Our family began a new tradition this year: to read a holiday themed book every day, together by the Christmas Tree, for the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas.

We did pretty well!
I managed to get re-usable fabric bags made for all 25 days, with numbered tags~ this will help us continue the tradition next year, as books and bags can be stored together, ready for reading.

We fell short on the days when we didn't have a book ~ our collection was only about 18 books, and that was using some questionable titles we would prefer to cull~ my plan had been to borrow from the library, but this never came to fruition. However, we did add a couple of new books this year, and hope to do so as the years go on!

I did promise to report on our final books, so here we go...
On the 23rd we read One Winter's Night, written by John Herman and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. I am familiar with the amazing illustration work of the Dillons and it is put to moving use in this tale that parallels the birth of the baby Jesus with the labouring of a lost and lonely cow.   Sounds odd, written that way! But it works.

As the cow moves through the snowy night in desperate search of warmth and shelter, her footsteps are foreshadowed by a young man and woman on the same quest, and followed by the forest creatures.  The main illustrations follow Martha's journey, while on the facing page, simple woodcuts follow the young couple.

It is a reading experience of looking out of the side of your eyes... as you follow and read about Martha, you know the tale unfolding although it is never mentioned directly.  It is very engaging for school age children who feel the confidence of the familiar tale and are curious about the cow's story, too.

On the 24th we read The Nigh Before Christmas (of course!)~ the classic poem, not one of the many derivations including a Zombie and a Canadian one we have come across! It never gets old, and we read it with breath-held wonder anew every year,
And on Christmas Day, after a long drive and a wonderful time with family, we settled down to read our new Christmas book... The Polar Express.  This story was never part of our Christmas traditions, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and will look forward to hearing the ringing of that silver sleigh bell again next year!
And before we put it away, I am going to have to take the time to listen to the enclosed CD with the story read by Liam Neeson (♥).

There you have it... nearly 25 holiday books~ maybe some are new to you... enjoy!
And I do need to make an honourable mention for the best Christmas movie of our season.
No.. it was not A Christmas Story, which my highly sensitive daughter found upsetting in three ways: the boy's tongue getting stuck, the roast duck and Ralphie very nearly shooting out his eye!
And while Rudolph is a perennial favourite (and I have a soft spot for Rudolph's Shiny New Year), the top honours in our house go to A Muppet Christmas Carol~ heartfelt, feel good, Christmas spirited! ♥♥