27 Magical Christmas Books Kids Will Love This Year
Christmas mornings feel magical with twinkling lights, warm cookies, and stories that make the season unforgettable.
Sharing the best Christmas books for kids with little ones creates cherished memories and builds meaningful family traditions during the busiest time of year.
Popular holiday titles, highlighted by booksellers, libraries, and parent-recommended reading lists, often focus on kindness, gratitude, winter wonder, and the excitement of Santa’s visit.
If reading beneath a glowing tree or snuggled under blankets with hot cocoa, the right book adds warmth to December nights and brings families closer.
These festive stories continue to inspire young readers and remain favourites across generations.
Choosing the Best Christmas Books for Kids
Choosing the right Christmas book depends on your child’s age, interests, and reading ability.
Babies benefit from sturdy board books with simple text and sensory elements, while preschoolers enjoy colourful picture books with rhythmic storytelling.
Early readers often prefer short chapter books featuring familiar characters, and older children appreciate longer stories with richer themes and more advanced vocabulary.
Christmas books come in many styles, from Santa experiences and family traditions to winter tales and stories about kindness.
Formats like lift-the-flap, illustrated editions, and audio-upgraded books add variety.
The most memorable titles blend engaging storytelling with charming artwork, creating festive reads children want to revisit each year.
Best Christmas Books for Toddlers (Ages 0–4)
Delight little ones with simple, colorful Christmas stories perfect for tiny hands, early learning, and cozy festive moments together.
1. The Night Before Christmas: The Classic Edition
On Christmas Eve, a father witnesses Santa Claus arrive by sleigh, climb down the chimney, fill stockings, and deliver presents before flying away into the night with his reindeer team, wishing everyone a merry Christmas.
Top pick because: This 1823 classic poem shaped modern Santa traditions and delights with memorable rhyming verses perfect for bedtime reading.
2. Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Bear’s forest friends help him stay awake for Christmas celebrations. They bake cakes, hang stockings, find a tree, and sing songs together.
Bear finally understands that giving brings the greatest Christmas joy of all.
Top pick because: Sweet friendship story teaches the value of giving while featuring cozy winter activities young children love to hear about.
3. 12 Days of Christmas (Illustrated)
This traditional Christmas carol comes to life through vibrant illustrations.
Each day brings a new gift, from partridge to pipers, building anticipation as the song progresses toward Christmas Day with increasingly elaborate presents stacking up joyfully.
Top pick because: Musical rhyming pattern helps children learn counting and memory skills while enjoying a festive singalong holiday tradition.
4. That’s Not My Winter Wonderland
A touch-and-feel board book lets babies scour different textures throughout a snowy scene.
Each page features tactile elements such as fuzzy mittens, rough bark, and smooth ornaments that encourage sensory inquiry and vocabulary development through interactive play.
Top pick because: Sensory features keep toddlers engaged while building vocabulary and fine motor skills through hands-on winter findings.
5. Santa’s Lost Reindeer
Santa needs help finding his missing reindeer before Christmas Eve. Young readers follow clues through the North Pole, checking the workshop, toy room, and stables.
The search becomes a fun happening with a happy ending when all the reindeer are found.
Top pick because: Interactive search-and-find format encourages observation skills and keeps little ones engaged from start to festive finish.
6. The Little Reindeer (My Little Animal Friend)
A small reindeer dreams of joining Santa’s sleigh team. Despite being the youngest, she practices flying and pulling sleds.
On Christmas Eve, Santa needs her help, and she proves that determination matters more than size or age.
Top pick because: Inspiring underdog story teaches children that everyone has special talents regardless of their age or size limitations.
7. The Sweet Smell of Christmas
Scratch-and-sniff board book brings holiday scents to life. Toddlers smell Christmas trees, gingerbread cookies, peppermint candy, and more.
Each sturdy page combines simple text with aromatic experiences that bring the season to life through multiple senses.
Top pick because: Unique scent feature creates memorable multi-sensory reading experience that makes Christmas smells tangible for young children.
8. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree is too tall for his house. He cuts off the top, and it passes through many hands, each person finding it perfect for their home.
The tree top eventually reaches a mouse family, who think it’s just right.
Top pick because: Cumulative tale teaches about sharing and perspective while featuring repetitive text that toddlers love to hear repeatedly.
9. Cat Family Christmas
A cat family prepares for Christmas together. They decorate their home, wrap presents, bake treats, and sing carols.
When Christmas morning arrives, they find the best gift is spending time together, celebrating their love and family bond.
Top pick because: Gentle story emphasizes family togetherness over materialism, perfect for introducing Christmas values to very young children.
