Bookish links- December 2024

December new releases I'm excited about:  What I Left for You 

Book-themed Christmas decorations 

30+ gifts for a reader 

Fun Christmassy posts from the past (Christmas past?)... Christmas fiction by location // Holiday picture books all about GIVING gifts // Holiday charcuterie boards // Christmas leveled readers. 

Cute bookish holiday mug 

Creating a purposeful and intentional Christmas season in your homeschool! 

Heartwarming Christmas fiction

I'm finalizing plans for our 2024 Nutcracker viewing party! A lot of these things are wayyyyy more intense than anything I want to do but they still inspire me. 

There is no such thing as too many books 

Christian Christmas fiction I'm considering this year, how to decide?!: Bespoke // The Bridge // A Carol for Christmas // A Cliche Christmas // Manchester Christmas // The Nutcracker's Suite // Tin Can Serenade 

Holiday book exchange party, so fun! 

30 best movies about the true meaning of Christmas 

Stocking stuffers for book lovers. 

The ultimate list of nativity homeschool activities 

4 advent books to prepare your heart for Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! 

Tonight we'll be listening to Christmas music and putting up our decorations.

This year's activities:

🎄The Angel Tree read-aloud + lots of Christmas picture books

🎄 Christmas pajamas courtesy of my mom

🎄 Christmas movies each Friday night...  White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, Jingle All the Way, and It's a Wonderful Life. (Plus probably some Grinch, Rankin & Bass, and Veggie Tales favorites on Saturday or Sunday!)

🎄 The Christmas playlist we built last year on repeat

🎄 Nutcracker viewing party!

🎄 We'll pick out a new tree ornament that represents our 2024

🎄 We'll put together a holiday jigsaw puzzle and we'll build a tiny model house + decorate it for Christmas!

🎄 My mom and I will be reading The Christmas Bus as our Christmas buddy read this year! 

I also thought I'd share this super cute, free Christmas reading poster activity for parents. We've used some of her calendar activity pages in the past and they're always a hit. 

Christmas middle grade favorites

Cute bookish decor spotted while running errands in the city... Top two were at Target, bottom two at Michael's

 

🎄 American Girl- Josefina, Kirsten, Addy (secular, historical fiction)... I don't love every American Girl book I've ever read (full master list of my American Girl reviews here) but I loved these three series and enjoyed all of the Christmas stories (book 3 in most girls' series), too.

🎄The Angel Tree (secular, fiction)... This one has a bit more snark than I usually go for but it didn't get too bad and I enjoyed both the message and the mystery as a group of kids worked to figure out who is their town's mysterious Christmas benefactor.

🎄 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (secular with a great Christian message, fiction)... My third grade teacher read this to our class and my goodie two shoes lil Enneagram 1 wing was deeply offended. All I could see was a book full of bad examples set by those naughty Herdmans. But after Amy reviewed it with such high regard I gave it another chance and found myself tearfully moved. My mom sent us on a family movie date last weekend and we loved the new movie! 

🎄The Drummer Boy (Christian, dystopian fiction)... One of my kids loved this book so much, about a young boy in a society where Jesus's name isn't spoken learning about him anyway. It's a good one for sure.

🎄The Family Under the Bridge (secular, fiction, TGTB book list)... This might be a stretch as middle grade, kinda somewhere between an early chapter book and a true middle grade, but I really enjoyed this touching story about homeless people (a newly homeless family + a curmudgeonly old man) at Christmastime.

🎄A Grandma for Christmas (secular, fiction, TGTB book list)... This one is super, super short but it was a fun and sweet read-aloud we all enjoyed a few Christmases ago.

🎄Horse Diaries: Jingle Bells (secular, historical fiction)... This series is written about completely different horses (in different time periods) by different authors... So no need to have read any others! We loved the cozy Norwegian family. One of my kids adores horse books and adored this one, too.

🎄 The Light at Tern Rock (secular, fiction, TGTB book list)... This is another short read but this one brought us such great discussion! I don't think I'd expected it to be Christmassy when I read it but now we call it a Christmas read around here.

🎄One Wintry Night (Christian, fiction)...  I love this one by Ruth Bell Graham, mother of Billy Graham! It's definitely a fast read for the middle grade crowd but with such a lovely Christmas message!

🎄 The Promise and the Light (Christian, Biblical fiction)... My oldest thoroughly enjoys Katie Morgan's middle grade Biblical fiction and especially loved reading this one last Christmas.

🎄Tabitha's Travels (Christian, Biblical fiction)... I adored Amon's Adventure at Easter and then I loved reading this one at Christmas. I took the advice of Sarah Mackenzie and read just the fiction portions- fantastic Biblical fiction about the birth of Jesus!

