Every year on December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas, our children wake up to find new slippers (when needed) filled with treats and chocolate gold coins, along with a new Christmas Picture Book to add to our every growing collection.
With the feast of St. Nicholas less than a month away, I spent some time this weekend preparing. Every year I worry that I’m not going to be able to find a new book for each of the children, since we have so many already, but that has yet to be a problem… Instead I have such a hard deciding which ones to choose! Here’s a peek at the books I purchased for this year: (And the best part was I was able to order them all for only $19.96, since I’ve been saving up our Amazon Visa Reward Points! Yay!!)
For Captain:
“In 1914, British and German troops were dug into trenches in France, facing one another across the barbed wire and barren ground called No Man’s Land. On Christmas Eve, the British soldiers heard the Germans singing Stille Nacht and joined in. Spontaneously, soldiers on both sides climbed out of their trenches and met in between the lines, sharing small gifts, food, and drink. They played a game of soccer. Then they went back to their trenches. The next day, the shooting resumed. McCutcheon’s account of this true event is based on a song he wrote about it in 1984. An accompanying CD includes that song, Silent Night/Stille Nacht, and a reading of the story.”
For Rascal:
“Based on a true account of a football game played between the German and English troops in no-man’s land on Christmas Day in 1914 during World War I, this book tells the story of four young men who have recently enlisted and have found that war is not as glamorous as they had once thought. The young men get to realize their dream of playing football for England when the English and German sides hold a ceasefire on Christmas Day and they play a friendly game against one another. This special new edition with beautiful color artwork is a touching and emotive story for children and adults to treasure..”
For Twinkle Toes:
“In World War II Poland, a young girl receives straw at the Christmas Eve service to bring to her impoverished family. But on her way home, Marta meets others who are much poorer than she, and she shares her piece until there is nothing left. In spite of the lack of straw–though perhaps because of her generous heart—Marta finds riches she never expected in this tender tale of Christmas giving. The Traditions of Faith series features stories of how significant Christian traditions emerged from around the world. These traditions continue to be practiced today and encompass many different holidays. Each Traditions of Faith book includes an author’s note about the history of the tradition, and ideas and activities to adopt into one’s own family celebrations.”
For Chiquita:
The Third Gift
“The three wise men, or the three kings, are familiar figures in the Christmas tradition. Newbery medalist Linda Sue Park has taken the brief biblical references to the three as the starting point for a new story. In it we meet a boy who is learning his father’s trade; a man who gathers resin from certain trees; a merchant in the marketplace; and three strangers in brightly colored robes who are shopping for a gift for a baby. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline with exquisite paintings, this simple, moving tale of ordinary people involved in an extraordinary event brings new resonance to the well-known gift list of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
UPDATE: I am saving this book to give to the children during the twelve days of Christmas and ordered Chiquita a copy of this new version of Our Lady of Guadalupe!
For Snuggles:
“A wondrous Christmas story based on a 15th-century tale tells the story of a generous nobleman and his prayer for a Christmas miracle. Beautifully illustrated in full color with pictures that reflect medieval times.”
For Rose:
“This inventive and fresh Nativity story is told from a bird’s-eye view. On the morning of the first Christmas, the birds of Bethlehem gather in the fields–not only to eat but to share the exciting news. People from all over have descended on Bethlehem and an angel has appeared in the night sky. Something extraordinary is coming! The birds agree that they must find this wondrous thing, and off they fly to the stable where a child has been born.”
For Bud:
I had a super hard time choosing just one for Bud… I kept changing my mind and ended up ordering two to choose from for the feast of St. Nicholas (I’ll save the second for his stocking.)…
Prayer of Mothers
Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.
Thank God for Amazon Visa Reward points, they are always there just when I need them. Great book choices!
Great selection of books! We LOVE Christmas in the Trenches and Marta and the Manger Straw in our house. Hard to believe Bud will be celebrating one already. We are doing the Winter ONE derland birthday theme also…in January 🙂 It goes way too quickly!
LOVE the book for Twinkle Toes! We have a lovely Polish parish in the neighboring town that continue those "old country" traditions! My daughter and I walk near there often, so I might just have to get THIS book!!!
All these books are just wonderful, Jessica!
Credit card points are wonderful – I think I got half of this year's homeschooling materials on Amazon using our Discover cashback bonus! Thank goodness for hubby's work purchases using that card (which he gets reimbursed for), which really add up!
We have the Who's Hiding lift the flap book – it's very cute!
