Our Family's Top Picks for Children's Books About Christmas

Well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The first candle has been lit on our Advent wreath. Mistletoe is hanging. A poinsettia towers on the table. That could only mean one thing. It's time for reading some wonderful children's Christmas books together. Whether you're looking for children's gifts, hoping to build your own Christmas children's book collection or just want great a library list for Christmas, we'll share some of our favorite children's books for Christmas with you.

To help us remember the true spirit of Christmas giving, we love St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Legend by Julie Stiegmeyer.

Soon after my daughter learned about what wasn't real about Christmas, a friend gave her the book St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Legend. It begins, " A man named Nicholas lived a long time ago in a village by the turquoise sea." It continues with the story of how Nicholas, the pastor of the village, prayed for a poor family with three daughters who were unable to marry because they had no dowry. God gave Nicholas an and in the dark of night he delivered three bags of gold to the family's home. As tales of Nicholas's kindness and generosity spread through the land that he became known as Father Christmas. "And to this day," it reads, "people continue to give gifts at Christmas, like Nicholas did, as a way to share God's love and show kindness to others."

Just for fun, we love Llama, Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney.

If your young children enjoyed Is Your Mama a Llama? or Llama Llama Misses Mama, they will love Llama Llama Christmas Drama and so will mamas. Llama llama is having a hard time waiting for Christmas to arrive. He is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Christmas but Mama Llama helps him see the true gifts of Christmas.

Love the pictures in Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story by Cynthia Rylant.

This is an oldie but goodie that will celebrate its 25^th anniversary next year. This Appalachian tale is based loosely on a true story of a Christmas train that comes through Appalachian mountain delivering much needed items while one little boy, Frankie, waits and wishes for a doctor's kit. This is a great story about growing up and giving back.

A family to invite to every holiday, we love The Berenstein Bears' Christmas Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstein.

We love and learn from the Berenstein Bear family all year long. Papa is always a hoot, He reminds us a lot of the Papa Bear in own family. In this adventure he sets out to find the perfect tree. The Bear family doesn't come home with exactly what they were looking for, they are carrying some beautiful new things in their hearts.