December Christmas Read-Aloud Calendar
In the past year, I’ve made a bunch of Nature Calendars that were packed full of nature facts, read-aloud suggestions, crafts, and activity ideas. After awhile, I transitioned the Nature Calendars into weekly unit study calendars (still heavily themed with nature), but this month, I’ve made another change to them…
For the month of December 2025, I’ve made a Read-Aloud Calendar. Every single day has a read-aloud suggestion – sometimes paired with an activity or a treat that goes well with the book, sometimes just as a read-aloud suggestion by itself.
December is one of the best read-aloud months because there are so many wonderful Christmas picture books in the world. I couldn’t fit every single favorite title on this calendar (there’s always next year!), but I chose many favorites that our family enjoys every year, that I know your family will enjoy too.
Treat this Read-Aloud Calendar like a menu – don’t order every single item (as far as the extra activities go), just focus on reading aloud – and fitting in the bonus activities that suit your family’s lifestyle and your current energy levels this holiday season – and leave the rest (without any guilt!)
December Activity Links + Information
Here is where I’ve broken it all down for you – you’ll find more information about the activities, recipes and read aloud choices for each day of the month.
Disclaimer: The ABCs of Motherhood / Raised On Read-Alouds is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which helps me run my website. Read more about these links in my disclosure policy.
December 1st: It’s Christmas Lights Day. Create a cozy fort and bring some popcorn, hot cocoa, and battery operated candles or flashlights and read Night Tree.
I love these battery operated candles. We use them all the time to create a cozy vibe in our house.
December 2nd: Read The Carpenter’s Gift. Create Christmas trees using Play Doh. Be sure to watch The Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony tomorrow, too.
We are going to create our Christmas trees using a tree-shaped cookie cutter, pony beads, gems, buttons, and little pieces of skinny popsicle sticks (for tree trunks). Use any craft supplies you have on hand – kids aren’t picky, I promise.
December 3rd: Have a story time tea party. Enjoy Christmas tree cherry hand pies while you read-aloud Red & Lulu.
This is the hand pie recipe I use alllll year long. It’s SO good and super easy.
December 4th: Read Red & Lulu again. Create Christmas trees using your favorite craft supplies – be sure to add Red & Lulu in your trees!
I’m planning to use watercolor paints to create ours! I might add some glue and loose glitter too…
December 5th: Read Apple Tree Christmas. Create apple clove ornaments afterward. Bonus: enjoy an Apple Christmas tree snack when you’re done!
If you’re feeling up to it, try this apple clove activity. We are for sure planning to make this super cute apple slice tree dessert!
December 6th: Read A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree. Afterward, make some pinecone or ornament bird seed feeders for your backyard trees.
Here is how to make pinecone bird feeders. Here is how to make ornament bird feeders.
December 7th: Read Christmas Day in the Morning. Afterward, think of some ways you can give to others and carry out your plans.
Grab the tissues for this read-aloud!
December 8th: Pile up on the couch under a bunch of blankets, turn on your fireplace (or fireplace background on your TV), and read The Christmas Day Kitten.
It is impossible not to fall in love with everything James Herriot writes. If you are unable to read this one aloud – the audiobook version narrated by Jim Dale is FANTASTIC too!
December 9th: It’s Christmas Card Day. Read Paddington’s Christmas Post and make holiday cards for loved ones.
My kids are completely obsessed with this book. Fair warning – you’ll likely need to supervise when the younger crowd reads this one alone (or at least after they finish looking through it) because there are loose papers that go into slots throughout the book that can be easily torn or lost. 100% worth the effort though! It’s a big favorite.
December 10th: Have a story time tea party. Enjoy chocolate covered graham crackers while you read-aloud Brambly Hedge: The Secret Staircase.
Chocolate covered grahams are one of those easy-win treats. Who doesn’t have graham crackers and chocolate chips on hand? Just melt some chocolate chips, spread some melted chocolate on about 1/2 of a graham cracker stick, and add festive sprinkles. Repeat as many times as you want. They are so easy – yet SO delicious. Activity + snack all in one = easy-win.
December 11th: Read An Orange for Frankie. Afterward, make an orange garland and decorate your tree or a backyard tree with it.
There are about a million how-to tutorials on making dried orange garland. Here’s one of them.
December 12th: It’s Gingerbread House Day. Read The Gingerbread Man: Loose at Christmas and decorate a gingerbread house using a boxed kit.
Skip the homemade – go with a kit. Trust me on this one. This book series is so fun and A HUGE favorite in our house!
December 13th: Read Christmas Tapestry. Afterward, create your own tapestry weaving construction paper together.
Get more tissues ready for this one. We made tapestries like this with construction paper at a library event years ago and my son just LOVED it – he was super into it – I think it would appeal to most 5+ year olds. Here’s a tutorial.
December 14th: Read Carl’s Christmas. Afterward, have your children read the story to you (this is a wordless book, so all ages can do this!)
Oh, Carl. Carl is like an old friend in our house. This entire series is so sweet (they are all wordless). You just can’t help but fall in love with Carl and Madeleine’s fantastical adventures.
December 15th: Put on your Christmas jammies in the middle of the day and get super cozy. Begin reading Tumtum and Nutmeg: A Christmas Adventure by the light of the Christmas tree.
We read the first three in this series – but have been eagerly waiting for Christmas time to read this 4th installment! My son instantly fell in love with this series when we started it at just over 5 years old.
