Classic Christmas Books - Books To Read At Christmas That Capture The Imagination Of Children And Adults Alike....

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year for most of us and whilst it is a time for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is also a time where families make the effort to spend precious time together.

For me, it's a magical time when we spend time as a family decorating a huge Christmas tree with colourful baubles and twinkling fairy lights and listen to Christmas carols. It's a time when childrens imaginations are working over time and who can blame them, after all a big fat man dressed all in red will try to squeeze his rather plump body into their house on Christmas eve. It can be through anywhere, if you don't have a chimney then he'll squeeze himself through the letter box or even the extractor fan in the kitchen, first of all blowing a handful of glittering fairy dust into the house to make sure that all the occupants of the house are sound asleep.

One of my favourite things to do with the children on the run up to Christmas, is to sit near the tree with the open fire burning brightly and read them stories of Father Christmas, stoking their imaginations even more. Even now that they are older it is something they look forward to and will read the books themselves. I believe that you are never too old to believe in Father Christmas and after reading some of these books from our collection, I'm sure you will agree.

Letters From Father Christmas - Written by J.R.R.Tolkien

This book I came across a few years ago and stole the idea of Father Christmas taking the time to write letters back to the children and wrote letters back to my children from Father Christmas. They could get a random letter from him in the middle of the summer, which they loved and it helped to keep the magic alive.

Tolkien put together this book for his own children, writing them letters from Father Christmas telling them all the goings on in the North Pole. This book isn't set out by chapters, it's a book compiled from the letters that passed between his children and Father Christmas. It's especially a good book for those children who may be beginning to have their doubts about Father Christmas.

Santa Claus - Written by Rod Greene and wonderfully illustrated by Carol Wright, Simon Danaher and Jon Lucas.

This hardback book is so beautifully illustrated that I prop it up on the mantelpiece as a decoration. It's not so much a story book as a book of facts about Santa Claus. Each page contains interesting facts with some pages having pull out secret flaps or folded up letters, every turn of the page will have your child - and probably you too - catching their breath. Reading this book is like going on a magical journey through Christmas. A must for any child or adult that loves Christmas books.

Happy Snappy Christmas ( Four pop up books) - Written by Derek Matthews.

This is a box of four Christmas books that will delight younger children. The pictures are bright and colourful and in the centre of each page is a fun three dimensional pop up. The stories in these books are short and written in verse, which can be read out loud in a fun sing song kind of way, by the children as well as the adult.

The Night Before Christmas - Written by Clement Clarke Moore and illustrated by Tom Browning.

This book is one of the best editions you will find of this classic Christmas book. The beautiful illustrations in this book manage to capture the essence of Santa Claus and will have children and adults alike ooooing and aaaahing !!. It's a book that will be cherished and enjoyed by all on Christmas Eve for a long time.

The Spirit Of Christmas - Written by Nancy Tillman

Every year I like to add a book that will be enjoyed by the whole family, to our Christmas collection as well as books that the children will enjoy reading on their own. After looking at the reviews for this book, I think this will be selected as this years family Christmas book. It's about the joy we get from being able to spend Christmas with the ones we love. Hopefully it will live up to our expectations and be brought out of the cupboard year after year and maybe enjoyed one day by our childrens children too, along with the rest of our books.