Thanks for sharing what you found – the Polish Christmas book looks very nice, and I'm a quarter Polish, so I just might have to check that one out!!
Lovely books, Jessica! Thank you for being so generous with your ideas. Speaking of that, I would love for you to be "generous" with some Christmas gift ideas! We have children of similar ages and you always give the best gifts.
I have a Dec birthday boy too… When Bud get's a little older, the little House picture book "Farmer Boy Birthday" is a fun one to read. If you don't have it already, it might be a good one to get in a few years.
Oh! My kids love the Snowmen books by the Buehners! I didn't realize they had a new one out. Thanks for the links, Jessica. I'm adding the Snowmen at Work book to my amazon list now. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your ideas! My husband and I were working on our plans for Advent as well.
We are starting this tradition this year…with our oldest now 2 and our youngest 1, it will be a great year to start. I looked back at older posts and got my kids books off your list!
Thank you, Julie, and I really hope you are happy with your choices! 🙂 I so appreciate everyone that uses my Amazon links!
I did remember you suggesting this books (didn't you host a giveaway for one of them last year?) when I ran across them on Amazon. They are going to tie in nicely for the birthday party!
Thank you for the suggestion! I will have to look into that one for later, it sounds perfect!
There are tons of ideas in my archives, but maybe I can come up with a new post for this year. I just need to make sure my kids don't see it!! 😉
Here are a few links in the meantime:
Christmas Gift Ideas :: A Few of our Favorite Toys
Shh! Don't tell them…
Christmas Day in the Morning (2012)
Isn't it the perfect theme! I need to get busy planning though… I haven't put all that much thought into it yet.
I really can not believe our babies are turning one. 🙁
Hello Jessica,
Long-time lurker and borrower of your ideas here! This time I thought I would share a couple of my ideas. St. Nicholas always leaves a Christmas book wrapped in Santa paper at our house on his feast day — this year he will bring "The Christmas Rose" by Sepp Bauer. My plan is to read a page a day from Dec. 6 to Dec 25.
And I don't know if your children would enjoy a gift of soap(!), but I just discovered that a convent in New Jersey makes St. Nicholas soap with gingerbread scent!! Here's a link: http://summitdominicans.3dcartstores.com/St-Nick-Shea-Butter-Soap_p_132.html
Thanks for all the work you do! There are lots of us out here who benefit from your posts without ever saying so.
Jessica,
I love your posts – you are a real inspiration to lots of homeschooling moms out there, including me!
I did want to point out a little something you might want to change (and then you can delete this comment, or at least this part of it, if you like). You have the same book description for both War Games and The Third Gift. Both describe The Third Gift.
I am really looking forward to looking into these books and possibly getting them for my kids. And we are going to try the Jesse tree for the first time this year. I've never looked into it much, though I've always wanted to. Thanks again for all the inspiring ideas. You must have a fun, active household!
God bless!
~Bernadine
Thank you, Bernadine! I've corrected the post. That's what happens when I stay up late blogging, instead of getting some sleep! 🙂
I'm actually working on a post now with close up pictures of our Jesse Tree/Ornaments. I had hoped to post it yesterday, but it's taking longer to finish up than I thought it would. It was one of our very first Advent traditions and still a favorite for my children.
You now have me second guessing my picks for this year! lol For some reason I though we already had "The Christmas Rose" but we do not… I've added it to my cart and am thinking I could give it to Chiquita (saving "The Third Gift" as an Epiphany gift for all the kids) but then again, I tend to like to give "Rose" themed books to "Rose!" Hmmmm…. 🙂
And I'm going to have to check out that soap! Thank you for the link!
You always find the best books!!!
Also, I wanted to add…. The Christmas Doll by Elvira Woodruff is another fun Christmas book. It's a chapter book, not picture book, and has Christian themes, but isn't a religious book. It's just one that you can't put down and a fun read aloud. Other than A Christmas Carol, it's the only Christmas chapter book that we own. My oldest was ready to move past the picture books last Christmas and this was a good addition to our collection. Does anyone have anymore good chapter book suggestions for Advent and Christmas?
Thank you!
I also ordered a copy of The Thirteen Days of Christmas which is a chapter book that Charlotte recommended. I'm planning to put it in Twinkle Toes stocking. It looks really good!
I want to read it aloud with them after Christmas.
This is our 2nd year of doing this tradition….the books you've posted are just what I'm looking for my kids, too. 🙂 Thank you!!