Christmas Book Advent Calendar for Kids
These 24 Christmas picture books are perfect for a Christmas book advent calendar, and you can tick off each book as you read them on our free printable Christmas book advent calendar.
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Snuggling up with a lovely Christmas picture book is one of my best memories of Christmas with my kids. There’s nothing better than taking a quiet moment to share a gorgeous book, especially when the days leading up to Christmas can be so hectic! Kids need these small moments of quiet connection, just as much as we do at this time of the year.
Here are some more tips for how to have a calm Christmas with your family…
Reading a Christmas book every day is also a fabulous way to countdown the days till Christmas!
A book advent calendar is a great alternative to one with chocolates or other treats, it’s easy to do, and a great way to include more reading with your kids.
It’s fun to build up a collection of treasured Christmas books. You could start a tradition of choosing a new book to buy each year, or perhaps Santa could bring a new book to add to your collection. Your local library is also a great way to access a range of Christmas books, but my tip is order your library books if you can as Christmas titles can be very popular!
You can make a picture book advent calendar even more special by wrapping each book and popping a number tag on it. That way the kids won’t know which book you’ll read until they unwrap it!
Or you can keep it super simple by using our printable book advent calendar (you can find more info and a link to download it below). Stick it on the fridge and the kids can cross off each day as you read each book and easily see how many more days until Christmas.
If you are looking for more easy advent calendar ideas – try our advent calendar coloring page, or our free printable advent activity cards, or check out this Christmas kindness for kids printable advent calendar.
Great Christmas Picture Books for an Advent Calendar
There are so many great Christmas books to choose from, it’s going to be hard to narrow down your list to just 24!
We’ve tried to include a range of different books, as well as books that appeal to a broad age range, so that there is something on this list that is suitable for little ones, as well as for older kids.
The Tree That’s Meant to Be by Yuval Zommer
This book is full of gorgeous illustrations and is all about friendship, celebrating diversity, and learning that you don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.
Find it at Amazon
How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky
When Santa was young he tried all kinds of jobs, but none of them worked out. Then he met some elves who helped him find his dream job!
This is such a fun book !
Find it at Amazon.
Olive, The Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh
When a little dog called Olive mishears the classic Christmas song she thinks it’s about her ‘Olive the other reindeer’ (instead of ‘all of the other reindeer’) so she goes to the North Pole to join Santa’s team.
We love the fun modern illustrations in this book.
Find it at Amazon
Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Ride on the Polar express to Santa’s workshop in this classic story with beautiful pictures and lots of Christmas magic!
Find it at Amazon
Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht
This lovely rhyming book is all about choosing the perfect Christmas tree and decorating it with family. It’s a great book to read right before you decorate your own tree.
Find it at Amazon.
John Williamson’s Christmas in Australia by John Williamson
This book gives a little glimpse into what Christmas is like when it happens during the Australian summer holidays! And everyone can relate to poor Dad trying to et the perfect Christmas photo!
Find it at Amazon
Santa’s Secret by Mike Dumbleton
The Christmas presents have all be delivered, but Santa is getting back in his sleigh. Where is he going?
Find out what Santa does with his time off in this fun story.
Find it at Amazon
Walk This World at Christmastime by Big Picture Press
Visit a new country on every page and learn about how different people and cultures from around the world Celebrate Christmas.
Find it at Amazon.
Daddy Christmas and Hanukkah Mama by Selina Alko
This is a lovely story about how a family happily blends the two celebrations of Christmas and Hanukkah.
Find it at Amazon.
All the Colors of Christmas by Matthew Paul Turner
The rhyming verse makes this book beautiful to read out loud as it talks about all the different colours of the Christmas story and Christmas celebrations.
Find it at Amazon
The Nutcracker in Harlem by T. E. McMorrow
This is a beautiful new retelling of the famous Nutcracker ballet, set in Harlem during the 1920s jazz renaissance.
Find it at Amazon.
