One of our ongoing Christmas traditions is our Christmas Book Basket! This is something my own family did when I was a child and throughout the years we continued to add to our collection. Now we get excited to pull out our Christmas Books and basket after Thanksgiving (also when we decorate), and each year we get a new book to add to the collection. The books get read and browsed many times throughout the Christmas season. We want to share a few of our favorite books with you!

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

Jonathan Toomey might be the best woodcarver in the valley, but he keeps to himself and the local kids call him Mr. Gloomy. Nobody knows the reason for his unhappiness. Then one Christmas season the Widow McDowell and her son move to the valley and enlist Jonathan to carve a beloved nativity set for them. As they come to visit and watch him carve, a friendship begins to form and changes begin to take place in Jonathan. 

The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

Joshua the lamb, was different than the other lambs. He often felt sad and alone and his only friend was an old cow named Abigail. One wintry day he was left behind at the stable while the rest of the flock went on a journey to a new meadow that Joshua wouldn’t be able to make. He was disappointed when the flock left without him, but Joshua had no idea the surprise in store for him that night in the stable! 

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

A stranger comes to town and starts to prepare a storefront. The townspeople watch from afar and are guessing to why the many has come, and all the children are secretly wishing for the same thing. One day a young girl named Lucy offers to help the man with his shop. As she helps him to unpack he shows her a special Christmas surprise that he wants to share with the town!

The Gift of the Christmas Cookies by Dandi Daley Mackall

It doesn’t feel like Christmas or home this year for Jack, whose father had hopped a freight train West to find work. One day he arrives home to his mother making Christmas cookies for the needy at church. He gets out wooden molds including shepherds, a star, a man and woman, a baby, and an angel. As he helps her to roll the dough his mother tells him the story of why their people first began to make Christmas cookies many generations before.

Alabaster’s Song by Max Lucado

Each Christmas a little boy talks to the angel on top of the Christmas tree as he goes to bed each night. One night he must have asked just the right question, because suddenly the little angel appeared next to him. Little Alabaster is thrilled to share about a special night long long ago and sing his special song that they sang on that night!

Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer

Humphrey, the camel, is on a journey crossing the dessert when he loses his greatest treasure. Even when they are joined by three royal caravans, all Humphrey can think about is his lost blanket. He is even more miserable when three heavy chests are tied to his bare back. Humphrey is shocked when they arrive at the end of their journey and instead of a great palace, they are at a stable with a family inside.

The Legend of the Christmas Rose by William H Hooks

Little Dorothy is the younger sister of three shepherds. While she is allowed to bring her brothers water, she is not able to stay with them while they tend the sheep. One night her brothers rush home to tell them about a miraculous appearance of angels while they were out in the fields. They gather supplies to leave for Bethlehem and to find the baby that the angels told them about without Dorothy. After they leave she begins to follow them from afar, but is heartbroken when she realizes that she doesn’t have a gift for the little babe.

These are just a few of our favorites and each one shares the story of Jesus in a different way! For parents concerned about fiction mixing with the Christmas story, we just talk about what parts are pretend (stories verses history) and what really happened! Here are also some other Christmas books that we really enjoy (click the link HERE to see the list all in one place). Some of these share the story of Jesus, other are just sweet Christmas stories.

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson

Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale by Martin Waddell

Sounding Joy by Ellie Holcomb

The First Christmas Tree by Helen Haidle

The Gingerbread Doll by Susan Tews

The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Pat Matuszak

The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

*These are Associate Links that I earn commission from