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13 Wonderful Christmas Read Alouds That Will Make the Best Memories

There are many read alouds, but I wanted to share those our family considers the best Christmas read alouds. We like to be able to finish the book during the month of December and possibly pull some grammar and vocab from it too. The following list of books are perfect for finishing in a few weeks and learning so much.

The Best Christmas Read Alouds for Families

The Christmas Carol is probably our all-time favorite December read aloud. It’s written in the fabulous 1800’s London way, so it might take a second for some to catch the meanings of some phrases. But like poetry, the phrases somehow pack so much meaning into just a few words and I love that.

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This story encompasses everything Christmas is supposed to be about–giving, kindness, and spreading love.

This book is by far the funniest December read aloud we’ve read. This is a favorite on our bookshelves and we’ve read it many times. When the main character’s mother takes over the church’s annual Christmas pageant, it’s stressful enough. But when the Herdmann’s, the town bullies, all sign up to participate in the pageant–that’s when things getย reallyย stressful. My kids laugh out loud at this one.

The Long Winter isn’t technically a Christmas story, but the whole book is about winter and they do celebrate Christmas in the story. This is one of my favorite from the series because there are so many intense moments that leave you guessing what will happen. Starvation, exposure, and low supplies are all trials the Ingall’s face in this story.

Another great story about the true meaning of Christmas, The Family Under the Bridge is about a homeless man whose life is changed by a family he meets the day before Christmas.

More Christmas Read Alouds

Snow and Rose is not necessarily a Christmas book, but there’s fairy tales, enchanted forests, and a girl named Snow, so close enough right? This is a story about sisters who set out to find answers in an enchanted forest. Gorgeous book to read and will surely be a treasure to your home library.

Tru + Nelle is a newly published book, but I can’t wait to read this one to my kids. It’s about the real life friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee.

Letters from Father Christmas, another that I can’t wait to read to my kids this season. Recommended by a very trusted friend and source, this book is a bout the mysterious letters that would arrive each December to the children of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Christmas Read Alouds for All Ages

People ask all the time for ideas for their teens–and I love adding in new things that are suitable for my older kids. But for me, I know how much I’m juggling. And there’s so many of these more “little kid” books that I would hate for my younger kids to miss out on that the olders got to enjoy.

SO, my solution: keep reading the younger stuff to my older kids too. I think they actually love reminiscing about their younger Christmas years too. And rereading some of these books brings back so many memories!

Aunt Sass: Christmas Stories is a collection of stories from the author of Mary Poppins. Her characters are so layered and interesting. This is a really fun collection!


Winter Holiday: Swallows and Amazons Collection comes highly recommended from my friend, Cait. This is a series for kids who love adventure!

Christmas Remembered is a sweet book of collected stories from the loved Tommie dePaola. If you didn’t love him before, you’ll love him after this book. This is like a memoir for Christmastime.

The Vanderbeeks of 141st Street is a book about a family about to be evicted from their brownstone home right before Christmas. My friends really love this one!

A Little House Christmas Collection–of course I love this one! It’s a collection of all the Christmas stories from the incredible Little House series!

Nancy and Plum is a story about two spirited, orphaned sisters who are alone and the holidays are coming. The forward is by Jeanne Birdsall from the popular Penderwick series, so I have a feeling this will be a hit in our house!

Making Time for Read Alouds in December

December is such a busy time of year. In our house, we normally cut back a little with regular school work for the whole month. We’ll keep up with math lessons most days, but exchange a couple of lessons for math games instead. We’ll cut back on regular language arts and pull grammar lessons from our read aloud. The rest of our days are “lessons” with baking, picture books, and more.

We make time for read alouds in December by cutting back on other things. Things like activities that aren’t totally necessary, dentist appointments, and a full school work load.

Depending on our day, we might read aloud together while the kids are eating breakfast or lunch. We also might read before bed with a fire if we didn’t get time earlier in the day. The goal for us is just to make the time however we can and read in the margins of our days. The books we’ve read together in December with the lights and the fire going have become some of our favorite Christmas memories.

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8 Comments

  1. Love these – tucking this away for the holidays. Have you ever read The Light at Tern Rock? It was part of our homeschool curriculum this year and we wound up reading it in February, but it’s really a Christmas story with forgiveness as a central theme. Thanks for the great recommendations!

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