Happy Holidays! One of my favorite things to do during December is to cuddle up in a chair with a cup of coffee and a book. Oh wait…that’s every month. But especially in December. If you need a cozy book for the holidays, below are some of my favorite holiday-themed books (mostly Christmas ones) for all ages.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
If you like your Christmas stories cozy but with a goodly helping of terror and regret, this is for you. It’s not nearly as intimidating as most of Dickens’ books, either – it is much shorter and has a smaller cast of characters. Delicious Christmas dinners, bone-chilling ghosts, and life-changing epiphanies abound.
My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins
This is a collection of holiday-themed Young Adult stories. There is a lot of coziness, family, and romance, a smattering of humor, a dose of struggle, and a few terrifying monsters. The overall quality of writers/stories is very strong. I’m not an avid short story fan but even I could get along with most of these. Some of them are SO COZY I COULD DIE. I especially recommend the stories by Gayle Forman, Kiersten White, David Levithan, and Stephanie Perkins.
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
During the holidays, Dash finds a notebook full of challenges on a New York City bookstore shelf, left there by a girl named Lily. They begin to trade the notebook back and forth with various challenges. This is a fun light snowy read with romance and absent families and romance.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Or
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I want to put pretty much all of the “Little House” on this list because they all have excellent Christmas chapters. But these two from the beginning of the series are really good and chock-full of pioneer Christmases with oranges and snow and coziness. Laura and her family live in a tiny cabin in the woods and Almanzo and his family live in a big house on a horse farm, and they both have awesome Christmases.
Jotham’s Journey by Arnold Ytreeide
Jotham, a young shepherd, is kidnapped and sold into slavery (WAIT WHERE IS THE COZINESS) and has to escape and find his way back to his family who are headed to Bethlehem for that one census you might have heard about. It’s aimed at families and best when read aloud. If you need an Advent book, and/or if you have kids, and/or if you like suspenseful stories with adorable characters and tidy endings and terrifying bad guys and jolly rescuers, this is a really fun book.
Morris’ Disappearing Bag by Rosemary Wells
In this picture book, Morris and his siblings are enjoying their Christmas presents to different degrees. But then Morris finds a Disappearing Bag under the Christmas tree and has adventures, and soon his brother and sister want in on the action. IT’S THE BEST.
Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble
This is a beautifully-illustrated picture book about a very important apple tree and the family that loves it, but especially the little girl who loves to draw. There are cozy meals and cozy presents and scary snowstorms.
What books did I miss? What’s your favorite book to re-visit for the holidays? Let me know in the comments!
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