Disclosure: I have been gifted books for the purpose of this book advent calendar post.
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Christmas Book Advent Calendar Ideas
With December fast approaching it’s that time of year to start thinking about advent calendars. It doesn’t matter whether you buy your child an official advent calendar or make a DIY advent calendar, all kids love finding something new each day. However, a chocolate every day is not as exciting as discovering new books this festive season. So why not consider creating a book advent calendar for the kids, or even a family member this year?
Read on for some ideas of what to include in your book advent calendar this holiday season!
Wrapped Advent Calendar
First of all you can decide whether to create a wrapped advent calendar or not. You could simply lay out the unwrapped book downstairs each morning for the kids to find. But sometimes it’s more exciting to see a stack of wrapped books labelled with the numbers, to be opened in order. You don’t even have to buy wrapping paper to make a wrapped advent. If you have bought some gifts from Amazon recently then you can use the brown packaging paper that stops items rattling about in the boxes. It’s perfect for wrapping books in. Give it a little festive cheer by adding some red ribbon and stamped numbers or designs?
Bookish Advent Calendar
Not every book advent calendar has to include JUST books. If the books you’ve chosen are quite expensive or rather thick titles that will take more than a day or 2 to read, then consider a bookish gift? Bookish gifts are those that have something to do with books, but not a book itself. Think along the lines of bookmarks, book plates, hot chocolate mix to drink whilst reading books, book light or even a simple tote bag to carry books in.
Christmas Book Collection Advent
Next you need to decide on which books to include. Younger children will particularly appreciate a collection of Christmas books. It’s the perfect way to get them into the Christmas spirit. Think along the lines of stories about a Christmas tree or elves and reindeer. A magical tale about Christmas every day is a great way to start off the Christmas season!
Here are some great Christmas book ideas for your advent calendar.
A Christmas In Time (actually a series, but this is the Christmas one)
The author of A Christmas In Time, Sally Nicholls has written a series about 2 children who can time travel. Using their aunt’s mirror they can sometimes travel in time to visit relatives in the distant past.
In this particular book of the series the children go back in time for a Victorian Christmas. Visiting relatives that seem distant to them, but are actually only a few generations back. The mirror only lets them go back in time when they need to help right a wrong in the past. So the children are always on the look out for who they are going to help. It’s. A lovely book that explains what a Victorian Christmas is really like. Although be warned that there is a small hint about Santa not bringing the stockings. So beware if you have believers (it can be skipped over easily if an adult is reading it to the kids). I would say this is aimed at kids aged 7+.
We Disagree About This Tree
Another fantastic Ross Collins book about his friendly polar bear and mouse from ‘There’s a Bear on my Chair’. This time it’s Christmas themed and all about the bear and mouse’s Christmas tree. They disagree on what their Christmas tree should look like. Through a rhyming dialogue the two argue about decorating the Christmas tree until it all falls apart. However, they finally agree at the end.
Aimed at children aged 2-5 years old, it’s a great Christmas book for younger kids, with sweet illustrations.
Themed Book Advent
What do your kids most enjoy to read about? Create a book advent calendar based on their favourite topic! Animal lovers books are an easy one for all ages, but you will also find plenty of space themed, dinosaur books and magical books around too.
A book advent does have to just have a Christmas theme!
Book Series Advent Calendar
If there are a series of books that your child would particularly enjoy then perhaps buy those? There are larger series of books for younger children’s picture books, or several book series for older kids?
I know that my children loved having a little library of books to read when they were little. The little hardback books in a box were perfect for the toddler age group. However, as they get older then larger series of books are less likely. Most of the chapter book series we read are around 3 books long, however there are some exceptions to this!
Here are two book series that kids aged 8 and over will enjoy.
The Girl Who Stole An Elephant Series
Nizrana Farook has written an excellent series of books about the relationship of children and animals on the island of Serendib (modern day Sri Lanka). Each of the books is about adventure and has mild peril in the form of being caught. Each of the books in the series is set on Sri Lanka in the past, but they are not linked. So a different set of children are in each book with a different adventure. With bad guys, mysteries and adventure, it’s perfect for kids fed 9-12 years old.
The first book is ‘The Girl Who Stole an Elephant’, then ‘The Boy Who Met a Whale’ and ‘The Girl Who Lost A Leopard’. A new book in the series will be published soon with the title ‘The Boy Who Saved A Bear’.
Zoe’s Rescue Zoo Series
Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series is written by Amelia Cobb and features beautiful illustrations by Sophy Williams. Each book in the series features sweet young animals that need a little help. Fortunately for Zoe she lives with her parents at her Uncle’s rescue zoo and she helps out in her spare time.
She is also has a big secret – she can talk to animals! Which leads to many fantastic adventures with the rescue zoo’s animals as she helps them with different problems. This is an excellent series for young animal lovers around 5-7 years old. There are several in the series that are Christmas’y’ including ‘The Adventurous Arctic Fox’ and ‘A Donkey Called Mistletoe’.
