I have been collecting Christmas books for a few years now...I love to read stories that warm the heart and cause the heart to look outward toward others and see that the season is not about the gifts, the decorations, the glitter, and the stuff. A lot of my books are about Jesus coming to earth, being born in a manger...and turning our hearts towards His gift of salvation...that is what we want our children's hearts to be focused on. But, some of my books are just heart warming stories that are around that theme of Christmas. I love them all!

Here are a few of our favorites:

The Gift by Jan Haley is so good! I bought it last year after hearing Martha Peace recommend it at her conference. This description from Christianbook.com tells about it.

Japeth's father is preparing to leave on a long journey, and Japeth makes a request common to many children in a similar circumstance: "Father, will you bring me something? A gift?"

But Japeth's father, who is one of the Magi leaving home to fallow a special star, is amused and responds, "Oh, this time I am taking a gift to another child."

As Japeth marks the long days of his father's absence, he finds that his feelings of loneliness have turned to jealousy. He point of view changes when he encounters King Herod's soldiers along the road. They are searching for the Wise Men who failed to report back to the king with the whereabouts of the baby Jesus. Japeth realizes the potential danger in his father's mission.

Japeth's brave response turns the soldiers away, and he learns the greatest lesson in history when his father arrives home safely and tells him about The Gift.

The Adornaments by Family Life has been wonderful through the years! We look forward to beginning this every year! It is not just a book, but a set of wonderful ornaments to place on the tree during the Christmas season. It has an ornament for the different names of Christ...like He is the bread of life...or he is the Light of the world...there is a CD with scripture songs to learn the verses and a book to read a short explanation for each ornament. We love this!!!!

We, also, like What God wants for Christmas from Family Life. This is a nativity set that the children get to interact with as they learn about each character in the Christmas story. It has a strong explanation of the gospel in the surprise ending. The younger children love it.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey is one of my favorite picture books for Christmas. It is about a very bitter gloomy woodcarver who keeps to himself. He has a lace handkerchief, a baby's blanket, and a picture of his wife and baby in a drawer he never opens. It brings his heart too much sadness. The story is about a widow and his son who want the woodcarver to carve a nativity set for them. Through this time of making this for them a miracle happens in his heart. It is a beautiful story that points to Christ as the healer of the soul.

Another good picture book is The First Christmas according to Luke. It is simply the scriptures put to beautiful pictures for children to see what happened on that night long ago. Mike reads Luke 2 on Christmas Eve and this book is a good tool to use as he reads to the younger ones. The pictures are lovely and the simpleness of it is what I appreciate.

We love, love, love Apple Tree Christmas! The story is about a family who loved the old apple tree. It has stood near their barn for years. The tree provided apples for them and a place to play for the 2 daughters...until a horrible ice storm takes down the old tree. This wonderful story shows the creativity and thoughtfulness of the father and how he made it an extra special Christmas for all of them! I love this!

Another favorite is Christmas Day in the Morning. This was recommended by a blogging friend and it has become very loved in our home. It is a story of an older man who looks back on a very special Christmas where he found out his father truly loved him. So, as a teenage boy he decides to do something very memorable for his father to show his love for him on Christmas Day! They live on a farm and both have to get up very early to do the farm work...but not this particular Christmas. For the first time, this hardworking farmer gets to see his young children come down on Christmas morning. It will make you cry! This is a sweet one!

Anything about or by Louisa May Alcott is a favorite in our home! I adore this little tattered paperback book...it has been read a lot and still holds up as one of our favorites because of its charming kind story! It is called An Alcott Family Christmas and is about the Alcott family being so excited that Christmas is coming! They are very poor and can not afford any gifts...but the girls will act out a play for their Pa and Marmee...but the best gift will be their wonderful Christmas dinner--the first big meal they have had in a long time! But, of course, it is Christmas and when a family calls in need of food...the Alcotts share the true Christmas spirit!

Another sweet one is The Story of Holly and Ivy. It is a longer one, but I can read Evie 3-4 pages a night and it works great that way! She loves it. Even Gracie, my sixteen year old, loves this story and reads it every year as soon as I get our Christmas books out. It is about Ivy...a young girl who is an orphan. She gets off a train on Christmas Eve in Appleton. The train was supposed to be taking her to the infant's orphanage, but Ivy had other ideas. She is looking for her grandmother, but she really doesn't have one. She wanders alone through the town...while Holly, a doll in a local toy store in a green and red dress is wishing for a girl. Also, there is a policeman's wife who is wishing for a daughter...the story is told from all three characters points of view. The story is very interesting and fun to read. As Amazon says: A beautiful story of wishing: of a little girl who wants a doll and a grandmother; of a doll that yearns for a child's arms around it; and of a lonely policeman's wife who wants a child in her home and how their Christmas wishes come true!

A new one for us this year is Kingfisher's Classic Christmas Stories. I usually buy one or two new ones each year. This is a big hardback story book with these wonderful classics in it:
The First Christmas
Old Pierre's Christmas Visitors
The Elves and the Shoemaker
A Very Big Cat
Becky's Christmas Dream
The Nutcracker
Christmas Every Day
The Cratchits' Christmas Dinner
Aunt Cyrilla's Christmas Basket
Christmas at Mole End
A Gift from the Heart
The Legend of St. Nicholas (we don't do the santa thing...so I am not sure about this one)
Befana and the Three Wise Men
The Fir Tree

We have only read a few of these so far...but, I think this one will be a favorite in years to come.

Our all time favorite is, of course, The Bible. We read about the birth of Christ often during this time of year and try to focus our time, hearts, and activities around the great truth that God became flesh and dwelt among us. As a tradition, Mike reads Luke 2 to us on Christmas Eve. We have done this for 16 years now...and it is the most special time of the season!