Best 25 Children’s Christmas Books: Christmas Picture Book Advent

This post was updated in December of 2021.

I tend to lean slightly minimalist. With 5 kids, that doesn’t always happen, but the mindset and style appeals to me and I love decluttering. I hate buying knicknacks and tchotchkes, and empty space really speaks to me. Except, of course, when it comes to Christmas picture books.

I very, very rarely purchase adult books since I don’t often reread them (and nowadays almost exclusively read on my Kindle app). But children’s books are my downfall. We currently own nearly 75 children’s Christmas books and I still love finding new ones!

Best Christmas Picture Books for Our Christmas Book Advent

I were to pick only 25 Christmas picture books I for our personal library, then this would be the list. It’s the set I wrap each year for my kids to open one each day in December for our Christmas book advent. It’s extra work, but the surprise and excitement each day makes it magical and worth it. It also ensures we get around to reading each of these special books. Our Christmas picture book advent is one of my favorite holiday traditions!

There are toddler Christmas books and ones that your teens will still love – although I find that when it comes to Christmas picture books, they all seem to appeal to all ages (myself included).

Diverse Christmas Books

It’s important to me to include some multicultural Christmas books, as well, and there are some fantastic ones in here. I love them not just for being inclusive, but just for being really fantastic books.

I hope this list of Christmas picture books brings your family joy, as well! Do you have any must-read favorites not on this list? Or do you do a Christmas book advent? I’d love to hear!

Every Man Heart Lay Down

Told in the idiom of Liberians who have recently learned English, this gorgeous Christmas picture book beautifully translates the nativity story into song-like verse. Absolutely stunning.

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Honorable Mention Christmas Books For Kids

Here are a just a few more Christmas picture books that we super love. These are ones we leave out prominently to read and that I might include in our Christmas picture book advent in the future!

Pinata in a Pine Tree

Who isn’t charmed by a Latino version of the 12 Days of Christmas? Absolutely delightful. This one was new to our collection last year and it’s become a favorite.

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Bookshop
Target

Walk This World at Christmastime

I love any book that touches on holiday traditions in different cultures. This one features illustrations and flaps that are beautiful and fascinating.

We used to include this one in our Christmas book advent calendar but it’s a perfect Christmas picture book for sitting and perusing on those long December afternoons. My kids could look at this one for ages! So I prefer leaving this one out from the beginning of the season to look over.

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Tree of Cranes

I loved reading another Allen Say book for J is for Japan in the Global Children’s Book Club, and this one is equally delightful. A young boy who has never experienced Christmas before sees it through new eyes.

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Bookshop
Target
Walmart

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Honestly, this was one of those books that was always very high in our rotation for years. And then several years ago, we got rid of all our Dr. Seuss books due to the racist imagery and connotations in a number of his books. Even many of the ones that were not explicitly removed from bookshelves are rooted in racism (such as The Cat in the Hat and Blackface).

However, the Grinch is the one Seuss book we’ve held onto. After quite a bit of research, I haven’t been able to find anything explicitly racist in its inspiration or creation, and the message of love and unity truly is inspiring to me and my children. For this particular book, the good of remembering the true meaning of Christmas, and a focus on friendship and family aside from a love of things, is beautiful. We’ve had extensive conversations about Seuss, and I feel our family is able to hold onto this one for its good while acknowledging the great harm from many of his other books. The author also isn’t alive to continue to benefit from support, and we aren’t giving any more money to the organization as we already own a copy (the family organization has also acknowledged some of the harm). Our decision may change in the future, but for now, we feel okay with keeping the good in this particular work.

If you also choose to include this book, I encourage you to do so with caution as well as education and discussion as to the harm in the author’s other works. I also encourage you to seek out a used copy or library book if possible to avoid contributing more funds.

Lucia Morning in Sweden

We started learning about Santa Lucia Day a few years ago and I think it’s such a lovely tradition and holiday. We love reading this book on December 13th and making lussekatter buns, for which there’s a recipe in the book.

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Bookshop
Walmart

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