Best Christmas Books for Early Readers (Ages 5–8)
Engage growing readers with fun, easy-to-follow Christmas stories featuring lively characters, simple chapters, and festive happenings that build reading confidence.
10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Full Color Edition
A grumpy creature living above Whoville despises Christmas and decides to steal all the decorations, gifts, and food.
When the Whos still celebrate joyfully, his heart grows, and he returns everything, learning Christmas comes from the heart, not from stores.
Top pick because: Dr. Seuss’s rhyming classic teaches that Christmas spirit cannot be stolen, offering humor and heart in equal measure.
11. The Polar Express
On Christmas Eve, a boy doubts Santa’s existence until a magical train arrives at his door.
The Polar Express takes him and other children to the North Pole, where he receives the first gift of Christmas: a sleigh bell that only believers can hear.
Top pick because: Caldecott Medal winner captures the magic of believing with stunning illustrations that made it an enduring holiday favorite.
12. I Got the Christmas Spirit
A young girl and her mother dig their town at Christmastime, experiencing holiday sights and sounds. From window shopping to caroling, they soak in the festive atmosphere.
The joyful happening fills them both with undeniable Christmas spirit and happiness.
Top pick because: Energetic text with onomatopoeia brings holiday excitement to life, celebrating diverse families and city Christmas experiences together.
13. Red and Lulu
Two cardinals live happily in their tree until it’s cut down for Christmas. Separated from each other, Red searches for Lulu while she’s brought to the city.
Their reunion on Christmas morning shows that love and determination can overcome any obstacle.
Top pick because: Beautiful illustrations accompany this touching story about love, loss, and reunion that resonates emotionally with young readers.
14. How to Catch Santa
Children set clever traps to catch Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Each trap fails spectacularly as Santa outsmarts them all.
Despite their efforts, Santa leaves presents and a note, proving he’s too clever to catch but always delivers Christmas joy.
Top pick because: Interactive humor appeals to kids’ love of mischief while maintaining Santa magic through his clever escape schemes.
15. The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker
This musical book tells the story of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with sound buttons.
Clara receives a nutcracker doll that comes alive, battling the Mouse King and taking her on a magical journey. Press buttons to hear the famous ballet music throughout.
Top pick because: Combines classic Christmas ballet story with actual Tchaikovsky music, introducing children to orchestral performances through interactive technology.
16. The Lost Christmas
A young boy named Goose searches for Christmas when it goes missing from his town. His experience takes him through mysterious places where he learns about the holiday’s true meaning.
Finding Christmas means rediscovering joy, kindness, and wonder in unexpected places.
Top pick because: Adventure story with deeper themes about what makes Christmas special beyond decorations and gifts children receive annually.
17. The Silent Night Noisy Night
This playful picture book retells the Nativity with humor and energy. Instead of a peaceful “silent night,” the stable is filled with noisy animals, braying, mooing, flapping, and chattering as they greet baby Jesus.
The contrast between the expected calm and the joyful chaos creates a fun, rhythmic story that makes little ones giggle while still highlighting the wonder of Jesus’ birth.
Top pick because: It turns a traditional Christmas scene into a lively, child-friendly celebration. The humor, animal characters, and vibrant illustrations make it a perfect read-aloud for young kids.
18. Madeline’s Christmas
When everyone at the boarding school falls ill with colds, Madeline stays healthy and cares for them all.
A magic carpet seller visits, and Madeline’s kindness is rewarded. The story shows how helping others creates true Christmas joy and unexpected rewards.
Top pick because: Ludwig Bemelmans’s classic character shows compassion and courage, teaching children about caring for others during challenging times.
Best Christmas Books for Middle Grade (Ages 8–12)
Inspire independent readers with rich, imaginative Christmas stories full of fable, meaningful themes, and memorable characters, perfect for growing minds.
19. The Christmas Pig
Jack loses his beloved toy, Dur Pig, on Christmas Eve. His new replacement, the magical Christmas Pig.
Comes to life and takes him to the Land of the Lost, where they journey through dangers and wonders to rescue DP before Christmas morning.
Top pick because: J.K. Rowling’s imaginative tale tells about loss, love, and loyalty through an experience that captivates middle-grade readers completely.
20. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The six Herdman siblings, known as the worst kids in town, take over the church Christmas pageant.
Never having heard the Christmas story, they interpret it in unconventional ways. Their fresh perspective creates the most meaningful pageant the town has ever witnessed.
Top pick because: Hilarious yet touching story teaches acceptance and shows how different perspectives can reveal deeper truths about familiar stories.
21. Fig Pudding
The Perlinski family faces Christmas after financial struggles. With six children, money is tight, but they create their own fun through traditions, humor, and togetherness.
