These are some of my family’s very favorite Christmas books. The books in BOLD are my absolute TOTAL favorites that I think literally everyone should own. The ones with an asterisk are books I think go perfectly with your Truth in the Tinsel celebration.

Oh, and sadly, some of these are out of print, but feel free to grab them used on Amazon or Thriftbooks!

OK, I think that’s it! Wait! I forgot to tell you, I categorized the books and I think you’re gonna like ’em! Enjoy.

Non-Santa, Non-Jesus, But Still Fun

The Twelve Days of Christmas by Hilary Knight // Imagine if your true love really did give you all those gifts! Whew! The illustrations in this one are outstanding.

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry // A giant tree becomes a Christmas tree for more than just Mr. Willowby! 

Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor // Fancy Nancy books are always more family than fanciness. I love this sweet grandfather/granddaughter story.

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff // Typical If You… fun at Christmas time!

Christmas Magic by Michael Garland // Two snowpeople experience some Christmas magic! (This is not my favorite book but my kids LOVE it!)

Santa-ish

Dream Snow by Eric Carle // A farmer (dressed in red and white) tends to his farm animals on Christmas. Includes clear pages and lights and music!

The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood // adorable animals experience a quiet Christmas (“hoping for a snow day quiet”, “writing letters to Santa quiet”)

Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson // Bear and his friends try to stay up for Christmas morning. (Santa isn’t seen, just his presents the next day.)

The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry // A little bear experiences all the smells of Christmas–you do, too with scratch-and-sniff stickers! (Santa is seen in this one, but is not the main point of the story.)

Merry Christmas, Ollie! by Olivier Dunrea // A duck and his friends wait for Father Christmas Goose.

A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates // A funny retelling including Sir Peggedy and his eight giant seahorses.

Non-Santa, Not About Jesus, But Kinda Still About Jesus

The Christmas House by Carol Bullman // Busy neighbors are drawn to a young couple’s home (and their baby).

17 Christmases by Dandi Daley Mackall // A family travels the country to visit allllll their family during Christmas.

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski // A grumpy old man is loved on by a widow and her son as he carves a Nativity scene for them.

The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs // A farmer’s wife gives her favorite Christmas tree on the farm to a needy family.

Merry Creature Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall // Forest friends have a Christmas celebration in the woods and try not to wake the mean old bear.

*Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson // Mortimer the mouse discovers a funny little mouse-sized house at Christmas. He’s not a fan of the inhabitants until he learns who they are.

Stories about Christmas Symbols and Traditions

The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg // A little girl meets a candy maker and learns the legend of the candy cane.

A Very Merry Christmas Prayer by Bonnie Rickner Jensen // adorable little animals look around at the fun parts and symbols of Christmas and thank God for them as they are reminders of Jesus and his birth.

Jesus, Me, and My Christmas Tree by Crystal Bowman // Part of a series of board books about the symbols of Christmas. Included in the series is *J is for Jesus, *A Star for Jesus and My Christmas Gift

Christmas Books With Biblical Prophecy and Teaching or are Just SO GOOD You Should Totally Own Them

*Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story by Sally Lloyd-Jones // One of the best books to show God’s majesty. (Also, if you don’t own Sally Lloyd-Jones’ Jesus Storybook Bible, YOU MUST.)

*The Wonder of Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall // Maybe my favorite Christmas book ever. Turns a simple Christmas play into declarations to follow God.

Why Do We Call It Christmas? by Phil Vischer // I could talk about this book forever. See my full review here.

Ordinary Baby Extraordinary Gift by Gloria Gaither // A song set inside a book with lots of great truth about WHY Jesus came.

*The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Hunt // This book ties in all of Christmas AND Easter. Must have.

*Born on Christmas Morn by Melinda Kay Busch // A simple little paperback telling the Nativity story but it ends at the cross & resurrection!

