Most of us have wrapped up community days (or are about to!) and are turning our hearts toward Advent. Now more than ever, it’s a wonderful time to cuddle around the fire as a family and share hot chocolate and good books. Here at Classical Conversations®, we have compiled a few staff-favorite read-alouds for children of all ages.
The Best Books to Read-Aloud This Christmas
We’ve included links to these stories in case you want to purchase a physical copy, but do also know that many (especially the children’s short stories) can be found for as free PDFs online with a quick Google search. Happy reading!
Christmas Read-Alouds for Young Children (and Beyond)
Whether you’re child is in the Classical Conversations Foundations or Essentials programs, these short stories and picture books are some of the best Christmas read-alouds to enjoy together this holiday season.
- The Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt
- One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
- You Are Special by Max Lucado
- Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
- The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell
- Baboushka and the Three Kings by Ruth Robbins and Nicolas Sidjakov
- Where Is Christmas, Jesse Bear? by Nancy White Carlstrom and Bruce Degen
- The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot
- Cootie McKay’s Nativity by Todd Wilson
- The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
- Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
- Ollie’s Ski Trip by Elsa Beskow
- Christmas Trolls by Jan Brett
- Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- The Best Thing About Christmas: A Happy Day Book by Christine Harder Tangvald and Cheryl Nobens
- Santa Are You for Real? by Harold Myra
- Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story by Cynthia Rylant
- Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus by Diane Stortz and Greg Holder
- The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs
Christmas Read-Alouds for the Middle Years (and Beyond)
Of course, all of the previous stories and books listed previously can be read to students of all ages. For your middle students, whether in Essentials or the early levels of Challenge, here are some additional Christmas read-alouds.
- “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
- A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill
- Christmas Day in the Morning: A Christmas Holiday Book for Kids by Pearl S. Buck
- The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
- Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John
- The Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
- Jotham’s Journey: A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide
- Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas by Ann Voskamp
Christmas Read-Alouds for Teenagers
Finally, below are some Christmas read-alouds for teenagers and older students. However, if your family consists of students of all different ages, consider having your older students read some of the previously mentioned stories aloud to your littles!
- On the Incarnation by Saint Athanasius (with a preface by C. S. Lewis)
- Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration by James Dobson
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (At least read the first two chapters together!)
Happy Reading this Christmas!
We hope you found something on this list of read-alouds to read together with your family this Christmas season. So, grab a blanket, some hot chocolate, and cozy up around the fireplace for some quality Christmas read-aloud time with the family!