The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood
‘The holidays are filled with joyful noise. But Christmas is sometimes wrapped in quiet.’ This is a delightful story that will make everyone appreciate the quiet moments of Christmas beauty.
Find it at Amazon
A Christmas Sweater for Nina by Cecilia Heikkilä
Nina, a homeless cat, wears a red sweater to keep warm, when it stars to unravel this story takes you on a journey to Nina’s first Christmas present.
Find it a Amazon.
Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray
This is a beautifully story about a little boy and and older woman who plan and plant a Christmas tree farm, watching the trees, and the boy grow over the years.
Find it at Amazon.
Pig the Elf (Pig the Pug) by Aaron Blabey
Aaron Blabey is one of our favourite authors, and if you are not already a fan of Pig the Pug, you will be after reading this fun Christmas story.
Find it at Amazon.
Father Christmas Needs a Wee! by Nicholas Allan
Father Christmas drinks and eats all the goodies left out for him and every house, but before long he really, really, really needs a wee! The kids will love this hilarious counting book.
Find it at Amazon
Santa Rex Hardcover by Molly Idle
If your kids love the Tea Rex book, they will love this super fun Christmas Rex story too!
Find it at Amazon
Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee
How does Santa know how to match the right toy with the right kid every time? This book tells you how he does it, and has a lovely, unexpected, ending thrown in for good measure!
Find it at Amazon.
Samurai Santa: A Very Ninja Christmas by Rubin Pingk
This book has a fun, graphic novel type style and layout, with great images, and a really fun story about ninjas, Santa and a giant snowball fight!
Find it at Amazon.
Last Stop on the Reindeer Express by Maudie Powell-Tuck
This is a beautiful book with doors to open and windows to peak through and a lovely story that is perfect for those who are missing family this Christmas.
Find it at Amazon.
N Is for Navidad by Susan Middleton Elya
This is a fun alphabet book that shares the celebration of Christmas Latino style, with gorgeous images and story about the 22 days of the traditional holiday.
Find it at Amazon.
Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen
Beautifully illustrated this lovely Australian history story is about Kathleen who is waiting for the Christmas tea and sugar train, and hoping for a surprise.
Find it at Amazon.
There Is a Monster Under My Christmas Tree Who Farts by Tim Miller & Matt Stanton
Fart jokes and Christmas, what else do you need in a book?
The kids will think this is hilarious, even if you don’t!
Find it at Amazon.
Free Printable Christmas Book Advent Calendar
To keep track of your Christmas books and to have a visual countdown of how many books you have read and how many more you’ll read until it is finally Christmas day, I’ve made this fun printable Christmas book advent calendar.
The free printable Christmas book advent calendar has a space to write down the title of the book you will read each day. You can plan ahead and fill it in with all your book titles before you start and tick them off each day. Or you can write the names of the books onto the calendar each day as you read them.
Either way you can easily see how many books you’ve read and how many days there are until Christmas Day!
This is an editable pdf so when you open it you’ll see little blue boxes that you can click on and type in the book titles before you print it (it’s best to use the latest version of adobe acrobat to edit it). Or you can print it as a blank calendar (the blue boxes will not print) and hand write the book titles if you prefer.
This printable is an A4 sized pdf file, you will need a pdf reader such as adobe acrobat to open it. It will fit to print on US ‘letter sized’ paper, just be sure to select ‘fit’ or ‘shrink to fit’ from your printer options to allow for printer margins.
Click here to download the printable Christmas Book Advent Calendar.
Please remember that the printables at picklebums.com are for personal use only, you may not sell, share, or link directly to these files.
What’s your favourite Christmas book?
Share your favourite Christmas books in the comments so we have even more great books to add to our Christmas book advent calendar!
More Fun Christmas Printables for Kids!
If your kids love reading Christmas books, they will love these fun Christmas activities:
Make some of these design and colour Christmas gift tags.
Can you find your way through these Christmas mazes?
Work on some maths skills with these Christmas counting games.