*The Christmas Promise by Alison Mitchell // I love this author so much! This story is the nativity story but told thru the lens of God’s promises to the people of Israel–and how the Messiah would come as a new, rescuing, forever King! (also: the companion sticker Advent Calendar and Activity Book)

*The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats by Andrew Peterson is based on his CD, Behold the Lamb. And if you do not own that CD, you must have it! It tells the whole story of Jesus–from Passover in Egypt to the Passover before the Crucifixion. Absolutely an essential part of Christmas!

Nativity Stories

A Night of Great Joy by Mary Engelbreit // children in a play act out the first Christmas.

A Savior Is Born: Rocks Tell the Story of Christmas by Patti Rokus // coolest book EVER! Literally rocks set up in the form of the Christmas story.  

A Very Noisy Christmas by Tim Thornborough // Dynamic, simple & powerful retelling. Perfect for preschool. Bonus: characters have more authentic skin tones!

*The Voices of Christmas by Nikki Grimes // The characters of the Christmas story tell their part in the first person.

*Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate // A sweet board book about animals in the stable waiting for Mary and Joseph.

Christmas in the Stable by Astrid Lindgren // A mother tells her daughter the story of the first Christmas. The little girl sees it in her own time and location. Very cool retelling.

A Christmas Goodnight by Nola Buck // A little boy tells everyone in his toy manger scene goodnight.

*The Christmas Story (Peek a Bible: A Lift the Flap Book) by Tracy Harrast // A simple retelling of the Nativity with flaps and fun cartoon illustrations.

The Very First Christmas by Jan and Mike Berenstain // The first Christmas as shown by the Berenstain Bears. Sticks close to Scripture!

*Goodnight Manger by Laura Sassi // A funny interpretation of how noisy the stable must have been!

*Listen to the Silent Night by Dandi Daley Mackall // Another story about the noises of the first Christmas.

*M is for Manger by Crystal Bowman // Not technically a story, it’s an ABC re-telling of the Christmas story. Beautiful and perfect for preschoolers.

The Littlest Watchman by Scott James // A fictional account of a little boy waiting for the “root of Jesse” to appear.

Stories about Giving

A Royal Christmas to Remember by Jeanna Young & Jacqueline Johnson // Thieves steal from the villagers so the five princesses give their Christmas gifts to the villagers.

Annika’s Secret Wish by Beverly Lewis // Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, Annika hopes to find the almond in her Christmas pudding. Instead, she learns it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, illustrated by PJ Lynch // a classic short story beautifully illustrated by PJ Lynch.

The Three Gifts of Christmas by Jennie Bishop // A selfish Princess receives only three gifts for Christmas and then learns about giving to others. This book led us to do something special with our kids’ Christmas gifts.

The King’s Christmas List by Eldon Johnson // A little girl learns how to give to Jesus at Christmas. The illustrations are kinda weird but this book has set up our favorite Christmas tradition.

And a couple more Bible books you should own:

I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God by Diane Stortz // not a Christmas book but a great devotional for the names of God. Perfect for Day 2 of Truth in the Tinsel!

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones // The byline of this book is, “every story whispers his name”. This whole book seems Christmasy because it is all leading to the coming of our King! MUST OWN.

The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross by Alison Mitchell // This book shows how sin kept us out of the Garden and the Holy of Holies but Jesus came to bring us back in.

The Beginning Reader’s Bible // Each Bible story is told with actual text from the International Children’s Bible translation (including verse numbers) and the illustrations are detailed and seem more culturally and historically accurate than usual.

More of my favorite books & gift guides—>
 

photo copyright: maglara / 123RF Stock Photo
Affiliate links are included in this post. If you make a purchase via one of these links, I will make a small percentage. Very small. But very appreciated. It doesn’t change your price, just helps support Truth in the Tinsel and my family. Thanks! 

After Christmas last year, the kids were sitting at Asa’s new Lego table (we made it from some Ikea furniture!) playing and creating. They were also singing. They were belting out Hark the Herald Angels, “Born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth Born to give them second birth”!

