I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season, there is something so delightful about the month of December, don't you think? Of course, there is nothing like having young kids at this time of year to sweep you into the magic either. Singing about Frosty, Rudolph, and Santa Clause puts a huge smile on my face --while rocking my son to sleep singing Silent Night leaves me feeling incredibly peaceful and filled with joy. Oh how I love this season!
My mother was a SuperMommy, no doubt about it. She always made sure we not only anticipated Santa’s arrival with great fervor, but also emphasized it was the birth of Jesus that remained most important Christmas morning. As my Grandmother, her mother, always reminded us, “Keep Christ in Christmas.”
SassyMommy came up with a list of her favorite Christmas books so I thought I would add some of mine too. ALL OF WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE--if you're looking to add to your library.
ArtsyMommy's Top Five:
1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
This book is so timeless isn’t it? I think Dr. Seuss was a genius, really. How could he know that the message--Christmas isn’t about all the stuff --still needs to be told 52 years later? Nothing beats the Grinch carving the “roast-beast.”
2. The Sweet Smell of Christmas
I can vividly remember sitting in my mother’s lap as a child scratching and sniffing this book until the pages were worn thin. When I found that this book had been put back into print I had to buy it—the smell of the hot cocoa still etched in my mind, I couldn’t wait to read this to my children. I remember wishing we could cover our Christmas tree in candy canes and delighting in the sweet smells of Christmas in my house.
3. Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale
I bought this book when my daughter was born and it has become a holiday favorite. It’s very straight-forward and simply written, but it is a great way to explain that there is always room for Jesus in your life. (The illustrations are incredible too!)
4. The Night Before Christmas (Little Golden Book)
This was and is my favorite book. Clement C. Moore’s simple, charming poem is one that transcends time and still makes me giddy. Something about the way this poem reads makes you truly believe with your heart what you can’t see with your eyes -- the magic of Christmas. I can remember lying in bed at night listening for Santa’s reindeer like the man in the story, hoping I too would get a glimpse of the jolly old elf. Even today, as I read this to my kids, I excitedly call out the reindeer names…Now Dasher! now Dancer! And oh, what a happy ending...(picture me shouting this) Happy Christmas to alllll and to alllll a good-night! (As a child, I was chosen to recite this poem at many holiday school functions—so much so, that at 32 I can still recite it word for word—now that’s a good poem!
5. Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas
This is a newer book, as Fancy Nancy wasn’t around when I was a child (although I am sure I would have LOVED her), but still a terrific Christmas story if you have a “fancy” girl like I do. What I love most about these books is the way the author introduces “big” words to children accompanied by simple definitions--yet, always in a way that enhances the story somehow. In this particular story Nancy learns to “improvise” (that's a fancy word for using whatever's around to make something) when things don’t go her way…sheesh…who doesn’t need to learn how to do that—which is why I think this book if totally Splendiferous!
SassyMommy's Top Five:
There are certain books that I could read over and over again during this time of the year. I think now there is so much overly PC supervision of Christmas in schools (probably rightfully so), but I fondly remember library time and reading classes when we used to read stories about Christmas. I'm sharing my top five books from when I was little that resonate with the spirit of Christmas.
1. Silver Spurs
This is the story of an elf that was Santa's helper and helped get presents into the homes of those who didn't have chimneys or fireplaces. Since we lived in a two bedroom apartment in Georgia when I was in elementary school, we definitely didn't have a fireplace and I loved knowing that this elf was helping Santa get me my presents on time.
2. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Loved this book and how rude and misbehaved the children were in the book (I secretly probably wanted to act out, but was too polite to do so). I am pretty sure that I still have a copy of this book that we ordered from Weekly Reader somewhere in our house.
3. The Birds' Christmas Carol
A bittersweet story of Christmas and what it means to give selflessly. Despite the sad ending, I still very fondly remember this book and liked how the heroine was so young but altruistic beyond her years. My fourth grade class performed a play based on this story and I still remember being the narrator (I was a darned good narrator, for a nine year old!).
4. The Little House on the Prairie Books
I adore the old-fashioned descriptions of Christmas of days gone by in two of the books in this series, Little House in the Big Woods and On the Banks of Plum Creek. In the first book, there is something quaint and heartwarming about the simple preparations for Christmas (like sewing clothes for a rag doll) and kids being excited to get a stick of candy, a penny and tin cup. In the latter book, I always wanted to be like Laura and get a fur muff for Christmas. Never mind that we lived in Georgia and it snows about once every eight years. Fashion transcends weather.
5. The Gift of the Magi
This is that classic O. Henry short story that everyone reads in 7th grade to teach you about irony. It's funny how you read something completely differently as an adult compared to as a teenager. Now I appreciate so much more sacrificial giving from a spouse. Great, classic story.
Share your favorites with us!
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