LM’s Fav Christmas Books

In our house we don’t have Christmas books & DVDs available all year around, they get packed away with the Christmas tree meaning that when I put the tree up LM is able to get them out. This stops me getting too annoyed when I have to read or watch them over and over again during the Christmas period. Every year I add a few more of each to our collection. Ever since our tree went up I’ve been reading one book/story (as some of our books have multiple stories in) a night to LM at bedtime so last night I asked her to pick her favourites and give me a sentence as to why she liked it and I thought i’d blog about my thoughts on each one too. It seemed like a nice topic for blogmas and ties into the fact for the first time ever Cocktails in Teacups will be taking a more parenting direction.

So, here are the 5 she picked. I was surprised there were not many Disney books that made the cut, but I guess she has Disney in every other aspect of her life, she doesn’t need it to be in Christmas too.

“I like it because Santa brings a furry kitty in the end (sorry, spoilers!) that is orange so it could be called Anna”Dear Santa by Rod Campbell
I’m sure everyone who has ever been a child or has a child will be aware of the book Dear Zoo? Well this is the Christmas take on that. It has the exact same format except instead of the Zoo sending this kid a pet (except in the end) it’s Santa Claus sending the kid a gift for Christmas. The book itself is bright, colourful and has flaps which is probably why it appeals to LM. Short and sweet, much like the original so perfect on those nights mummy has a lot of Christmas prep to do. As the story has a repetitive format LM can pretty much read it back to me which is another thing I think she enjoys.

“I like it because I like 10 in the bed but this has animals in it”Ten on the Sledge by Kim Norman
Another nice short one that’s perfect for those more busy days, and great for LM repeating back to me. This is based on the song 10 in the Bed, however it doesn’t actually fit the song (we tried singing it) which is a little disappointing. However it’s still great for counting and I love the illustrations. It also includes some more unusual animal names such as the caribou, walrus, hare that LM might night usual encounter in other animal books. It’s not exactly Christmassy, it’s more wintery but we keep it with the Christmas books anyway.

“It’s a ballerina mouse story and I like ballerina mouse”Angelina’s Christmas by Katharine Holabird
This was actually the book in Little Miss’ Christmas even box last year as she was really into Angelina (or ballerina mouse as she calls her), she still is but her collection of Disney books seem to hold more her attention every day. However she has really enjoyed hearing this Christmas story. It has much more substance than the previous too and as I’ve mentioned in What Little Miss read, she has got to that age where she needs a story to have a beginning, middle and the end. I do adore the illustrations in the older Angelina books (which is all I buy/thrift) making it a pleasure to look through, that and the fact is the story is really sweet and encourages children to take care of the elderly at Christmas, I always finish up with a lump in my throat.

“Sofia gives her presents to the little girl and then you cry because you are happy and I give you a big hug. I also like Princess Aurora and she helps Sofia find her daddy”Sofia the First; Holiday in Enchancia by Catherine Hapka
The only Disney book to make the list, probably because LM is really into these Sofia books at the moment. I love how they read like they’re in Sofia’s voice and the illustration style is really pretty, however that isn’t why I personally like this book. This book opened a great way to discuss why not everyone celebrates Christmas in a way she understands but without going too much into religion. Sofia doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but in her family they celebrate Wassailia. Of course my daughter being a smart cookie she wanted to know why Sofia celebrated Wassailia and not Christmas. I think for a 3 year old she already has a slight grasp on the fact different families celebrate different things. The story itself is sweet and Princess Aurora makes an appearance which is one of LM’s favourite things about it. And she’s right, mummy cries at the end because Sofia gives all her gifts to the less fortunate which I think is a nice touch.

“This story is my favourite because the children give the mice and little kitties food for Christmas so they won’t be sad”Christmas in Puddle Lane by Shelia K. McCullagh
Of course my kid picks up on the fact that the children of Puddle Lane make up stockings for the animals, she’s an animal lover through and through. Again this story is a longer one with a beginning, middle and end. I love the Puddle Lane series from my childhood but it’s so hard to pick up any of the books these days, this one came from a car boot a couple of summers back. It is a sweet story, with magic of course and I really love the vintage style of it, a real classic children’s book.

What are your favourite Christmas stories?