I loved hearing their little voices sing such Truth about Jesus and Christmas. I’d say nine times out of ten—even during the summer, Christmas songs come out of their mouths! The words and thoughts from famous Christmas carols are digging deep into their minds and hearts. And I love it!

Everything about Christmas is super magical. We have Christmas cookies, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards and Christmas music. It’s why Truth in the Tinsel is so important to me. Using this magical, sparkly, shimmery time is like a catapult to my efforts to teach my kids about Jesus—it helps the story and attention go further!

Christmas music is the same–so much of this music is full of the theology of Jesus’ incarnation. These old Christmas songs are more than sing-a-longs. They are telling the story, the why/wherefore and the details of the most life-altering event to ever happen to the planet. When we turn on our Christmas Spotify list or drag out our Christmas CDs and listen to them over-and-over-and-over again for a month or more, we are meditating on these words and ideas.

I want my kids knowing and remembering and singing words like,

“He rules the world with truth and grace”

“Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be the glory giv’n; Word of the Father, Now in the flesh appearing”

“Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease”

Seriously! Does that not make you excited?

So, the other day my friend Rachelle from Scripted Simplicity asked me if we could do a giveaway here on the blog of some of her Christmas pieces. (Uhm, YES!) And when they came in the mail I was so excited! First of all because they are gorgeous. And secondly, because she featured beautiful words from Christmas carols!

I love her heart behind her work—that each piece would remind us of the Giver of all good things. And isn’t that Christmas? Remembering how God gave us the very best gift of all?

I love having these signs up in our house apartment to help us further focus and meditate on the gift of Jesus’ birth–the miracle of a God emptying himself of his divinity to become a man. It’s unfathomable. Yet, it happened.

So, number one? Play Christmas music. Not just Santa and Rudolph, either. Play the old stuff! Here’s a few more of her gorgeous pieces for you to drool over…

 

(I just have to tell you about my two nativity scenes pictured above, too. The top one is handmade by artists in Uganda. I got it from Ornaments for Orphans! The bottom one I bought in the Dominican Republic on my trip with World Vision. When I got it home, it had two Mary statues in it, no Joseph! Awesome. )

A few days ago I was at my mom’s house and she had a giant pile of Christmas gift catalogs on her couch–all kinds of stores with all kinds of goodies. I was supposed to be doing some work with the kids for school but I stacked those little catalogs up next to me because I sincerely love shopping for Christmas! I don’t love walking through the mall but the hustle and bustle of Christmas is exciting!

How are we supposed to keep that hustle and bustle fun and not turn it into a big crazy greed-fest for us and our kids? Well, the best thing I know is to simply GIVE. To take it a step further, I think it’s important to give first. Let your first act of the holidays be to give in a big and significant way.

Here’s 3 of my favorite give-first activities:

1. Operation Christmas Child

If you’ve been around me for even ten minutes, you’ll know that I adore Operation Christmas Child. If you’re not familiar with this fun organization here’s the skinny—you pack a shoebox full of fun toys, toiletries and school supplies. Then, you add $7 for shipping and drop it off at a a pick-up location. From there, the shoebox is shipped to a Processing Center (just to make sure it’s all OK) and then shipped to poor and marginalized kids around the world.

You can read a plethora of thoughts and emotions I have about Operation Christmas Child (especially lots of stuff about my trip to the Dominican Republic with them) but here’s where as a normal Christian American mom, I love Operation Christmas Child so much–-they help my kids not be greedy.

Every year, we are picking out and buying gifts that my kids would LOVE and they don’t get to keep them. In fact, the opposite seems to happen–they get excited about buying and giving away!

The best part is the National Collection Week for OCC is this week–right before the Christmas crazy starts. It’s the perfect beginning to your holiday celebration. Start your kids off looking into Christmas through a shoebox gift. It will change their heart. It’s changed my family.

