Christmas Story Advent

Since having children, I have accumulated many beautiful Christmas stories.  Most of them are books, but some are stories from my childhood.  Most are Christ-centered, some are about Giving, and some are about Santa and the Magic of Christmas.   

Several years ago I began wrapping these stories and placing them under the tree.  Beginning the first day in December and ending Christmas Eve, we unwrap a story each evening.  I number them in the order that I would like them to be read.  This tradition prepares our hearts for Christmas and my children love the anticipation of each story as they remember them from the previous year.  Once they are unwrapped, I leave them out to be enjoyed throughout the month.

 

This has become one of our favorite family traditions.

My list is not set in stone and I am sure it will evolve over time as my children grow, but I would love to share the 24 stories that we read each Christmastime.

1-  When the Prince of Peace Was Born by Alice W. Johnson and Allison Warner

2- This is the Star by Joyce Dunbar

3- Is There a Santa Claus? 

4-  Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

5-  The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

6-  The Joy of Giving and Trim the Tree by The Berenstein Bears

7-  Trouble at the Inn by Dina Donohue

8-  The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucada

9- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

10-  Pattern of Love

11-   Room For a Little One by Martin Waddell

12-  Beyond Bethlehem by David Bowmen

13-  He Took My Lickin' For Me by Timothy Robinson

14-  The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers

15-  The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson

16-  How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Suess

17-  A Brother Like That

18-  The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

19- Because I Love You by Max Lucado

20-  Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer by Rick Bunson

21-  The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt

22-  The Littlest Angel by Charles Tagewell

23-  The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scary

24-  The Night Before Christmas by Mary Engelbreit

I included four of my favorite childhood stories, printed them on this brown packaging paper, then turned them into an envelope.  They are beautiful Christmas stories from my childhood that I want my children to hear and remember. 

Tomorrow we begin our Christmas Story Advent and I am giddy about it!