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Books to get us ready for Christmas

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Children are excited. They are waiting for something more special than a new president or a good day for the stock market. They are waiting for Christmas. The stores are decorated, lights are bright, and the days are counting down. Learning to wait is all a part of growing up.

“B is for Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet” is a picture book with all the elements of the nativity story beautifully illustrated by Elisa Kleven to help the youngest children look forward to Christmas. It was written in verse by Isabel Wilner.

For a quick cookie activity take a roll of sugar cookie dough and cut off about a quarter of the roll. Let your little baker roll the dough out with a rolling pin or a plastic tumbler. Let them cut out a few stars and shape the left over dough into creative shapes. Bake the cookies as usual. You can decorate them if you want to but you can also eat them as they are using the excuse that stars are white.

If your child loves the animals in every nativity scene they see, try “Who is Coming to Our House?” by Joseph Slate with illustrations by Ashley Wolff. The animals in this story lovingly prepare the barn for the special family to arrive. It has a soft lyrical rhyming text that babies and preschool children love.

Create a nativity scene in your home using stuffed animals and a baby doll wrapped in a towel or blanket. Let your children take turns being Mary and Joseph and play out the story.

“Waiting for Christmas,” by Monica Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, tells the story of an African American brother and sister waiting for the big day. The snowy landscape is lovely and you can almost smell the hot apple cider. This is a simple story you can read over and over.

Help your child make a snowflake ornament. Take blue construction paper and fold it into quarters. Cut a design and then unfold the paper. I like this project because it comes out great no matter how artful your pattern is or isn't. Spread glue over your snowflake a little or a lot. Then pour salt or sugar over the glue to create a crystal snowflake. Hang on the tree or in the window.

For children up to the age of 10 who enjoy read-aloud stories there is “Advent Storybook: 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas.” Written by Antonie Schneider and illustrated by Maja Dusikova, this is about a mother bear reading her child one story a day until Christmas. “How far is it to Bethlehem?” asks the little bear. “24 stories away!” Mother Bear answers.

This book makes a good advent calendar you can use from year to year.

It has a ribbon to keep your place. You can give your child a small treat each day after the story while you both wait for Christmas.

This story was originally published on November 28, 2008

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