2. Sponsored Kids Letters

Do you sponsor a child? We sponsor two kids through Compassion International and it is one of our favorite things we do. Every year, Compassion suggests we send our kids’ families money and we usually do. We also like to send them an actual gift–but since you can’t send big items, we try to figure out fun presents that can fit in an envelope.

Last year we colored  and laminated a printable Nativity Scene. You can find all kinds of printable gifts and toys online (just search Pinterest!) that fit easily into an envelope.

It’s a simple thing but it can help your kids set a standard for the first Christmas card, the first Christmas gift being for someone else!

And if you don’t sponsor a child yet? It might be the best gift you and your family give this year!

3. Ornaments for Orphans

Are you in charge of decorating a Christmas tree at your church or school? Maybe your office? Instead of stocking up on Target’s latest designs, why not do something that really helps others?

Ornaments for Orphans contracts artists in Uganda to design and create beautiful handmade ornaments. You can order (free of charge!) a box of 100 ornaments to decorate your Christmas tree then, people who pass by can stop and buy an ornament for $10 each. This money goes back to O4O who then pass it on to the artists so they can provide and care for their children. How great is this?

You decorate a tree. Your friends, neighbors, co-workers and passers-by undecorate it for you and kids around the world are protected! Don’t you love it? (And if there happens to be any leftover ornaments–O4O will pay the shipping!)

We did this at my husband’s CrossFit gym a few years ago and my kids absolutely loved decorating the tree and checking up on it to see how many ornaments had disappeared off the tree.

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This picture is of the woman who  is the head of the widow’s co-op that makes all the stuffed animal ornaments for O4O. The women in this co-op are the sole providers for their families and this work enables them to care for their children. Ornaments for Orphans is actually in the job of orphan prevention because the majority of Ugandan children living in orphanages actually have a living parent or relative. But women have to leave their children at orphanages because they are too poor to feed them. O4O’s work can keep vulnerable families united by providing an opportunity for dignified income. I love it!!

 

I hope you use one of these great ideas to begin your holiday. I think it’s kind of a “firstfruits” thing like with tithing. When you give to God first, it sorta evens out everything else. If nothing else, put it to the test and see what happens when you give first this Christmas!

 

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When I  had my daughter, my husband and I decided there would be no Santa in our Christmas celebration. Neither of us had believed in Santa and I just didn’t want it mixing up our Jesus-is-born holiday.

I was pretty strict about it and basically didn’t say the word “Santa” for two years. Even when my daughter would point out Santa hats on people we’d say, “Oh, look! They have a Christmas hat!”. We didn’t even listen to “Santa Claus is Coming To Town” because I just didn’t want those words in her mind (“He sees you when you’re sleeping…he knows when you’re awake…”).

On my daughter’s 2nd Christmas, she saw a tall traditional, velvet-y, fur clad Santa statute at a store and pointed at it yelling, “Noah!!” As in “and the ark”. Yeah, I did a good job shielding her.

As she got a little older and we let her see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and read The Night Before Christmas, we continued to push Santa as a fun, fictional character similar to Rudolph or Frosty or even Mickey Mouse.

One day on the way home from church when she was 3 she said to me, “I can’t wait for Christmas!”.

I said, “Me, too, baby! What made you say that?”

She replied, “Santa is going to come down our chimney and give us presents!”

I whipped around in my seat and said, “Who told you that?!”

She said, “My teacher at church said Santa comes down your chimney and gives you presents.”

I was dumbfounded. I looked at my husband with wide eyes and then back to my daughter and said, “That’s not true.”

I went on to explain who-knows-what about Santa but could not believe that in one second my daughter completely bought into the Santa story with a simple push from her teacher! I’m not blaming the teacher at all–she probably just said, “What’s Santa bringing you?” and got started on a conversation that my little girl had never heard before!

