When I originally wrote about 12 Books of Christmas, it was the beginning of a new tradition for our family. I pulled all the Christmas books we already owned & my mom purchased a few Usborne Books & More I had my eye on so we would have 12.
Guys, I cannot accurately describe how successful this was in our household!
My 2 year old was obsessed with it and loved unwrapping the books, reading them before bed and having easy access to the one’s she had opened throughout the month.
When we were in our jammies and winding down for bed, we would ask, “would you like to open a book Rylie?” with a huge smile on her face she would reply, “Open book!? Okay!”
We started on December 1st, and we always let Rylie choose which package she wanted to open. Having 12 books vs. one for every night leading up to Christmas worked out well since we were not always home and it allowed us to spread the fun out throughout the month.
Day 1 – Marry Christmas Baby
I wanted this book originally for Emmaline, but Rylie loved looking through the pages and pointing out the animals on every page. It was a favorite with Emmaline as well because it was the perfect size for baby hands.
Day 2 – The Night Before Christmas
Rylie didn’t care much about this classic rhyming story, but she did enjoy looking at the pictures. When she spotted the red suit and white bearded man, she pointed and said, “what that?” “That’s Santa. He’s a character.” She nodded and moved on haha.
Day 3 – The Nativity Story
This was the cardboard book Church of the Highlands gave the nursery kids last year. Both Rylie and Emmaline loved looking through the sweet pictures.
Day 4 – Usborne’s Very First Words Christmas
This was on my list for Rylie. She loves the first word book she has, so I thought this would be another great way to introduce Christmas themed words to her. She really enjoyed it and we loved pointing out things and asking her what they were.
Day 5 – Nativity Flap Book
This one wasn’t her favorite at first, but the longer it sat in the basket the more she pulled it out. Lifting the flaps grew on her and eventually she loved opening them up and seeing the picture hiding behind.
Day 6 – That’s Not My Elf
I got this sweet book from our current favorite series last year and she loved it just as much this year. It was fun to remember last year she really enjoyed touching the touchy-feely bits (this was Emmaline’s favorite part too 😉 ) and this year she asked what the elf was and would point out things on the page like the mouse, gifts, articles of clothing and more.
Day 7 – Christmas Fold-out Book
Emmaline was on my mind when I added this to my wish list, but Rylie loved it just as much. It has sweet pictures that were great for Rylie to point at and name for us and Emmaline enjoyed the bright and vivid illustrations.
This was a go-to for Emmaline on Christmas morning too when I needed her to sit in her highchair while I finished some last minute things.
Day 8 – The Christmas Star
Amberlyn got this book for Rylie as a Christmas gift last year, and it was fun to break it out again and point out the Christmas star on every page.
Day 9 – Elf Pets
I guess Rylie was only interested in unwrapping this book because she didn’t care one bit about the story. 😛
Day 10 – Baby’s Very First Slide and See Christmas
This book was so fun, and Rylie loved moving the slide-and-see parts. She also enjoyed pointing things out like colors and animals.
Emmaline was a big fan as well and loved watching the hidden characters appear on the pages.
Day 11 – Are you There Little Reindeer?
The other peek-through book we own is well loved so I thought Rylie would really enjoy this Christmas edition. She wasn’t as interested as I thought she would be, but it’ll be a great one to have next year 😉
Day 12 – The Touchy-Feely Nativity
This was the book we opened on Christmas Eve, and it was a perfect way to conclude our Book Advent.
I wanted to get this book for Rylie last year but it sold out before I could snag my copy so I was quick to order it this year and I am so glad we own this precious book.
It’s short and to the point, but Rylie loved the little touchy-feely parts and Aaron and I loved that it told the story of our Savior’s birth.
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I cannot encourage this enough Mamas (and Daddies too)! The memories made from this Book Advent was well worth the money spent and I cannot wait to continue to grow our Christmas book library.
I’m hesitant to pack them in our Christmas box for next year, but I know it will be so sweet to see these beauties again 10 months from now.
Here is a video montage of this year’s Book Advent journey.