a special book to add to a or create a family tradition, for example, our family reads about St. Nicholas as part of our Saint Nicholas Day celebration with Christmas stockings on December 6th.

The Best Christmas Books for Kids

1. The Legend of Saint Nicholas
2. The Bernstein Bears and the Joy of Giving
3. The Baker’s Dozen – A Saint Nicholas Tale
4. The Legend of the Poinsettia
5. Secret Santas and the 12 Days of Christmas Giving
6. The 12 Days of Christmas: The Story Behind a Favorite Christmas Song
7. Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons
8. The Night Before the Night Before Christmas
9. The Polar Express
10. The Christmas Fox
11. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
12. A Wish to Be A Christmas Tree
13. Merry Christmas, Stinky Face
14. Charlie and the Christmas Kitty
15. Reindeer Christmas
16. The Legend of the Christmas Cookie
17. A Bad Kitty Christmas
18. The Berenstain Bears Get Ready for Christmas
19. The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book
20. Snowmen at Christmas
21. Danny Dozer’s Perfect Christmas Tree
22. God Gave Us Christmas
23. The Christmas Story
24. I Spy Christmas: A Book of Picture Riddles
25. Llama Llama Holiday Drama
26. Richard Scarry’s Best Christmas Book Ever!
27. Santa’s Favorite Story: Santa Tells the Story of the First Christmas
28. A Christmas Carol
29. Christmas in Camelot (Magic Tree House, No. 29)
30. The Christmas Owl
31. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad
32. Light of Christmas
33. A Pirate’s Twelve Days of Christmas
34. Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons
35. An Orange for Frankie
36. How Santa Got His Job
37. Bear Stays Up for Christmas
38. Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Ed
39. Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story
40. The Littlest Elf
41. Christmas from Heaven: The True Story of the Berlin Candy Bomber
42. The Wild Christmas Reindeer
43. Christmas in the Manger
44. Mortimer’s Christmas Manger
45. One Little Christmas Tree: A Children’s Christmas Picture Book
46. Christmas Tapestry
47. The Legend of the Christmas Tree
48. Stick Man
49. Jingle Bells
50. Clifford’s Christmas
51. The Christmas Wish
52. The Legend of the Christmas Stocking
53. Twas the Night Before Christmas: Edited by Santa Claus for the Benefit of Children of the 21st Century
54. Christmas in the Trenches
55. The Legend of the Candy Cane
56. The Night Before Christmas Pop-up
57. The Nativity
58. The Nutcracker Ballet: A Book, Theater, and Paper Doll Fold-out Play Set
59. Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
60. Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May.)
61. The Nightmare Before Christmas: 20th Anniversary Edition
62. Humphrey’s First Christmas
63. The Sparkle Box: A Gift with the Power to Change Christmas

Do you have a favorite that I’ve missed? Leave a comment, so I can add it to the list.