Christmas Tradition #2: The Story Basket

The holiday books are out, and my Bear cannot help himself. The tradition goes like this: I sneak into the attic on the eve of December and bring down 24 of our favorite holiday titles. I wrap them and place them in a big basket in the foyer, and the next morning the children take turns choosing a book a day to curl up with and read as a family. We all love this. We read the books over and over until January, and then I pack them back up.


Well, this year I definitely wanted to cash in on my mom's mad wrapping skills before she skipped town, so I darted up to the attic last Friday after the wee ones fell asleep. That's when I realized I had accumulated close to 50 Christmas titles {largely thanks to Grandma DJ}. I tried to get it down to 24 for the story basket, but I just couldn't. I pulled out six books that I didn't particularly enjoy reading aloud, and my mom and I stayed up late wrapping the other FORTY THREE. And laughing. What can I say? I feel attached to each and every one of them. Two days later my friend Allison gifted us another awesome title that was a duplicate in her house, so we're back up to 44 faves.


The basket holds a wide range of holiday goodness, including:


1. The Magical Christmas Horse by Mary Higgins Clark (HC)
2. The Tiny Star by Arthur Ginolfi (BB)
3. Clifford’s First Christmas by Norman Bridwell (PB-Scholastic)
4. Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holidays Lessons by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (HC)
5. The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson (PB-Scholastic)
6. The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (HC)
7. Dumpy Saves Christmas by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton (HC)
8. Corduroy’s Christmas by Don Freeman (HC)
9. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergen (HC)
10. Best Christmas Book Ever! by Richard Scarry (HC)
11. The Story of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry (BB)
12. The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale About the Rockefeller Center Tree by David Rubel (HC)
13. Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Bratun (PB)
14. Olive, The Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh (HC)
15. I’ve Seen Santa by David Bedford (PB-Scholastic)
16. Clifford’s Christmas by Norman Bridwell (PB-Scholastic)
17. Christmas by Dick Bruna (HC)
18. Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman (HC)
19. Santa Mouse by Michael Brown (HC)
20. The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy by Jane Thayer (HC)
21. Is It Christmas by John Prater (HC)
22. Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck and Felicia Bond (BB)
23. Harold at the North Pole: A Christmas Journey with the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson (PB)
24. Thomas Kinkade A Child’s Christmas at St. Nicholas Circle by Douglas Kaine McKelvey (HC)
25. Oliver’s First Christmas illustrated by Kristi Valiant (HC)
26. Mary’s Christmas Story by Teresa Olive (PB)
27. The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear by Stan and Jan Berenstain (PB)
28. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer retold by Dennis R. Shealy (PB)
29. The Christmas Story by Patricia A. Pingry (HC)
30. Mary Engelbreit’s A Merry Little Christmas: Celebrate from A to Z (HC)
31. The First Christmas: A Pop-Up Book (HC)
32. Who’ll Pull Santa’s Sleigh Tonight? By Laura Rader (PB)
33. The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats (PB)
34. Tomie’s Little Christmas Pageant by Tomie DePaola (BB)
35. The Twelve Days of Christmas (HC)
36. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Original Story of Rudolph by Robert L. May (HC)
37. Silent Night by Vicki Howie (HC)
38. The Animals’ Christmas Eve by Gale Wiersum (HC)
39. B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet by Isabel Wilner (BB)
40. Merry Christmas illustrated by Kathy Couri (mini BB)
41. The Christmas Star by ZonderKidz (min BB)
42. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by James Marshall (BB)
43. The Night Before Christmas: The Classic Edition by Clement C. Moore (HC)
44. Humphrey's First Christmas by Carol Heyer (HC)