Dec 09 2008
Holiday traditions – give the gift of reading
As I unpacked our Christmas decorations this year, I realized we’ve amassed quite an assortment of Christmas books, everything from Santa Mouse to President Jimmy Carter’s Christmas in Plains
. I love holiday books and hope to share recent releases here at My Readable Feast in the days leading up to Hanukkah and Christmas.
To start off, we have a guest post from Laura Bridgwater, an award-winning journalist and radio commentator from Colorado. Hear Laura’s latest radio spot, Thanksgiving Makeover.
Give the Gift of Reading This Holiday
Every family has its holiday traditions. Our family, being descended from the species known as bookworms, collects holiday books. Each year, on the day after Thanksgiving, we unpack a large red basket that is bulging with books, from Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
to O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi
. We also bring out a Christmas quilt that is embroidered with words from The Night Before Christmas
. (We really are bookworms, possibly descended from the Gutenberg branch.)
Reading the stories from our basket of books has become as much a part of our holiday activities as baking cookies or trimming the tree. In the hustle and bustle of December, it’s relaxing to curl up under the quilt with a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, a book in the other, and a child on your lap or in the crook of your arm.
Our collection started with a handful of books from my days as a classroom teacher, and over the years it has slowly grown. We purchase books at garage sales, used book sales, used book stores, and we buy new books, too. (There’s something special about being the first one to open a book.)
So find a basket, tie a big bow on the handle, add your first book, and give the gift of reading and a new tradition this year. The bookworms in your family will thank you.
4 Responses to “Holiday traditions – give the gift of reading”




Oh, I had forgotten about Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins! That is such a fun story. We are bookworms, too … maybe we’re related. Happy holidays!
My grandsons LOVE Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins! They love being read to anyway. I’ve always bought them books at thrift stores and yard sales, and their mama does, too. They have tons of books at home, plus they frequent their local library. It pays off, as my six-year-old grandson now reads to his little brothers. He’s also reading way above grade level, too.
I’ve reserved a copy of Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins at the library. With everyone’s stellar recommendations, I have to check it out!
The authors will thank you, too, for giving books!
I love that our holiday book selection grows each year. We haven’t gotten out our decorations just yet, but I’m tempted to dig out the books, if nothing else, this weekend. Maybe a few good holiday stories will melt my scrooge-of-a-husband’s heart and the decorations will soon follow!