After this conversation, we started talking about the real Saint Nicholas and how his story morphed through the years. We’ve watched Veggie Tales’ Saint Nicholas and probably even read a book or two about the real guy. My kids (now 8 and 6) don’t believe in Santa and honestly are a little confused at kids who do.

I tell you this whole story (because I felt like I finally needed to get it out into the internet) but also because I’m not exactly sure the best way to tell your kids about Santa. My father-in-law says “for every mile of road, there are two miles of ditch”. And I think that’s how the Santa debate has been. There’s the group of people who pull off elaborate stunts to perpetuate a lie about a jolly man who comes down your chimney and the others who equate him to Satan.

Where is the balance and the real education–not skewed by tradition and personal feelings?

I think I found it.

Does that sound like crazy hyperbole? (I’VE FOUND THE ANSWER TO THE SANTA DILEMMA!!!)

If you’ve been around me for any amount of time you know I love What’s in the Bible?. They produce the most amazing (hilarious) DVDs that walk kids straight through the story of the whole Bible with real and rich details. It’s like a Bible college lesson rolled into a bite-sized piece for a kid.

Anywhoo, their Christmas DVD, Why Do We Call it Christmas? does the same thing with Christmas–addresses all the traditions and their histories. This year, Phil Vischer (creator of WITB and Veggie Tales) released a new picture book called, Why Do We Call It Christmas?.

At first, I thought it was going to be a simple paper-and-ink version of the DVD. In fact, it’s quite different and really really good.

In the book, Buck Denver (famous news anchor and star of all the What’s in the Bible? DVDs) is confused about Christmas because it seems to be two different holidays–the Jesus holiday at church and the Santa holiday at stores.

Buck’s friend, Sunday School Lady uses her magic flannelgraph (see how funny this is?!) to explain the word “Christmas”. She then begins the story of “Saint Nick” and how the Catholic Church gives certain people their own special day, like Saint Nicholas Day.

She then explains that Saint Nicholas Day is on December 6 and since Christmas is on December 25 and other churches didn’t always celebrate these special saint days–but they liked the traditions of them (hello! gifts left in stockings!) they just combined the two days. And bad-a-bing bad-a-boom we have our American Christmas traditions.

So. If you’re familiar with the Santa story, this might not seem like new information. It’s not the Santa-background that’s so great in this book. I know lots of people that celebrate Saint Nicholas Day. I’ve read all the books that tell Saint Nicholas’ true story. Instead, this book gives the explanation of WHY we celebrate Santa and Jesus on the same day. I love the clear delineation of the two celebrations.

When I finished reading the book, it was like a breathed a sigh of relief. There was no dancing around the story, or trying to walk on eggshells about should-you-or-shouldn’t-you believe in Santa. It is simply the story of how the Santa legend has arrived to our modern world. Period.

I think it’s so important to teach kids truth–in all circumstances. Not showing them too much, or inappropriate themes. But truth. This book will help you do just that–whether Santa is a part of your celebration or not.

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If your kids have been confused about Santa–maybe they don’t believe and don’t know why he’s not included in your celebration, or they aren’t sure what to say to their friends, or maybe they do believe and you want to tell them the truth, or maybe they believe and you just want them to know where Santa’s story all began–this book covers all those bases.

Last year, when it was time to clean up the Truth in the Tinsel ornaments, I got a little sad. Those ornaments were more than ornaments–they were 24 days (ok, probably more like 19 days…) of memories with my kids! I wanted to be like Mary and treasure up all these things in my heart!

Lots of people on our Facebook page said the same thing, “What should we do with our ornaments?!”

I didn’t keep Lydia’s first ornaments from when she was 1. *sniff* And I so wish I had! But I do have them from when she was 2 and she loves loves loves to look at them. It’s amazing at how much I remember holding those little memories in my hand.

However, do you really want a box of ornaments every single year for each of your kids? Yowza. That could be an episode of Hoarders waiting to happen.

Then. I had an idea.