The story celebrates family bonds and shows that love matters more than expensive gifts.
Top pick because: Realistic portrayal of family life teaches children that Christmas joy comes from relationships, not material possessions or wealth.
22. That Christmas
Based on Richard Curtis’s screenplay, this illustrated chapter book tells interconnected Christmas stories.
Different families face various challenges and joys during the holiday season. Their tales weave together, showing how kindness spreads through communities in unexpected ways.
Top pick because: Multiple storylines teach empathy and show how individual actions affect others, presented through accessible text for young readers.
23. Everett Green: The Not-So-Christmas Tree
Everett is a crooked tree that no one wants for Christmas. While other trees get chosen, he remains in the lot feeling unwanted.
A special family eventually picks him, teaching that being different doesn’t mean being less valuable or lovable.
Top pick because: Underdog story about acceptance and finding where you belong resonates with middle-grade readers navigating their own identity questions.
24. Busy Betty & the Perfect Christmas Present
Betty runs a lemonade stand to earn money for the perfect Christmas gift. She faces challenges and learns important lessons about entrepreneurship, perseverance, and thoughtfulness.
Her determination shows that effort and heart matter most when giving gifts to loved ones.
Top pick because: Reese Witherspoon’s character teaches problem-solving and determination while showing that thoughtful gifts mean more than expensive ones.
25. River Rose and the Magical Christmas
River Rose is bursting with excitement for Christmas and can’t fall asleep.
When a magical balloon carries her and her dog, Joplyn, on an adventure to deliver her letter to Santa, she learns about giving, sharing, and what truly makes the holiday season special.
Top pick because: Fantasy combines holiday magic with important values, appealing to children who love imaginative stories with heart.
26. How to Grow a Reindeer
Two friends find a mysterious seed that grows into a baby reindeer. They must care for it and help it learn to fly before Christmas Eve.
Their incident teaches responsibility and shows the rewards of nurturing something with patience and love.
Top pick because: Unique premise about caring for magical creatures teaches responsibility while maintaining wonder and excitement throughout the story.
27. The Christmas Boot
An elderly woman named Hannah Greyweather finds a single black boot in the snow. After she brings it home, the boot mysteriously changes, and magical things begin to happen.
When Santa arrives to retrieve it, Hannah’s honesty and kindness are rewarded with a heartfelt Christmas gift.
Top pick because: Gentle story about compassion for animals teaches children to care for creatures in need, especially during harsh conditions.
How to Make the Most of Reading These Books
Create lasting holiday memories by turning Christmas reading into warm, imaginative, meaningful moments that bring families closer throughout the festive season.
- Create a Holiday Reading Routine: Build nightly December reading habits with cozy blankets, warm drinks, shared book choices, and magical family moments.
- Set Up a Christmas Reading Nook: Create a cozy corner with cushions, blankets, gentle lighting, and displayed books that children can easily access.
- Use Books for Holiday Learning: Discuss themes to encourage kindness, gratitude, thoughtful choices, emotional awareness, creativity, and meaningful parent-child conversations.
- Make Books Part of the Countdown: Wrap books for daily December reveals that spark anticipation, joyful surprises, excitement, and memorable festive traditions.
- Use Stories as Conversation Starters: Ask about characters and lessons to encourage deeper thinking, communication growth, emotional reflection, and stronger family bonding.
Simple traditions, cozy spaces, and meaningful conversations transform Christmas reading into a cherished ritual that deepens connection and enriches every festive moment.
Final Thoughts
Christmas books create lasting memories that children carry into adulthood.
These stories teach important values, spark imagination, and strengthen family bonds during the season’s busiest days.
Reading some of the best Christmas books for kids turns simple moments into meaningful traditions.
If you choose classic tales or modern favorites, time spent reading together becomes more precious than any wrapped gift.
From board books for babies to chapter books for preteens, each title earns its place through its popularity and impact on young readers across America.
Start building your family’s holiday tradition this year.
Choose a few favorites, set aside time each evening, and let the magic of Christmas stories bring everyone closer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can I Encourage Kids To Reread Christmas Books?
Create cozy routines, choose favourite stories, and add fun discussions to make rereading comforting and enjoyable.
What If My Child Prefers Audiobooks Over Physical Books?
Pair audiobooks with printed versions to boost engagement, support comprehension, and keep festive stories exciting.
How Do I Keep Older Kids Interested In Holiday Reading?
Select deeper themes, adventurous plots, and relatable characters that maintain excitement and curiosity during holiday reading.
How Can We Store Christmas Books For Next Year?
Place books in labeled boxes, keeping them clean, protected, organized, and ready for next season’s enjoyment.