December 16th: Read The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker. Afterward, try to find a video of the ballet performance if you can’t see it in person this year.
These Story Orchestra books are GORGEOUS. Definitely need to get your hands on them!
December 17th: Have a story time tea party. Enjoy Gingerbread Star Cookies while you read-aloud Cobweb Christmas.
Use your favorite recipe – we are trying a new recipe this year. I’ll update this later on if it’s a keeper!
December 18th: Read Cobweb Christmas again. Create spiderweb art using glue and sparkly glitter.
Glue AND glitter – I must be crazy. HAHA! Bring on the glitter! Alternatively, you could make a salt art spiderweb (glue, salt, and watercolor dripped onto the salt).
December 19th: Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, make Grinch Green Jell-O, and enjoy watching your favorite version of the movie.
Here’s my post all about this Grinchy Tradition.
December 20th: It’s Caroling Day. Sing from Tomie dePaola’s Book of Christmas Carols.
Enjoy Tomie dePaola’s classic illustrations while singing carols together.
December 21st: It’s The First Day of Winter. Read A Snow Day for Amos McGee.
The third in the Amos Mcgee series, this one was just released September 30th of this year and it is absolutely stunning in it’s sweet storyline and beautiful illustrations by Caldecott award winning illustrator Erin Stead. This is a home library MUST have.
December 22nd: It’s Cookie Exchange Day. Read The Gift of the Christmas Cookie. Afterward, bake some Christmas cookies to give to loved ones.
Best tip? Make various cookie dough balls throughout the season and freeze them. Then thaw and bake when Christmastime arrives. This way you won’t have so much work during a busy season AND you’ll have a nice variety of cookie flavors!
December 23rd: Read Dasher. Afterward, use watercolors to paint Dasher in the snowy North Pole featuring the North Star that guides Dasher in the book.
Dasher was an instant favorite for us. The third in the series (the series is expected to have a total of 5 books) was just released September 30th of this year and is called Dasher and the Polar Bear – I can’t wait to read it, too!
December 24th: It’s Christmas Eve. Have a story time tea party. Enjoy some of the Christmas cookies you made for Santa while you read-aloud The Night Before Christmas.
A Christmas Eve classic!
December 25th: Merry Christmas! Read-aloud The Christmas Story by the light of the Christmas tree before bed.
Read your favorite version of The Christmas Story book.
December 26th: It’s Candy Cane Day. Read The Legend of the Candy Cane. Of course, you must enjoy a candy cane while you read!
I love the old school cherry flavored colorful candy canes best – there are so many crazy flavors these days – I even saw Oreo flavored candy canes this year. Can’t see how those would be good, ha!
December 27th: Read The Christmas Book Flood. Enjoy chocolate fondue while you read some of the favorite books you received on Christmas morning.
Have you heard of this Icelandic tradition before? Icelanders have exchanged books at Christmastime and spent Christmas Eve reading and eating chocolate for YEARS. It’s time we hopped onto this lovely tradition during the holiday season.
December 28th: Read Stick Man. Enjoy watching the movie afterward.
This fun rhyming book ends with a visit from Santa. The movie is short and cute, too.
December 29th: Gather all your teddy bears for a hot cocoa picnic in the living room. Read The Sweet Smell of Christmas with all of your teddy bears.
We do a teddy bear picnic every summer – but I figured an indoor wintery picnic sounded fun too!
December 30th: Re-read a stack of everyone’s all time favorite Christmas books before they get packed away for the year. Share your favorite Christmas memories from this year.
Santa is bringing LOTS of books to our house this year. Can’t wait to share our favorites!
December 31st: It’s New Year’s Eve. Have a story time tea party. Enjoy Cherry Kuchen Bars while you read-aloud A Time to Keep.
Here is my family’s favorite Christmas dessert recipe. I love reading Tasha Tudor’s A Time to Keep at the start of the year – as it goes through each month of the year, ending at Christmastime. Talk about the most stunning illustrations!
December Christmas Read-Aloud Booklist
The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree – David Rubel
Apple Tree Christmas – Trinka Hakes Noble
A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree – Colleen Monroe
Christmas Day in the Morning – Pearl S. Buck
The Christmas Day Kitten – James Herriot
*This story is in the James Herriot’s Treasury for Children*
Paddington’s Christmas Post – Michael Bond
Brambly Hedge: The Secret Staircase – Jill Barklem
*This story is in The Complete Brambly Hedge*
An Orange for Frankie – Patricia Polacco
The Gingerbread Man: Loose at Christmas – Laura Murray
Christmas Tapestry – Patricia Polacco
Carl’s Christmas – Alexandra Day
Tumtum and Nutmeg: A Christmas Adventure – Emily Bearn
*This story is in The Rose Cottage Tales*
The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker – Katy Flint
Cobweb Christmas – Shirley Climo
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! – Dr. Seuss
Tomie dePaola’s Book of Christmas Carols – Tomie dePaola
A Snow Day for Amos McGee – Philip C. Stead
The Gift of the Christmas Cookie – Dandi Daley Mackall
The Night Before Christmas – Clement C. Moore
The Christmas Story – Jane Werner Watson
The Legend of the Candy Cane – Lori Walburg
The Christmas Book Flood – Emily Kilgore
The Sweet Smell of Christmas – Patricia Scarry
Enjoy Your December Christmas Read-Aloud Calendar
Grab your FREE copy of the December Christmas Read-Aloud Calendar by clicking here.
Merry Christmas and Happy Reading!
Leave a Reply