Christmas Book Advent Calendar

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One of the easiest and most loved of our Christmas traditions is the Christmas book advent calendar. Now I know what you are thinking. Why would I share a Christmas tradition once December has started and there’s not much chance you have in incorporating it this holiday season? And I ask you, “Did you really need one more thing this November to add to your list to prepare for the festivities that come in December?” Probably not. In fact, Pam Barnhill’s latest Facebook live was about this very topic, “You can’t do it all!”

However, I share so that you may Pin this to a Pinterest board to tuck the idea away until the merrymaking of the season has concluded and you are ready to think about next year. In fact, that’s exactly what I did when I first ran across this idea on Brandy’s blog, Afterthoughts last year!

There was no way I was going to wrap up 24 books in wrapping paper or make pretty linen bags, but I wanted to begin this tradition. So you know what I did? I checked out Christmas books from the library, stuffed them in the closet and each night I pulled one out and placed it in a Christmas t-shirt box. You know, one with a printed image on the lid? So at bedtime my son had a Christmas book to “unwrap” and read. Simple, right?! Nearly as simple as using the linen bags, just without the prep work.

Why I love this tradition:

• It is nothing extra. We already read a book at bedtime so this is a great way to add some Christmas cheer without actually adding something new!
• It gets kids excited about reading. I love advent calendars. There are plenty out there. Many include candy. Some include toys. What’s better than getting excited about candy and toys? Getting excited about books!
• It’s great for minimalists. Now I’m not claiming we are minimalist, but we definitely lean that way. When most of the books are checked out at the library or at least packed away with the Christmas décor at the end of the season, you don’t have a bunch of tiny trinket toys lingering around from your advent calendar!
• It’s affordable. You can use the library or purchase second hand books. And you use the same books year after year! Score!

Why Using Linen Bags (vs. wrapping paper) is the Way to Go

• It’s easier to use library books. While you can still use library books if you are using wrapping paper, you can’t wrap them in advance. You may have to wait for the books to become available. Or say a book is due and you can’t remember which number it is! Using bags allows you to place all the library books in the first few bags, or make changes after you’ve begun to ensure you get them back to the library on time.
• You can make changes. Let’s say it’s a late night and you really don’t have the time to begin An Orange for Frankie. You can simply switch it out with a shorter read like, Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear and save it for another night when you get to bed earlier.
• You can align the books to your activities. Many people who wrap the books up do so a year in advance to remove one thing off their list of preparations for the next year. The downside of this is you don’t know when you’re going to be doing the fun things that come along during December. For example, our town hosts an annual candy cane hunt each year. It’s a perfect time to read The Legend of the Candy Cane. Or if your family picks out a live tree each year, that’s a great time to read The Legend of the Christmas Tree, A Christmas Tree for Pyn, or Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree. Using bags makes it easy to fit your books to your December calendar.
• It’s flexible. Ok, maybe I already alluded to this point in the previous two, but here’s another example. Let’s say it snows! You can totally stick in a snow-themed book when the kids aren’t looking!
• It’s better for the environment. I’m all about the three Rs. Anytime I can reduce the amount of paper I use and reuse something I try to! In fact, this has me thinking about wrapping all my gifts in linen bags.

So What Books?

There are SOOO many Christmas books. Instead of making a list for you, I’ll direct you to three lists that helped me in making my selections.
All About Reading: Favorite Picture Books For Christmas
Read Aloud Revival: Our Favorite Christmas Picture Books
Dawn Duran’s list at Afterthoughts

Another tip on selecting books is to use Amazon. Look up a favorite Christmas book. Then scroll to where you see “customers who viewed this item also bought” to get other recommendations. Then you can read the reviews before you decide if it’s a good fit for your family.

Where to buy?

If you’re going to be getting 24 Christmas books (more if you start the day after Thanksgiving, possibly less if you start the first Sunday of advent), you’re going to need a place other than the library to find your selections. Here are my go to places for purchasing books (referral links included).

McKay’s Used Books If you are ever in the Tennessee/North Carolina area, you MUST visit this store!! They have used books at great prices. I have been known to pick vacation destinations based on if I could drive through a city with a McKay’s! If you go, don’t forget to bring unwanted books, cds, dvds, etc to receive store credit!

ThriftBooks This site has used books, many of them $5 or less and they offer free shipping for orders of $10 or more!

PaperBackSwap This is my newest source for used books. It is so much fun! You send off a book to a requester to receive a credit. Then you use your credit on an available book you would like to receive. It is then shipped to you! You aren’t paying for the books, only the shipping of the books you send. There are also swap fees, but you can earn free swaps or pay for memberships to eliminate them.

Amazon Of course. Are you surprised? Used book businesses are always limited to their availability, so Amazon may be the best choice at times. Curious about which books are Amazon’s Best Sellers in “Christmas Christian Fiction Picture Books?” Here’s the list.

The How-To

So you think you will try the linen bag book calendar. You’ve found your books or at least compiled your list. What’s next? Order your bags and paint them!

I purchased these linen favor bags with drawstrings from Nashville Wraps. They come in packs of 12. I chose the 10×12” size and they fit all but one of my books! Of course some of them are taller than the drawstring, and some just barely fit, but I don’t mind because I don’t pull the drawstring closed and I can put the spine in first to conceal the title. They also carry 8×10” and 12×14” for smaller or larger books. Even though some of my books would have fit better in those sized bags, I didn’t need 36 bags, which is what I would’ve ended up with had I ordered 3 sizes. So two packs of 12 at 10×12” worked best for me.

I painted my bags using black acrylic paint, foam paint brushes, and a stencil I designed an cut using my cricut. Don’t have a cricut? Here’s a tutorial for how to make a stencil with a few supplies you may already have.

We put our books in a basket on our hearth, but you may choose to put them under the tree or even hide them!

Do you have a similar tradition? Please share! What is your favorite book to read at Christmastime?