OUR CHRISTMAS BOOK ADVENT // reviewing the best festive family tales

I’ve gone a bit Christmas crazy this year, and I’m not apologising one little bit. I’ve always loved Xmas, but this season is the best one ever, because the girls are both old enough to really get in the festive spirit. We’ve got a couple of little traditions already in place (the obligatory advent house filled with little treats, and regular drives around the ‘hood to admire everyone’s Xmas lights) and this year we’ve introduced a new one that I just LOVE!

It’s an idea I actually saw on Facebook, where you get 24 festive family books – they don’t have to be brand new, you can beg, buy, borrow, or recycle ones you already have – and wrap them up (handy tip; the Scotch Pop-Up Handband makes wrapping ridiculously easy).

Each night since December 1 the girls have been taking turns to pick one of the wrapped festive family books book from the pile and open it up, then we all read it together before bedtime. I love it for so many reasons: it’s 20 minutes every night that we get to spend with each other (which may sound strange, but life is so busy it’s hard to give them 100% of my attention as often as I’d like), and it’s getting us right into the Christmas spirit.

The girls ADORE the excitement and anticipation of opening one of the new festive family books, and it’s really igniting a passion for reading in both of them. I think this actually makes me the happiest; reading was such joy for me as a child, and I worry that tablets and iPads are making traditional books redundant. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, but nothing can replace good old-fashioned book with pages that actually turn!

The other night I went into Big Sis’ room to find her fast asleep with the Xmas book lying over her face: she’d been reading until she literally couldn’t keep her eyes open a moment longer.

I’m hoping to make this one of our family traditions, as it’s something that we can carry on even once the Santa spell has been broken. But it wouldn’t have been possible this year without the support of some of our favourite children’s publishers, who very kindly gifted us some magical Xmas titles to include in our Festive Book Advent.

So a huge thank you and Happy Christmas to EGMONT, LITTLE TIGER PRESS, CAMPBELL BOOKS, ORCHARD BOOKS, who’ve all contributed festive family books so far. The rest I’ve picked up from Amazon, Ebay and the supermarket shop over the past few weeks – here are the titles so far, so you can check them out and even order them for yourselves!

Jolly Snowmen

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Hello Christmas

Ice Skating

The Christmas Treasure Hunt

Santa’s Noisy House

Pooh’s Christmas Party

A Very Pirate Christmas

One Special Christmas

Whizzy Santa

I Love You Father Christmas

Peppa’s Christmas Wish

Stick Man

Gruffalo’s Child