I saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew that Cricket would absolutely love it, so I set out to collect and wrap 24 Christmas books for an Advent countdown. I ended up with 28 books somehow so we started early, and she has been opening one each day.

This has been a huge hit so far, and we have both really enjoyed the variety of books. I chose not to number them so that she could pick whatever she wanted to open each day. I did write the title on the back of each package so that if she asked about a specific book I could find it. 
 
These are the books that Cricket opened and read this week:
Dora’s Counting Christmas – This is a simple countdown style book with a Dora theme. Cricket liked the Christmas items in the book, and of course Dora and Boots.
The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear – Cricket loves her Berenstain Bear books and this was no exception. I liked the “Joy of Giving” focus, but I’m struggling with balancing the Santa stuff.
A Very Minty Christmas – This was a My Little Pony board book. It had a basic countdown theme going through the book as well as a find the stockings theme. Cricket seemed to enjoy it overall.
The Animals’ Christmas Eve – Cricket loved this one, I think again because it focused on animals. This book also offered a basic counting lesson. I really liked that the animals were telling the story of the birth of Jesus, and the real reason for the season.
The Christmas Story – This is the closest story I have found to reading the actual nativity story out of the bible. Cricket was familiar with the terms and story from our Truth in Tinsel studies this year, and she enjoyed the pictures.
A Child Was Born: A First Nativity Book – This book is probably best suited for a preschooler, the story is very simplified. Cricket wasn’t very drawn in by this one, but I liked it’s illustrations.

 

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew that Cricket would absolutely love it, so I set out to collect and wrap 24 Christmas books for an Advent countdown. I ended up with 28 books somehow so we started early, and she has been opening one each day.

This has been a huge hit so far, and we have both really enjoyed the variety of books. I chose not to number them so that she could pick whatever she wanted to open each day. I did write the title on the back of each package so that if she asked about a specific book I could find it. 
 

These are the books that Cricket opened and read this week:
Elmo’s Squeaky Santa – This was a Target Dollar Spot find from last year. I’m seeing a theme here! This was a simple little Christmas book light on content and meaning.
Alabaster’s Song – Cricket was not interested in this book by looking at the cover, but I convinced her to let me read it anyway. That was a good thing, since she really enjoyed the book. I think it was nice to have something “magical” about Christmas that was still Christ focused.
A Christmas Prayer – I reviewed this book last year for Thomas Nelson, and I still really love it. It is a great companion to our Truth in Tinsel activities. It is a wonderful retelling of the Christmas story in children’s words and terms.
The Story of Christmas – I think this is my favorite Christmas Nativity book so far. It just does such a good job of telling THE story of Christmas to a child. I’m so happy Mimi added this one to our collection.
The Nutcracker – This is an old children’s version of the classic tale from my childhood. Cricket wasn’t so sure about this at first, but she ended up liking all the dancing in it. She has been really interested in my nutcracker collection since reading it too.
The Golden Christmas Tree – Cricket loved this book, because it had all of her favorite animals in it. She loved reading about the animals Christmas celebration, and I would recommend it to any little animal lovers.
The Penguin Who Wanted to Be Different – A Christmas Wish – This was a cute twist on a Santa style Christmas story. We both loved that it was all about penguins, a favorite in our house.

 

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew that Cricket would absolutely love it, so I set out to collect and wrap 24 Christmas books for an Advent countdown. I ended up with 28 books somehow so we started early, and she will open one each day through Christmas Eve.

This has been a huge hit so far, and we have both really enjoyed the variety of books. I chose not to number them so that she could pick whatever she wanted to open each day. I did write the title on the back of each package so that if she asked about a specific book I could find it.

These are the books that Cricket opened and read this week:
12 Days of Christmas – This was a Target Dollar Spot find, and she loved it when I “sang” the book to her. She has enjoyed looking through it on her own, and it’s simple enough that she can somewhat read it independently.
Peanuts Color & Read Along Snow Day – Cricket has enjoyed having a book that she CAN color in since this is normally a big no no. This was another Dollar Spot find.
The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas – The Poky Little Puppy was one of my favorite books as a child, and my mom got this for me a few years ago. It’s a cute little story, and Cricket enjoyed it because it was about a dog.
Country Angel Christmas – Cricket really liked this story about the littlest angels and how they helped prepare for the Christmas celebration in heaven. I thought it was odd that a Christmas book set in heaven contained Saint Nicholas, but only eluded to Jesus.
The Nativity – Cricket asked for me to find this book, making me glad I had labeled them. It focuses on the different animals in the nativity story and the role that they each played.
The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving – I think this was Cricket’s favorite so far based on her retelling, but she read this one with Daddy (and it’s new) so I don’t have thoughts on it yet.
Countdown to Christmas – This is a Big Bird Golden Book that I found at a thrift store. Cricket enjoyed it, and I liked that it emphasized presents being special surprises