Christmas story books

[Serendipitystardust]

Hi, I'm looking for some recommendations for lovely christmas story books for my DC's Xmas Eve box. They are 8 and 9 and ideally it would be short enough to read in one sitting but long enough to take at least 30 minutes ish to read. Struggling to find anything that quite fits the brief, but if anyone can help it will undoubtedly be a mumsnetter! Thanks in advance 💐

The Polar Express 35th Anniversary Edition is a beautiful book.
Coming Home by Michael Morpurgo
Dasher by Matt Tavares
Christmas in Exeter Street
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

We have Round and Round the Christmas Tree which is short stories so you don't have to do it all in one go.

Moomins are quite Christmassy I think, Oxfam have some lovely special versions at the moment.

Got Enid Blyton'a Chritmas stories so lots of short stories but all have a lovely message in them. Dd aged 9 loves them.

Christmas even!

The Matt Haig books - A Boy Called Christmas and there was at least one other one? IMO Matt Haig for kids is a bit of an acquired taste but they are quirky and quite unusual, rather sweet books. They're chapter books and probably not a 'one-sitting' job unless you have a really voracious reader, but worth a look.

This falls into a bit of a gap sadly - you want something short enough to read in 30 minutes but appropriate for that age range. Could you go nostalgic and dig out some favourite old Christmas picture books and read several? Our household faves are Mog (both the original and the one Judith Kerr wrote alongside the Sainsbury ad), Shirley Hughes Christmas books (the illustrations are ravishing and make my old heart yearn for the simplicity of a 70's Christmas!), a nicely illustrated Night Before Christmas, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey, the Usbourne Apple Tree Farm Christmas book (it's lush! ), the Jolly Christmas Postman ... oh we have loads more. They're all really special. So you could read a selection of those.

Or - there's the Christmassy chapter in A Wind in the Willows, that would be a nice stand-alone if they like that sort of thing. Ditto Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe.

For a truly wintry and magical Christmas read over several nights (weeks??) consider Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. And don't forget The Children of Green Knowe. It's set at Christmas and so, so evocative and magical. Not long, either, so a few nights might sort it out. Old-fashioned Christmas stories are the best!