Start a Christmas Book Basket Tradition!

One of our family's favorite Christmas traditions is the Christmas book basket. Every year, on December 1^st, we haul out our collection of Christmas picture books and fill up a basket with them. There is great excitement upon seeing those books, and my kids spend the better part of the day reading through them, studying the pictures, and becoming re-acquainted with their favorite Christmas stories from the previous year. Every year we add to our Christmas book collection as the kids find new favorites. Reading books about the upcoming Christmas holiday is a great thing to do on a cold day, and it helps parents share in a little of the excitement their kids are feeling. Remember your favorite Christmas book as a child? I bought my children a couple of the titles I remembered having as a kid, and was amazed at the flood of holiday memories they brought back. Here are ten of our favorite Christmas books to help you jumpstart your own Christmas book collection.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg - A beautifully written story about one young boy's belief and what it means for him on Christmas. The illustrations are unique, with shades of brown, splashes of color, and light transporting you to another, more magical Christmas world.

A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert - This is a story about not having much at Christmas time and making things work anyway. Anna and her mother are poor (due to the war) and Anna is in desperate need of a new winter coat. Through bargain, trade, and the kind-heartedness of strangers, Anna's mother manages to get her a new coat for Christmas, as well as some new friends. This is also a great book to jumpstart a "where do things come from" discussion. Anna and her mother do not go to the store to buy a new coat, they assist with making it, right from watching the sheep getting shorn.