🎄Treasures of the Snow (Christian, fiction, TGTB book list)... This is not truly a Christmas book but so much of it takes place over several different Christmases that it really felt like it!

🎄The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (secular, fiction)... This was our read-aloud in 2022. There was a tad more sass than I remembered but we still really enjoyed this story about the five Vanderbeeker children banding together to save their home in time for Christmas!

🎄Winterfrost (secular, fantasy)... This was our 2023 read-aloud and it was such a hit for my kids. They loved learning more about the nisse (we got the cutest ornament to symbolize our read-aloud that year!) and we're rooting for Bettina and Klakke the whole time.

I also always think of Little Women (secular, classic, fiction) as a Christmas book even though it technically isn't. 

Bookish Advent Calendar!

I saw this in the store the other day and of course had to share! 

Books are Magic Advent Calendar

When the kids were real little we'd read a different Christmas picture book every night from Thanksgiving night all the way through Christmas Eve. Lots of other people do this too, for example by wrapping up all their picture books and unwrapping a different one each evening.  

Christmas fiction by location

I have really loved having a master list of favorite Christian fiction organized by year and location so I thought I'd separate out the Christmas reads. It's a short list this year but fear not- it'll grow! 

🇺🇸 US 🇺🇸  

Arizona- Christmas Joy Ride // The Christmas Pony 

California- The Christmas Blessing 

Florida- Prayers of a Stranger 

Idaho- Bundle of Joy // A Carol for Christmas 

Indiana- A Baxter Family Christmas 

Minnesota- One Perfect Day 

Montana- The Christmas Blessing

Missouri- Catching Christmas // Tending Roses 

Nebraska- One Perfect Day 

Oregon- The Bridge // The Christmas Bus 

Pennsylvania- Naomi's Gift 

South Carolina- The Perfect Love Song

Tennessee- The Bridge // Christmas at Carnton // The Wedding Dress Christmas 

Texas- Under the Texas Mistletoe 

Washington- The Christmas Spirit // Christmas in Winter Hill 

🌎 International 🌎 

China- Perfectly Arranged 

England- Once Upon a Dickens Christmas 

Ireland- The Perfect Love Song 

Israel- Prayers of a Stranger 

Holiday Charcuterie Boards

I already liked the look of a well-done charcuterie board but I recently enjoyed two library books on creating artful charcuterie displays (Boards & Spreads and Boards, Platters & More) and kinda fell in love with the idea of birthday and holiday charcuterie spreads. 

Charcuterie actually means a platter of meats as well but we'll be focusing on plant-based offerings.

Last Christmas I made my first attempt but I was at someone else's house so I had limited dish + food options. 

This was just for my kids and I ran out of room so just had carrots in the package beside it. Spinach applesauce from Target // sliced apples // the Christmas cookies we had baked // cherry tomatoes // guacamole // raspberries // trail mix // hummus // Himalayan Gold popcorn // Simple Mills pita crackers // cucumber slices 

We normally do pizza as our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners but I wanted to start making these platters for the lunch. They turned out to be a huge hit and now my family wants these fun platters for every holiday, plus they're open to dropping pizza and just focusing on this! 

Sweet platter (left)- Apples with "caramel" (date) dip from Life Changing Foods // dried apricots // oat milk chocolate squares // sweet potato rounds with marshmallows

Savory platter (right)- Potato skins // carrots + Bell pepper + celery // Mary's crackers with Plant Perks herbed cashew spread

Everyone is already looking forward to the Christmas and New Year platters but most of my cookbooks are packed away in storage so I have been looking for ideas this week. 

I've included links but these are all way cheaper in person so this is more for reference. 

- Oat flatbread (I add in a clove of garlic and different seasonings) sliced into triangles or strips, kind of like pita 

- Pinwheels using that oat flatbread recipe 

- Hummus (Cedars fat + oil free is hard to find but I always like it better than my homemade version. I made a pumpkin dessert hummus this fall that was a big hit, though) 

- Pesto  

- Raw veggies... Carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, Bell pepper slices  

- Mary's Gone Crackers (we like all of the original and super seed varieties)

-  Plant Perks cashew cream spread 

- pickles 

- olives 

- Stuffed mushrooms... Maybe this cauliflower puree or this lentil marinara, in Cremini mushrooms? 

- pear and apple slices with date-based "caramel" dip as kind of a caramel dip 

- roasted chickpeas and/or nuts 

- twice-baked potatoes or the above potato skins

- pumpkin bread or cinnamon raisin bread 

- Dried apple chips, figs, and/or apricots 

- French Macarons?! We all love these but they're so expensive and so hard to find both certfied gluten free and vegan. We basically never have these so it would be a fun treat if I can find some! 