I have some beautiful (and I mean beautiful) photo memory keepers. One is for Asa’s baby stuff, one is for all our ticket stubs to local events and special activities. The other is all of our souvenirs from our last Disney vacation.

These boxes are gorgeous to display and super fun to look through.

HOW PERFECT WOULD THEY BE TO KEEP ORNAMENTS IN?!

I made a Truth in the Tinsel Memory Keeper this year and look how awesome it is!

I could not love it more. I just couldn’t!

{Update: Sadly, Paper Coterie is out of business! *sniff* BUT, I have found a few comparable items. Nations Photo Lab has some pretty cute boxes that come up to a 10×10 size!}

Then, I had another idea. Say you don’t want to keep the ornaments. You could make a photo book from Shutterfly or Snapfish or any photo site including close up pictures of the ornaments, Scripture references, memories from the craft-making time or additional pictures of your kiddos crafting.

Here’s a few pages of the book I’m working on right now…

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How much do you love that?!

How are you preserving your Truth in the Tinsel memories?

Do you know the lyrics to “O Little Town of Bethlehem”? It seems funny that there is an entire song dedicated to a place in the Bible. The detail of Bethlehem (and day 13 of Truth in the Tinsel) seems more geography than theology.

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And Peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may his His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

However, the Christmas story taking place in Bethlehem is not a geographical detail but a gorgeous reminder and picture of the miracle of Jesus coming to earth as Emmanuel, “God with us”.

I mention in the ebook that Bethlehem means “house of bread” and that Jesus describes Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35). Did you also know that King David was born in Bethlehem? King David, the shepherd boy, the man after God’s own heart born in Bethlehem where the King of Kings Jesus, the Good Shepherd, God’s own Son would be born. What foreshadowing and fulfillment!

Every detail of the Christmas story seems to be connected with layers of meaning and significance. And I think He gives us these details to further convince us of His love, His miracle and intimate care for us.

One of my favorite Christmas books, Why a Manger? by Bodie Thoene explain that Jesus was born in Bethlehem for another reason: this is where the sacrifical lambs were born and raised. The shepherds who saw the angels and then found Jesus in the manger, were the shepherds who raised lambs to be sacrificed in the temple. So, “where else would ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29) have to be born if not Bethlehem, among the sacred Temple flocks?”

God sent Jesus to be Emmanuel, to abide with us as the Lamb of God, to take away our sins. He was born to die. He came to give us life. Thank you, Jesus, Lamb of God!

My friend, Annie from Be Small Studios recognizes this same wonder of Jesus, King, Bread, Lamb, Emmanuel. She’s created some beautiful paintings (like the one pictured above) based on beloved Christmas carols. Please check out her site!

I’m kind of a sucker for a Christmas book. I just can’t get enough of them. Like all Christmas traditions, I think many of these books and illustrations will stick in kids’ hearts and memories forever. Some of these books tell more than just the facts of the story, they tell the heart of the story.

Here are some of my favorite Christmas books that I think showcase that heart and will enhance and supplement Truth in the Tinsel.

Ready? Let’s go…

1. The Wonder of Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall

I. Love. This. Book. The pictures are of kids in a Christmas pageant. But the words are thoughts of a child, “I wonder what did Mary think…” and goes through each character. But the best part is the end when the words turn from questions to declarations like, “I will kneel like Mary, let my heart obey.” It is so powerful.

Perfect for Truth in the Tinsel days 4, 5, 9, 18, 19, 22

2. A Christmas Goodnight by Nola Buck

I bought this book because the illustrator is Sarah Jane, whom I have loved for years. The book is kind of a Goodnight Moon-type of book. A little boy says goodnight to the characters of the Christmas story. You discover halfway through that he’s actually playing with his nativity scene. It’s super sweet!

