Classic Christmas Books To Read

Christmas Book Season

One of the best things about the Christmas season is the wonderful chance it gives you to buy Christmas Books as presents for your friends, children or grandchildren. Many publishers release books for the Christmas market, such as huge coffee –table books of photographs that will be appreciated as a wonderful resource or books aimed at children with lovely, colorful illustrations. Christmas noels, too, are great for curling up in a corner with. When you have over eaten and are bored with the TV there there is nothing better than an exciting Christmas book to keep you enthralled which will while away many an hour.

A Christmas Carol

One of the most famous Christmas books is surely ‘ A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens which tells the story of a mean and selfish man who hates Christmas and how the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future visit him and make him realise the error of his ways. This book has often been presented on stage both as a play and a musical and is a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas.

My Christmas Favorite

One of my favourite Christmas books is ‘The Best Christmas’ by Lee Kingman. First printed in the USA in 1949 it tells the story of a family and the days before Christmas through the eyes of one of the children.

Brief outline

The eldest boy is missing at sea and the narrator takes on the responsibility of making presents for the whole family so that they would still have a wonderful Christmas. Illustrated with wonderful lithographs in black and white they are stunning in their simplicity.

I will refrain from telling the ending of the book, but it was given to me in 1962 when I was a young child and I have loved it ever since.

Christmas images

I have shown a couple of the wonderful lithographs here. Although it is old, the book is still available today and can be bought for just under $10.

Letters from Father Christmas

A Christmas book that may not be quite so well known is JRR Tolkien’s ‘Letters from Father Christmas’. Tolkien was a great one for inventing wonderful stories and when his children were growing up, every year at Christmas an envelope would arrive from the North Pole. Inside the envelope would be a letter and some coloured drawings from Father Christmas. They told exciting stories of his life at the North Pole, how a Polar Bear fell through the roof of his house and one day the reindeer managed to escape and the presents were strewn all around. There were also some bothersome goblins that lived in a cave under the house and caused no end of trouble. It wasn’t always Father Christmas who wrote the letters, they were sometimes from one of the elves or even the polar bear. It is a wonderful book which makes Christmas ‘real’ for so many children.

The Snowman

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is another classic which is duly aired on television every Christmas. It was originally a cartoon type book illustrated by the author in 1982 it was made into an animated film and is watched and loved by children all over the world it is also available on a Christmas DVD. Raymond Briggs has also written a book entitled Father Christmas and other animated books.

The Night before Christmas

One of the best known Christmas poems is ‘The night before Christmas’ written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, first published on December 23^rd 1823. It tells of a family tucked up in bed before the visit of St Nicholas on Christmas Eve. This Christmas poem was originally called ‘A visit from St Nicholas’ and it is now a tradition in many American families to read the poem to the children at bedtime on Christmas Eve. The poem creates a magical Christmassy atmosphere throughout the house with the decorations and lights of Christmas.

It is always a good idea to buy books for presents at Christmas time and Christmas books will always have a place in your heart when you remember times past.

Christmas Cookery

Of course Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a Christmas cookery book and many cooks have produced wonderful versions specifically for the season. They tell you how to cook wonderfully festive foods from the traditional Christmas meal with the Turkey and pudding with Christmas holly on top to cookies, cakes and sweets. Nigella Lawson, Elizabeth David and Delia Smith have all produced wonderful Christmas cookery books, a perfect Christmas gift for the aspiring cook.