If you know anything about me, you think that traditions are very important to me. From the same first day of school photo to preparing the same dishes for Thanksgiving.
Because of this, it should come as no surprise that I have held on very tightly to our Christmas traditions each year. Last season I went into detail about the various ones that we carry out this every new holiday season. You can find that post here.
One of my favorite traditions is the ‘12 days of Christmas books’. This is one that will continue to grow with our family year after year. I say that because the always changing interests and reading levels of children will allow us to search for new books each year. The tradition of new books only gives them more opportunity to explore to the literary world around them.
I select ten books for each child that include their individual interests, as well as two books each with a Christmas theme. Each night for the twelve nights before Christmas, they get to open one of their books and read it before bedtime (then during 900 more bedtimes throughout the next year).
In my post last year (which you can check out here), I had a mix of hardcover and board books for childrens much different reading level. Camden was starting to show interest in bigger sized books with longer stories, while Lily was still not as gentle and in need of board books. This year I was able to incorporate hardcover books for both kids, though I chose shorter stories for her.
Camden has the interests of a standard three and a half year old boy. Dinosaurs, fire engines, construction trucks, animals of all sorts, and legos. Because of this I tried to find books that would easily entertain him and keep his interest. These are the books I selected for him.
Lilian is becoming the girliest little girl, even going as far as calling herself a princess. For her I selected tales of princesses, unicorns, and all the mythical creatures in between. Here are the final choices.
Whether you do 12 days of books, 24 days of books, or just pick up a couple for your kids for Christmas – I hope that my selections helped give you some new ideas! Do you have any other traditions for the days leading up to Christmas Day? I’d love to hear!