Perfect for Truth in the Tinsel days 5, 9, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22

3. Song of the Stars: A Christmas Story

This book was written by Sally Lloyd Jones, author of The Jesus Storybook Bible. It’s such a gorgeous book filled with important phrases like “Might King”, “Prince of Peace”, “Bright and Morning Star”, “Good Shepherd”, “Light to light up the whole world”, “Rescuer” and Emmanuel.

Perfect for Truth in the Tinsel days 2 and 11.

4. Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate

The animals in the stable get ready for someone coming to their house. It perfectly displays the idea of making room for Jesus in your home and heart.

Perfect for Truth in the Tinsel day 14.

5. A Star for Jesus by Crystal Bowman

This is part of a series of board books that showcase symbols of Christmas (Christmas tree, candy cane, angels, stocking, gifts) and give them Jesus-centered meanings. This one focuses on the Wise Men and the star’s meaning. It’s perfect for the preschool crowd.

Perfect for Truth in the Tinsel day 21

6. The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt

This book is the only book I actually suggest reading in one of the “Do More Together” sections (day 15, the manger). I’ve read this one to the kids already this year and as usual, it made me cry. It’s the story of three trees with big dreams–one to become a treasure chest, one to be a king’s ship and the other to point to God. Their prayers are answered in different ways than they think–the first tree becomes the manger and holds the greatest treasure of all, the second tree becomes a fishing boat and carries the King of all Kings while the third becomes a cross that will always cause people to think of the living God.
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See my ULTIMATE LIST OF CHRISTMAS BOOKS here!

One of my favorite things about Truth in the Tinsel is that it puts God’s Word as the focus in your home. Every single day you’re reading God’s Word. Every single day you’re talking about God’s Word. Every single day you’re using your hands to create a reminder of God’s Word. Every single day you’re hanging that reminder up for all to see.

God’s Word is hanging in your home.

This is a passion of mine. I believe in putting God’s Word on your walls. I want God’s Word to be all around me. I want it to be easy to “talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. [T0] tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-8)

Dee from Red Letter Words feels the same way. She creates beautiful Scripture art for your home. I’ve admired her work for many years and finally got my own Red Letter Words at the Allume Conference this year.

A few weeks ago, I was perusing Pinterest (totally not wasting time!) when I saw this:

Isn’t that gorgeous? I knew it was Red Letter Words right away (because I recognized its cuteness!) and when I realized she had Christmas art, I got excited. Look at the rest of these:

Oh, my goodness! I am in love! Wouldn’t these be gorgeous on your mantle? Hanging right above your stockings? Or as a gift for a friend? Family member? {For yourself?!!}

 

I know people love the Elf on the Shelf. It’s a magical little tradition that gets kids ready for Christmas and apparently, controls their behavior. (It does sound magical, doesn’t it?!) For those who don’t want to incorporate Santa and his elves into their daily December, here’s a few fun alternatives to a Christmas countdown activity.

1. The Christmas Angel

The Christmas Angel comes with a cute plush angel, a bag of gold dust and a storybook. The story explains how the angel came to Mary and told her she was going to have baby Jesus.  So, like the Elf on the Shelf, when your child wakes up every morning, they look for the angel who has written a message in the gold dust–“hug mom”, “make cookies”, “give a gift”. The idea is to give every day after reading the message from the angel.

(Looks like this might be “out of print” but I found some on Amazon!)

2. Book Countdown

I’m a sucker for a Christmas book. The day after Christmas is my favorite day because Barnes and Noble puts all their Christmas books 50% off! So, grab 25 of your favorite Christmas books, wrap each one individually and every day of December unwrap one and read it together with your kids.

I love this because it gives your kids quality time, you are reading together and it makes for a surprise each day! My friend Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife has a great list of 25 Jesus-centric Christmas books for this tradition!