- Sweet potato slices topped with almond butter, cinnamon, and hemp hearts or melted marshmallows and pecans? 

- The HEB grocery store in Texas had this Spiced Autumn Bisque that sounds so good and seems like it'd be easy to healthify! Or a savory butternut squash soup with sourdough slices? 

- tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole, bean dip? 

- mini muffins 

- stuffed peppers, tomatoes, or jalapenos 

- Mini sandwiches 

📚 For the record, I would be using these cookbooks if I had them out: Babycakes // The Colorful Family Table // Eat Better, Live Better, Feel Better // Gluten Free, Vegan Cooking for the Instant Pot // Plant Based Air Fryer Cookbook // Practical Paleo (for the veggie side dishes and desserts!)

Holiday picture books all about GIVING Christmas gifts

The Berenstain Bears: The Joy of Giving... My kids are all big fans of the Berenstain Bears so this one has gotten a lot of love around here! 

Corduroy's Christmas Surprise... Corduroy is such a classic, iconic children's lit character! This is the newer illustration style and I loved how much Corduroy cares about his friends' gifts. 

Homemade Together Christmas... The whole family in this story is focused on making each other wonderful Christmas gifts. I love the sentiment! Plus, sweet piggies. 💙 

The Legend of the Christmas Cookie (Christian)... This one is about Christmas cookies rather than traditional presents but the spirit of generosity is strong here. Our copy is in The Legends of Christmas Treasury, which we love! 

The Legend of the Poinsettia... You can't go wrong with Tomie DePaola! This one is about a sweet young lady's desire to make a gift for the nativity's baby Jesus. 

The Legend of St. Nicholas (Christian)... This is about the origin of gift-giving. I've read enough variations on this story to know that everybody's got their own version but we liked this book just fine. Our copy is in The Legends of Christmas Treasury, which we love!

Let it Snow... One of my girls adores pigs and absolutely loved this precious story about two pig friends (and a cousin) coming up with the perfect Christmas gift for each other. Very sweet, lovely illustrations + feel. Her new Christmas favorite. 

Marvin's Best Christmas Present Ever... This is actually a leveled reader but my littlest loves having her big siblings read these to her and views them as picture books. This is a sweet story about Marvin wanting to make a Christmas gift that will last. 

The Santa Thief... This one is set during the depression and starts with a boy focused on wanting a specific gift. By the end he's sneaking some of his parents' belongings to upgrade them to thrifty gifts on Christmas morning. (This is where the word thief comes in. He never actually steals anything!) 

17+ beloved books about toys coming alive

There is a reason Toy Story is such a hit. It's the same reason so many of us love The Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Little Golden Book versions here and here) 

I, like so many children, desperately believed as a kid that my toys came to life when I left the room. I remember setting them up in specific positions so that I could sneak into the house and then burst through the door when we got home, just so I could see if they had moved. I even remember loudly proclaiming that we were headed to church and that I was coming right behind my family but then running back to my room and flinging the door open to see if they had moved yet. 

There is something so magically delightful about imagining your very favorite dolls and stuffed animals coming to life and this is one of my favorite book lists yet just for that reason! I hope you will find some old favorites and some new goodies on this list.

Babushka's Doll (picture book) ... This is a fun way to kick off this list because unlike the other toys on this list, this one is very naughty! Babushka's doll makes all kinds of mischief but all's well by the end so it's a fun read. 

The Christmas Dolls (chapter book) ... This book is about a little girl in an orphanage who ends up with two less-than-desirable dolls and loves them to pieces. It's a simple but sweet story and it made a fantastic Christmas buddy read with my five and six-year-old daughters. 

Corduroy (picture book)... All four of my kids have loved the original Corduroy books and several others about this talking teddy bear and his adventures... A Pocket for Corduroy, Corduroy's Garden, Corduroy Takes a Bow, and Corduroy's Christmas Surprise (just off the top of my head!) 

David McPhail's toy love board books (board book)... We don't have any of these anymore but my little ones all loved Bella Loves Bunny, Ben Loves Bear, and Olivia Loves Owl. The toys aren't super alive in these ones and in fact remain perfectly still, but they're still personified by way of "Bella loves Bunny. Bunny loves Bella." 

The Doll People (middle grade) ... I never read these books as a kid and have only read the first so far (there are four books in the series, plus a Christmas story that may just be a picture book?) but I really enjoyed it! This is the story of a doll family who wake up when the humans aren't around. A new doll family moves in and some big adventures happen as a result! 

