Can you recommend some beautiful Christmas books?

[ShowOfHands]

Particularly vintage or children's books. I collect Christmas books and have just ordered the new Shirley Hughes. I think it's the illustrations I like the most. Shirley Hughes is a favourite because of the evocative illustrations.

I am idly browsing online and wondered if anybody had recommendations for much loved, beautiful Christmas books that I haven't stumbled across before?

The Lighthouse Keeper's Christmas is also really lovely. Great for 5-7 year olds, I'd say.

@missyB1

For adults: Shakespeare's Christmas, by Charlaine Harris - Shakespeare is a town in deepest Arkansas, the protagonist is Lily Leeds, a cleaning woman/private detective with a wry sense of humour, a black belt in karate, a dark past and a sexy boyfriend, and it's a festive murder mystery. (Charlaine Harris is also author of the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books, but there's nothing supernatural in the Shakespeare series)

Winter Solstice by Rosamund Pilcher is the other end of the scale - a loosely-connected group of strangers end up in a big old house in a remote Scottish village and have a lovely time. It's really well written, complete with winter walks in forests and seeing the sun come up etc (it does feature the least convincing 14 year old girl I've come across, but still v enjoyable).

Oh, and the Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater, of course.

The empty stocking is wonderful. I proper teared up reading it (new to me this year).

I quite like the Truth Pixie too.

I’m a sucker for pop up books, and one of my favourites is a very simple one - Christmas at the zoo

Love Robert Sabuda books too - have quite a few of those due to my pop up book obsession!

I have Winston Delivers Christmas new for this year too - haven’t read it through, but it looks really lovely.

Another Christmas book for adults - The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris. Very funny.

Oh, @Herocomplex ….my life would truly have been much the poorer without The Dark Is Rising. School prize aged about 13, now I have had to get a proper box set because the original was so large that it is the only book that's disintegrated on me in 40 years through reading. Have not, and refuse to, see the film as nothing can compare to what my head conjured up. I also love going through the cutting in the car that's on the motorway route into Buckinghamshire from the London direction, 2 walls of chalk banked up (and obviously I think the Old Ones' doors must be somewhere near there off the road!)

I'm afraid Terry Pratchett's Hogfather (book not film, not watched either) is a thing of fantasticness too, I have to read each Christmas, not Dickens but the scene in the department store where the display becomes real and the children take their chance and ask for dangerous things/live animals and get them. Then it's Christmas!

I loved Richard Scarry’s ‘Best Christmas Book Ever’ when I was a child, and my dc also love it now. Lots of little stories in it.

@Tableclothing
thanks for those recommendations, I’ve just downloaded Winter Solstice.

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A bad start for father christmas

The magic toyshop by Peter Seymour. It's a beautiful pop up book about a toyshop that comes to life. The ballerina and toy soldier fall in love 😍

"Auntie Claus" has been our firm favourite ever since we got it. It really sparked my children's imagination.

"Santa Claus the world's number one toy expert" has always been popular with all the kids I read to.

Jane Ray's "12 Days of Christmas" is fun and beautifully illustrated. We used to put loud music on and sing along every night at bedtime. Her "Nutcracker" is beautiful too.

Another particularly pretty on is "The Christmas Magic".

Tons of ideas here: www.goodreads.com/list/show/117973.children_s_christmas_holiday_books_secular

www.booktrust.org.uk/book/o/one-christmas-wish/

The illustrations in this one are beautiful.

"The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson, though I think it now also goes by the title of "The Worst Kids in the World"

I haven't read it for a few years but I remember it being subversively funny at the start and really moving by the end.

@IggyAce oh wow, did you get the Pubaret Night Before Christmas from M&S a few years back? Absolutely adore those illustrations. It's my favourite one to get out every year. We like the remember how my daughter, when she was a toddler, insisted on reading it until June, and when I finally hid it she found it and hid it by her bed herself.

Olivia's Christmas is rather charming. We have a few snowy novels about sad animals finding a home.

I also have a nice illustrated book of carols. My kids don't sing carols at their school and I've no idea why, because there's nowt wrong with a bit of O Little Town of Bethlehem if you ask me. So I teach them at home.

Morris's disappearing bag by Rosemary Wells

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey - quite beautiful. My children love it.

Oh yes EnglishRose Morris's Disappearing Bag is brilliant, as is anything by the wonderful Rosemary Wells!

@TempestHayes what a lovely memory. My husband actually got it from Amazon I believe. We used to do the advent book thing but now the kids are older I read a longer book to dcs. They have their favourites which we read throughout December, but Night Before Christmas is read on Christmas Eve.

How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith is a lovely chapter story (you read a chapter a day) with gorgeous illustrations.

The Children of Green Knowe is the best one!
The Box of Delights
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
John Julius Norwich's Twelve Days of Christmas (thank you letters for the gifts...'five beautiful gold rings! Really lovely - lovelier, in many ways, than birds...')
Adult books - I liked India Knight's Comfort and Joy - I know her books are a bit marmite and I am a lover rather than a hater.

Little Grey Rabbit's Christmas by Alison Uttley especially the 1946 copy.

A Childs Christmas in Wales with the gorgeous illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.

The Conscience Pudding by the wonderful E.Nesbit

A Wayne in a Manger by the hilarious Gervase Phinn just laugh out loud.

Christmas at Blackberry Farm
By Jane Pilgrim the older edition

Then up to date A Literary Christmas: An Anthology a perfect book to dip into poems, short stories, and prose.

Lastly The Christmas Magic Lauren Thompson.

We read Winston last year and it was lovely.

We also like this

www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Posadas-Picture-Puffin-Books/dp/0698119010?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

This thread is amazing.
12yo DD told me today that Santa should bring her a stocking full of books - girl after my own heart! So much inspiration here.

I've bought 3 books recommended on this thread, thank you!