Many parents are troubled by the commercialization and secularization of Christmas. If you are looking for books that show the “reason for the season” check out these two offerings by Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, a leader in Christian children’s communications.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth by Daley Mackall takes kids back to the origins of another Christmas tradition – the baking of Christmas cookies to share with friends, neighbors, and the less fortunate.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth shows kids that Christmas is about helping others and sharing the spirit of Christmas giving. The story is about a child named Jack, follows young Jack during a Christmas season during the Great Depression. Jack’s father has hopped a freight train West, hoping to find work, and wont’ be home for Christmas.

Jack is surprised to find his mom baking cookies to give away to needy people a church. Treats are a luxury his family has done without for  long time. While he helps his mother make cookies, she tells him the story of the Christmas cookie. He learns that the real gift of the Christmas cookie isn’t just sharing with a homeless man, but sharing the love of Jesus with him as well.

I liked this simple story because it explains to children the joy in giving during Christmas and how God gave us his only Son. It also shows that Christmas isn’t all about getting presents and stuffing your face, but helping others, too.

The Christmas Cookie Recipe

The Christmas cookie tradition originally sprung from Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland where craftsmen carved special molds into shapes symbolic of Bible stories.

Simple Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups sifted flour
2. 3 cups powdered sugar
3. 4 eggs
4. 1 teaspoon baking powder
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla
6. 1 teaspoon anise extract

Directions:

1. Stir all the ingredients.
2. Let the dough stand for two hours.
3. Then roll out the dough. Imprint with cookie cutters or use a designed rolling pin, or press into molds.
4. Let them sit while the oven preheats to 325 degrees.
5. Bake on greased baking sheets for about 15 minutes.
6. Place on a rack to cool.

More books from Zonderkidz

Another Zoderkidz Christmas book is We Believe in Christmas . What is Christmas really about? Find out why we place the star on the Christmas tree, and let the song “Silent Night” help you imagine the night Jesus was born. 

The book shows how the secular side of Christmas like shopping, Salvation Army kettles, and Santa are a reflection of the true Christmas sprit of giving and Jesus’ birth. Written by Karen Kingsbury, this book is for children ages four through eight.

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