Hitty's Travels (chapter book) ... I never read the middle grade original but B and I enjoyed buddy reading these chapter book adaptations about a 100-year-old doll and all the life she's seen! This is a four-book series featuring Civil War Days, Gold Rush Days, Voting Rights Days, and Ellis Island Days. Slavery is portrayed in a very mild and gentle way in Civil War Days--mild and gentle enough that slavery doesn't seem like a big deal at all--so you may want to skim this one and then determine how you'd like to further that discussion. 

Honk Honk Beep Beep (board book) ... This one was such a hit for little A! This is a simple rhyming board book that shows a father and son figurine riding a toy jeep up to the window to watch the sunrise. They stop to help (and be hindered by) other toys along the way. This is a classic picture book in the sense that the majority of the story is told through the illustrations. 

The Little Engine That Could (picture book) ... A bit of a stretch for this particular list since the dolls and toys are just bit players asking the train to help them get to the other side of the mountain but I still had to include it since it's such a classic! 

The Nutcracker (picture book, chapter book, and middle grade!) ... One of our favorite secular Christmas traditions about a Nutcracker doll who comes to life to battle a giant mouse kind with a toy soldier army and then sweep Marie/Clara (depends on the version) off to the land of sweets! As blasphemous as it may sound, ETA Hoffman's original isn't actually my favorite version! (But check out the Susan Jeffers illustration version if it's one of yours). The seven-headed mouse king and the Perlipat story line kinda creep me out. My son enjoyed Scholastic's chapter book adaptation last Christmas and all four of us love Mary Engelbreit's super simplified picture book version. We love Jan Brett illustrations though and enjoyed peeking at her new version in a bookstore last month. 

Raggedy Ann and Andy collection (leveled readers)... Raggedy Ann and Andy are characters and dolls) who have survived for ages! My mom still has my old Raggedy Ann doll and my mother-in-law still has hers, too! 

The Steadfast Tin Soldier (picture book) ... I have a picture book copy of this one my mom gave me for one of my childhood Christmases! (Side note: Save some of your kids' favorite picture books, goodness. It felt so special to watch my children pour over the same illustrations from my same old copy!) This one is about a play room that comes to life at night, but in particular about a defective toy soldier and the paper doll ballerina he's in love with. 

The Story of Holly and Ivy (chapter book*)... A little girl who longs for a doll and a doll who longs for a little girl--a perfectly heartwarming Christmas tale! *I've categorized this one as a chapter book for its length and ideal age level but unless I'm misremembering, it's actually just one long picture book without any chapter breaks. 

The Teddy Bears' Picnic (picture/board book) ... Simple and sweet, an oldie but a goodie. I never remember the tune to the song so this book makes teddy bear-loving D very happy. 

The Velveteen Rabbit (chapter book) ... This book shows up as a picture book too but the chapter book original is my favorite. It's sad in a lot of ways but brings me the feels, as they say. 

Winnie the Pooh (middle grade) ... For some reason Winnie the Pooh has become a baby-and-toddler icon in US culture so I find that it's often "outgrown" just before the best age for appreciating it! Really, these books are ideal for fifth-ish grade readers and pack such a delightful punch! Some of my very favorite quotes come from Winnie the Pooh and I tell Ryan every year on our anniversary, "I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen." 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (middle grade)... This one is a major, major stretch. There's a chapter about china doll people so I threw it in here but I'm 99% sure there's only the one chapter and the whole rest of the book is just about Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and their quest. (No, you're not crazy... if you've only seen the movie then you only really know about the Wicked Witch, flying monkeys and munchkins but not the china doll people, Winkies, or any of the other characters) 

You are Special (picture book) ... We love Max Lucado and really like this one. The Wemicks are wooden dolls but they're never really talked about as being someone's dolls, aside from their discussion with/about their creator. This is a fantastic book of spiritual allegory, though, and I can't recommend it enough! 

Our favorite Christmas leveled readers

Can You See What I See: Christmas...  This is just like an I Spy book. It doesn't have much to read but my kids love these!

Frosty the Snowman... This is just like the movie so my girls are big fans. 

The Gingerbread Pup... Not technically a Christmas tale as it's a Gingerbread Man retelling but gingerbread feels like Christmas, no? 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas... Classic! My kids read this one all year long. 

I Spy: Merry Christmas... It doesn't have much to read but my kids love these!

Jesus is Born... The nativity story in easy-to-read language! 

Nate the Great: Crunchy Christmas... Fun little detective series great for 2nd-ish grade level readers. 

The Nutcracker Ballet... We all love this one because we're Nutcracker people!