Fiction Advent Calendar
Fictional stories are always fun for kids, there are so many to choose from these days. To make it a bit more affordable then you can also check thrift stores (charity shops) to find cheaper books. We love all sorts of tales, from magic and witches, to game books and travelling in other countries. The kids really enjoy getting swept into different worlds whilst reading the story.
Great fiction books include the series mentioned above, ‘A Christmas In Time’ and ‘The Girl Who Stole an Elephant Series’. There is also a fantastic new book by Lucy Hope, ‘Wren’, that would be perfect for kids 9-12 years old.
Wren
For 9-12 year olds, Wren is a magical tale by the author Lucy Hope. It’s not necessarily a Christmas story, but it certainly looks Christmassy from the cover! Wren is a 12 year old Welsh girl who lives in a strange ancient castle by the sea on Anglesey. She wants to to run away from home when her father tries to send her away to a boarding school.
Instead she comes across a mystery that entwines both her ancient house and family history. This is perfect for older readers with lots of magic, suspense and adventure.
Non-Fiction Advent Books
The Christmas books you choose don’t have to be about the story of Christmas or even Christmas itself! Choose anything they are interested in from Lego Christmas builds to Greek mythology. There are so many options of non-fiction books that are exciting to read. Especially if you have a few hard back books with beautiful illustrations.
My children absolutely love non-fiction books, including those pictured below from Nosy Crow. These are great for the 8+ age range, especially if they love history!
Goddesses – 50 Godesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief
This stunning book invites you in with its beautiful luxurious cover. Goddess is written by Dr Janina Ramirez and illustrated by Sarah Walsh. Over 50 different female figures, sometimes described as Goddesses, spirits or saints, feature in this beautiful book. Each woman is given her own double page spread in the book to describe why she is inspirational and how she helped shape belief and often shape history too.
The book includes figures from religions such as the Hindu goddess Durga or Roman goddess Diana. But it also includes women from legend such as the Welsh queen Rhiannon and the Aztec Skeleton Warrior Itzpapalotl. The book is aimed at children 9-12 years old and great for anyone who enjoys history and different cultures.
Big Book of Mysteries
For children who love a bit of mystery and spooky legends then the Big Book of Mysteries will be right up their street. Authors Tim Adams and Yas Imamura have put together an interesting selection of mysteries from around the world. You will find everything from UFO’s and the Loch Ness Monster to less well know mysteries such as stones that move across an ancient lake bed on their own and the Yowie, a 3 metre Australian creature.
This is perfect for mystery lovers and those who like to be spooked a little! Aimed at children 9-12 years old.
Secrets of The Dead
Although the Secrets of The Dead sounds a little spooky, it’s actually more about the history of the dead. Featuring mummies and unusual human remains from around the world, it’s an interesting insight into how other cultures looked after and preserved their dead. As well as a few accidental preservations such as bodies found in bogs or the people preserved in Pompeii by a volcanic eruption.
This is an excellent book for young history lovers and aimed at children aged 9-12 years old.
And Everything Will Be Glad To See You
An anthology of poems by women, girls and non-binary people, all selected by Ella Risbridger. This beautifully bound poetry anthology is luxuriously bound and with beautiful illustrations by Anna Shepeta throughout, your children will be mesmerised.
Poems are very personal and not everyone likes the same thing. But with an anthology such as this one children can try out different types of poems to see which they like and be inspired to write their own. It’s a passionate collection of poems from both well known poets and newer voices.
Sunday Funday
Or perhaps choose some activity based non-fiction books such as Sunday Funday a collaboration from The National Trust and Nosy Crow. This is an excellent book that gives 52 ideas of what to do at the weekend. Split into the 4 British seasons you can easily pick and choose for different weekends throughout the year, or work steadily through them all in the year. A great way to find something fun and practical to do together as a family.
Sunday Funday has ideas such as growing beans in spring, baking carrot cake, making gnome homes and twig stars. Great for all ages, but particularly 5-10 years old.
12 Days of Christmas Advent Books
You don’t need to start the advent on the 1st day of December. Many advent calendars used to start on the 12th December for the 12 days before Christmas. If you are buying more expensive larger books or thicker books then this is a good idea. Having 24 books that size would be expensive and overwhelming, so sticking to 12 days before Christmas is a great idea.
24 Day Book Advent Calendar
Yes, it will be more difficult to create a 24 day advent calendar. However, for kids of younger age groups who have cheaper picture books it could work quite well.
Imagine the delight on your child’s face as they open up the final window of this 24-day calendar (or unwrap the final book!) on Christmas Eve to find a beautiful copy of a Christmas story? You could go for the traditional ‘A Night Before Christmas’ or something more modern, either way it’s a great way to get the kids excited about the big day.