3. Soft Enough for a King

This is a little random-acts-of-kindness type of thing. You begin by reading the picture book about the Inn Keeper’s son who is collecting straw for the manger before Jesus is born. He discovers how helping others can bless the giver and the receiver. After reading the book, you set up the enclosed manger and adorable little plush baby Jesus (maybe you don’t set him up till Christmas, but he was so cute, we left him in there all of December)! Then, cut out the enclosed “straw” pieces and secretly write down when you noticed someone else in your family doing something kind. The idea is to fill up the manger so it’s soft for baby Jesus!

Soft Enough comes in a gorgeous book, the picture book has great illustrations and the manger and plush baby Jesus are cute enough to become a part of your Christmas decorations. It’s a really nice set!

(Note: I’m not always a fan of Christmas traditions that have to do with a fictional character. So, if you do one of these kind of traditions or something like Shepherd on the Search or The Shepherd’s Treasure,  just make sure your kids understand this is just a fun idea, not a true story from the Bible!)

4. Mary & Joseph’s Trip to Bethlehem

I’ve heard about this several places (mainly in fiction books!).  It’s such a simple idea that doesn’t require any crazy set-up or even a big purchase.

If you have a nativity scene, set it all up except for Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. Just hide Jesus away and then place Mary and Joseph far far away in another part of the house. Each morning, place Mary and Joseph a little closer to Bethlehem…er, your manger scene. By Christmas Eve, they can set up in the stable and on Christmas Day, place Jesus in the center!

My kids would love to search for Mary and Joseph every day! I think I’m going to do this in December!

5. Cradle to Cross Wreath

This is a meaningful, beautiful piece of art which doubles as a countdown activity. Each day, move the donkey and Mary figure closer to the center of the wreath adding Advent candles as you go. You can extend it (and use it again) during Lent as you get ready for Jesus’ death and resurrection on the cross.

6. Light ‘Em Up

You’ve heard of Random Acts of Kindness during the holidays, right? Well, Courtney at Lil Light of Mine gives over 50 fun ideas, printables and more to light up December with kindness!

7. Shepherd’s Pouches

I super love this idea. Instead of stockings, hang up small, unadorned pouches. During December, when your children help someone, do chores, are kind, etc. place money in the pouches. On Christmas Eve, take the money from the pouches and use it to buy a gift from Compassion’s gift catalog or give it to someone in need.

This is cool because it gives the same feel as the elf watching your behavior, but with better motivation. Head over to Julie’s blog to read all her wording and ideas on how to implement this with your kids!

8. The Donkey in the Living Room

This is a sweet little book about all the characters of a traditional nativity scene. For nine days, you giftwrap one of the manger scene figurines (whichever one you have at your house) and set it in a designated spot in your home. When your kids find it, they unwrap it and bring it to you so you can read that character’s story from the ebook. By the end of the story, you’ll have the entire manger scene set up and know a little more about each character! It’s a simple and fun idea–and born from the author’s own traditions as a child! {Oooh, and I just noticed there is a version that includes the nativity scene to match the book!)

Also check out Star From Afar!

9. What God Wants for Christmas

This is a 7-day devotional  centered around the nativity. Each day, your child opens a small gift that has a figure of the nativity inside. The last day—spoiler–is a mirror inside. The gift God wants for Christmas is YOU!

10. TRUTH IN THE TINSEL

You knew I was gonna say that, right? It’s a wonderful and simple idea: read the Christmas story from the Bible, make an ornament to go along with the passage and talk about it with your kids. It includes printables, the words to say and simple tutorials. It doesn’t get much better than that! Get your own copy now!

I started buying medicines on https://healthylombard.com/buy-adderall/ four months ago. Because of the broken leg, I couldn’t leave home to go to the pharmacist, so I decided to check out what I could get from an online pharmacy. It turned out they sell prescription drugs as well, so I managed to order everything I needed, including painkillers, on this website. Really convenient.

(OK. I’m biased. But really, it’s fun.)

What’s your favorite fun Christmas countdown, activity or tradition for getting kids ready for Christmas?

{elf graphics from zenware designs at mygraphico}