It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Advent…
Advent and Christmas Picture Books and Traditions
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I always feel a little disgruntled that Thanksgiving and the first Sunday of Advent are the same weekend! It’s just so much goodness in such a short time! I always want to enjoy the last little bit of fall a little longer, but Thanksgiving is the death knell of fall, and it makes me a little sad. But I do love Advent as well and I am always, always so excited about it! That’s when my absolute favorite picture books come out!
Advent picture books
Oooh, just writing it down makes me tingle all over! Advent and Christmas picture books are just the best! Something magical happens with these picture books, they are different, you cannot just read them as you do other picture books. They need a special basket to lie into, they need special cuddles, with extra blankets and pillows, or a roaring fire in the wood stove. A hot drink and maybe a cookie or two just have to accompany them. They just call for it! Advent and Christmas picture books are beautiful from the text to the illustrations, they make you become beautiful.These picture books call for virtue, charity, generosity and hope. They grow the anticipation of the Birth of our Savior in many ways. They carry a message that few other picture books carry.
Collecting Advent and Christmas picture books
When my big kids were little we had no picture books of our own, which was really sad. The picture books I grew up with were at my parents and the same was true for my husband’s. And we had never owned picture books, they were a family bounty. Through the different birthdays we started building a very small picture book library, and we went to the library a lot! Then I started home schooling and that definitely helped! A lot! But I digress, I decided that I did not want my children to move out and start a family without at least some Advent and Christmas picture books. How can I afford to do that?
Book giving tradition
I instituted a tradition: every December 6th, for St. Nicholas’ feast day, for Christmas and for Epiphany, January 6th, my children would each receive one Advent or Christmas picture book. That makes 3 picture books a year, not bad, right? Well, it actually accumulates quite quickly! When my oldest left home at 19 she took with her over 40 Advent and Christmas picture books!! I probably started doing this when she was 5 or 6. And now I miss them very much, and I have to buy extras, lol!
Tip: buy your very favorites for the youngest child and they’ll stay with you longer. You’re welcome!
So needless to say, we have quite the collection of Advent and Christmas picture books.
How to read them all?
Some time in November I either ask the kids to pick some of their very favorite Advent and Christmas picture books, or I select them myself if I have a theme in mind. Once we have one picture book per day of Advent gathered I order them somewhat, especially if I have a theme in mind, then I wrap each book individually and label them. I like to label them in a countdown sequence, with the first Sunday of Advent having the total number of days in Advent and Christmas Eve being number 1. Then every day during Advent we unwrap one book to read at bedtime. It is a wonderful Advent calendar! I also have 12 wrapped for the 12 days of Christmas, so the unwrapping keeps going all the way to Epiphany on January 6th!
The overflow of the Christmas books are in baskets strewn throughout the house and are read at any time. We don’t get to all of them anymore but there are some that are never skipped over, year after year.
Where to find good and beautiful Advent picture books?
I’ve got you covered! With the help of my little elves (they really are not that little anymore, but we’ll pretend) we have compiled for you a list of 37 of our favorite Advent and Christmas picture books! And there is a surprise in there as well… So go and grab it, start putting out loan requests at the library or jump on Thriftbooks. Then be ready to enjoy a wonderful Advent.
This booklist is very complete and contains books for everyone’s enjoyment. They will make you laugh, they will make you cry and they will help you create treasured memories
Another favorite tradition: the Advent Calendar
An Advent calendar is a way to count down the days from the First Sunday of Advent (the fourth Sunday before Christmas) until Christmas Day. Many stores have all made Advent calendars, but they only contain 24 days, which gets annoying because Advent can be up to 29 days, depending on the day of the week Christmas falls on. Thankfully there are also many DIY Advent calendars floating around the internet. I made this one close to 15 years ago and we still use it every year!
What to put in your Advent Calendar
What do I put in it? I can be anything, but I try to stay away from candy, to keep the celebration to the actual Christmas season and not Advent. Sometimes when reading a chapter book for Advent, such as one of Arnold Ytreeide, I have used Little People or Playmobil figures to represent a person of the story and end up with a lovely nativity Scene at the end. Other times I have put our Jesse Tree ornaments in them. And my favorite has been a surprise activity for each day. Something to create memories, force me out of the frenzy that Advent can be and just be present with my family, doing something that we all enjoy. With that in mind, I have created one to share with you this year.
Preparing our hearts for Christmas
Because, after all that is what Advent is all about. With young children my favorite way to prepare for Christmas is either by reading about Jesus’ ancestry through The Jesse Tree or one of Arnold Ytreeide‘s lovely stories. I also love Destination: Bethlehem by Sharon Altman. These are the ones I used to fill the Advent calendar.
Another important tradition to prepare our hearts has been Christkindl. After Thanksgiving dinner, we all put our names on a piece of paper in a bowl and each pick someone else’s name. Then for the duration of Advent we are to pray and do acts of service, secretly, for that person. This has helped us reset many times and refocus our relationships and interactions within the home. It has always been very fruitful. The secret does not always last very long but it is still worth it. On Christmas Eve each person is given a handmade present from their Christkindl.
Advent in my home
I try to keep things simple, even though I want to do ALL the things! Having traditions and rhythms really helps me stay focused on simplicity and keeping the true celebration for the actual Christmas Season. The one that starts on Christmas day and goes all the way to Epiphany.
So join me in simplicity this year and let’s make this Advent season different, with more peace, more joy and family centered.
