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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Christmas books-not necessarily ‘the classics’!

55 replies

PinkDaydreams · 16/09/2020 07:55

Inspired by the bargains thread, here’s a Christmas book thread!
A few suggestions on there were:

The Christmas Eve tree
The empty stocking
How Winston delivered Christmas
Christmas in Exeter street
Letters from Father Christmas

Thank you so much to the posters on the bargain thread for these suggestions, they all look lovely!
Please can we have more suggestions :)

OP posts:
3rdNamechange · 16/09/2020 10:00

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder , beautiful book.

gingerbeerandlemonade · 16/09/2020 10:13

The polar express
Michael Morpurgo Angel
Twas the night before Christmas
That's not my... reindeer, penguin, polar bear

For adults: The gift by Cecila Ahern
Bridget Jones

Lockdownhairdontcare · 16/09/2020 10:14

Stick Man, by Julia Donaldson

MrsRexVandeKamp · 16/09/2020 10:24

So glad somebody mentioned The dinosaur that pooped Christmas... my 5yr old absolutely howls with laughter at that one.

It may not be a classic one, but it's now become an annual thing in our house!

everythingisginandroses · 16/09/2020 10:47

@Osquito - funny, I thought of Noel Streatfeild straight away too Xmas Smile

ClaraLane · 16/09/2020 11:24

King of Kings by Susan Hill was a favourite of mine when I was younger - an old man finds a baby boy in a church on Christmas Eve.

Also the JRR Tolkien “Letters to Father Christmas”.

2anddone · 16/09/2020 11:47

Where do people order their bargain books from now The Book People are not trading please? I am a childminder and get my children all a book at Christmas. The Works is fab but just checking I haven't missed a better site somewhere!

pasinphoebe · 16/09/2020 11:48

Tom and Lucy’s Christmas (or could be Lucy and tom) by Shirley Hughes. Lovely traditional story of them preparing for Christmas in all the traditional ways, making Christmas cards, going for a snowy walk, hearing carol singers. Typical gorgeous Shirley Hughes illustrations.
For older children mine have liked the Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher.
We do book advent (I don’t wrap them and we reuse the same books every year - people don’t seem to realise you can do this!! And it’s part of the loveliness of it!)
The Christmas bear is popular here.
They love Santa’s noisy night - quite short, good for 3-5.
Dear Father Christmas is nice.
Room for a little one is a child friendly lovely story of the real story of Christmas I think illustrated by Martin Waddell (owl babies, can’t you sleep little bear)

PinkDaydreams · 16/09/2020 11:49

Can I ask about the Tolkien book please, are there different versions of it? When I’ve googled there are probably about four/five different covers. Will they have the same contents or are they different books?

OP posts:
Saisong · 16/09/2020 11:53

There was a fab thread last year by Showy where we did this. Hang on I'll find it....
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/Christmas/3716364-Can-you-recommend-some-beautiful-Christmas-books

My contribution was 'Children of Greene Knowe' which was one of my all time favourites as a kid. Box of Delights also good for the older tweens.

FilthyforFirth · 16/09/2020 13:01

Can someone recommend a lovely version of Twas the Night Before Christmas. I just have an unremarkable copy and would love a fancy version to keep and read each year.

nettytree · 16/09/2020 13:24

Father Christmas needs a wee. My two loved this. It came with an audible CD. It was on constantly in the car.

BiddyPop · 16/09/2020 13:24

All of mine are currently in the storage unit along with our decorations etc, so I can't be exact. They'll come home roughly 1st December, even if I know DD won't read them anymore (she will probably watch some of the seasonal DVDs though). But we've had a selection of Christmas and winter books that have been well loved over the years. Some have moved on within the family as DD has gotten older, but some we cannot bear to part with.

Small, individual stories books:
I've got a number of the Mr Men seasonal books - there are about 5 or 6 in the range.

We also have a Thomas the Tank Christmas book.

We have a French book called "24 petits souris avant le Noel" - which is the daily adventures of some of the family of Granma, Mum and Dad mouse and their 21 children as they prep for Christmas, ending on 24th December. Simple enough French to read and then translate. If either parent has a smattering of another language and wants to start introducing it to the DCs, getting a kids Christmas tale in that language, reading it and then translating it can be fun. (Although, DD ended up picking german at school....Hmm Grin ).

Bigger books:
I had an anthology of Christmas poems, short stories and individual chapters from longer books which is also nice to pick a page at random from.

A pop-up version of A Christmas Carol.

Picture books:
There was a book from the company that have a duck on each page (Usborne?) about Floss, a sheepdog who rescued a flock in a snowstorm.

There was also one about a kitten growing up in winter on a farm and meeting santa, which had bells on a ribbon to tie it closed.

If you go into a good bookshop from now onwards (and particularly around mid-Oct to late Nov), there is likely to be a range of different ones to choose from, from the larger picture books, to the smaller ones, and also the longer ones - full novels or anthologies; and aimed at different age groups too. If you can find someone in that bookshop who deals with the kids section, they are often terribly helpful and only too delighted to try and help you.

I also have a few stories I had printed off the internet over the years and put a cover on, Santaupdate.com has a few that are printable and have nice pictures, but there are others. (And those websites often have colouring sheets or seasonal activity sheets to print off as well to entertain smallies in Dec - mostly free but some are payable).

RealityExistsInTheHumanMind · 16/09/2020 13:39

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett - A great Christmassy entry to a wonderful world (and writer) for older children, teens, young adults and adults.

Someaddedsugar · 16/09/2020 15:28

Pick a pine tree is a lovely Christmas book

Someaddedsugar · 16/09/2020 15:31

Also, One Christmas Wish is beautiful, and has a gorgeous illustration of Durham Cathedral in it

lexloofah · 16/09/2020 16:16

DD loved Guinea Pig nutcracker in her stocking link here

There is a nativity and Christmas carol one too

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 16/09/2020 19:50

Raymon Briggs’ Father Christmas still cracks me up many years after I first saw it. (Somewhat wasted on young children IMO.)

A lovely Nativity-linked one is Room For A Little One - absolutely beautiful full page illustrations of all the animals keeping warm in the stable.

everythingisginandroses · 16/09/2020 22:33

@lexloofah - thank you for reminding me about Guinea Pig Nutcracker! It looks gloriously silly - I remember browsing a copy last Christmas, meaning to buy myself one (I am the balletomane round here, it's a bit wasted on DH & DS) and then promptly forgetting - until now Star

mangomama91 · 17/09/2020 06:59

The Night Before The night before Christmas is a good one

Roystonv · 17/09/2020 07:43

An old one, Blackberry Farm at Christmas one of many set on BF. Traditional like Shirley Hughes. Donkeys Glory - how donkeys played a part in the story of Jesus, starts at the birth.

lexloofah · 17/09/2020 09:23

everythingisginandroses you are welcome, in DDs words it is 'adorbs' still looks at it loads. I had to look up balletomane so learned something there thnx

Have just pre- ordered the Night Before Christmas one

2andahalfpints · 17/09/2020 09:31

Our dcs favourite was always father Christmas needs a wee and Melrose and Croc at Christmas

Lovely1a2b3c · 17/09/2020 12:18

'Lucy & Tom's Christmas' by Shirley Hughes is lovely for younger kids.

WhatWouldJKRDo · 17/09/2020 12:26

@FilthyforFirth

Can someone recommend a lovely version of Twas the Night Before Christmas. I just have an unremarkable copy and would love a fancy version to keep and read each year.
The Robert Sabuda edition of The Night Before Christmas is a work of art. (All his pop up paper craft books are stunning) It’s one of our long-standing traditions on Christmas Eve.