Image of young girl on her bed reading what appears to be a Christmas book - concept of beautiful Christmas picture books

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Spoiler Alert: This list is filled with THE MOST BEAUTIFUL Christmas picture books I have ever seen. The stories are a bit of everything – classic, new, and even funny. But the illustrations in each of these Christmas stories is beyond gorgeous and will draw in readers of every age. These Christmas picture books for kids will delight all – preschool through upper elementary ages and beyond! Don’t make the mistake of thinking picture books are only for little kids!

a collage of book covers from Christmas themed picture books

During the first holiday season of the pandemic, local bookstores were struggling to stay in business. Luckily, our favorite local bookstore did something genius! They offered a book a day for Advent. We so enjoyed it that year, that I’ve kept it up for the last couple of years on my own!

What they did was fabulous! They hand picked books for each family that ordered – based upon the ages and interests of the children. We got many picture books and even some chapter books. Each one was beautifully and individually wrapped with a number on it – one through twenty-four. And they were so beautifully curated that every one was a hit.

I wanted to do the same for you by curating this list of over and above the top gorgeous Christmas picture books.

an image of Christmas books with ornaments and candy canes

My list here is exclusively Christmas picture books – but if you collect your own books, you definitely don’t have to be limited to “Christmas.” Think about books about different holidays during December – Kwanza, Hanukka, Diwali, Festivus, Boxing Day, St. Lucia Day, Los Posadas, and even winter solstice. Don’t forget there are some fascinating historical events that took place during the holidays – laying down of arms during WWI; the owlet stuck in Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree; Pearl Harbor; the first manned flight to orbit the moon; and so many more. You can even toss in some non-fiction books!

But whichever books you decide upon, don’t forget these two words: HOT. CHOCOLATE.

Drinking Chocolate Recipes Galore!

I’ve collected 20 decadent drinking chocolate recipes for you. There’s something for every taste bud – Andes hot chocolate, pink hot chocolate, oreo cream filling, instapot, and on and on.

enjoy!

And, this list of winter picture books perfectly fits the bill as well! So pick one, some, or all and enjoy a snuggle by the fire. Oh! And don’t forget some hot chocolate!

  1. The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits: A Christmas Story for Advent

    Grump the Yule Tomte lives all alone, which is exactly how he likes it! He's waiting for Christmas to arrive when all of a sudden a gust of wind steals his mittens from the washing line and his hat from his head. That's the last straw -- he won't be the Yule Tomte any more!

    Binny and Barty, the rabbit children, live with their family in the forest. They've never heard of Christmas, or the Yule Tomte, until the wind brings them some strange gifts…

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  2. Every Other Christmas

    After his parents’ divorce, a young biracial child spends every other Christmas celebrating the differing traditions between the African American and Colombian sides of his family.


    The years the child spends Christmas in Illinois with his mother's family, he crafts with his cousins and grandmother and decorates the front yard with Grandpa. They put an angel on the top of the tree, which is decorated with all of the handmade ornaments Grandma has saved throughout the years. They shop at the mall, sit on Santa's lap, and sing "Silent Night" at Christmas Eve mass with the whole family.


    During the holiday seasons he spends with Dad's family in Colombia, the family decorates Abuela's tree with crystal and glass ornaments, Papa Noel visits all of the cousins at Abuela's house, and they eat arroz con pollo, arepas, bunelos, and tamales for dinner (and you can't forget Abuela's silky-smooth cinnamon hot chocolate!). They enjoy a fireworks display the week before Christmas and sing "Noche de Paz" at Christmas mass.


    No matter where he is for Christmas, he is surrounded by family, fun, and most importantly, love.

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  3. Little Red Sleigh: A Heartwarming Christmas Book For Children

    The Little Red Sleigh has one big dream―to one day become Santa's big red sleigh! But all her life, she's been told she's too small, she's too young, she can't fly, and she certainly can't meet Santa. Well, this Christmas, with the help of some friends, she's determined to do the impossible. Little Red Sleigh is a heartwarming children's Christmas book you'll want to read again and again. Full of winter joy and holiday magic, this charming Christmas story will remind readers of all ages that no dream is out of reach if you believe.

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  4. The Tree That's Meant to Be

    A small, crookled fir tree is left all alone after the others near it in the forest are chosen by families as Christmas to bring home. But when the forest animals gather around the lonely little tree to cheer it up and celebrate the season, it finds the warmth of the holidays in the heart of a cold, snowy forest.

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  5. The Christmas Owl: Based on the True Story of a Little Owl Named Rockefeller

    When Little Owl’s home is cut down by people saying it will make a beautiful Christmas tree, she’s not sure she wants anything to do with Christmas, whatever that means. But then she is saved by a woman named Ellen, whose house is merrily decorated for the holiday, and filled with birds who need someone to care for them. Surrounded by kindness and helpful new friends, Little Owl begins to wonder if Christmas might not be such a bad thing after all….

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  6. Santa in the City

    It's two weeks before Christmas, and Deja is worried that Santa might not be able to visit her--after all, as a city kid, she doesn't have a chimney for him to come down and none of the parking spots on her block could fit a sleigh, let alone eight reindeer! But with a little help from her family, community, and Santa himself, Deja discovers that the Christmas spirit is alive and well in her city.

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  7. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

    Christmas is here and Mr. Willowby's tree has arrived. There's just one big problem: The tree is too tall for his parlor! He cuts off the top so it will fit, and soon the top of that tree is passed along again and again to bring holiday cheer to all the animals in the forest.

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  8. Red and Lulu

    Red and Lulu make their nest in a particularly beautiful evergreen tree. It shades them in the hot months and keeps them cozy in the cold months, and once a year the people who live nearby string lights on their tree and sing a special song: O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. But one day, something unthinkable happens, and Red and Lulu are separated. It will take a miracle for them to find each other again. Luckily, it’s just the season for miracles. . . .

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  9. The Carpenter's Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Center Tree

    Opening in Depression-era New York City, The Carpenter's Gift tells the story of eight-year-old Henry and his father selling Christmas trees. They give a Christmas tree to construction workers building Rockefeller Center and celebrate together. Through the kindness of the construction workers and neighbors, Henry gets his wish for a nice, warm home to replace his family's drafty shack. He plants a pinecone from that first Rockefeller Center Tree. As an old man, Henry repays the gift by donating the enormous tree that has grown from that pinecone to become a Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. After bringing joy to thousands as the Rockefeller Center tree, its wood will be used to build a home for another family in need.

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  10. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey

    Jonathan Toomey is the best woodcarver in the valley, but he is always alone and never smiles. No one knows about the mementos of his lost wife and child that he keeps in an unopened drawer. But one early winter’s day, a widow and her young son approach him with a gentle request that leads to a joyful miracle.

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  11. Great Joy (midi edition)

    It is just before Christmas when an organ grinder and monkey appear on the street outside Frances’s apartment. When it’s quiet she can hear their music, and when she looks out her window at midnight, she sees them sleeping outside. Finally the day of the Christmas pageant arrives, but when it’s Frances’s turn to speak, all she can think about is the organ grinder’s sad eyes — until a door opens just in time, and she finds the perfect words to share. 

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  12. Too Many Tamales

    Christmas Eve started out so perfectly for Maria. Snow had fallen and the streets glittered. Maria's favorite cousins were coming over and she got to help make the tamales for Christmas dinner. It was almost too good to be true when her mother left the kitchen for a moment and Maria got to try on her beautiful diamond ring . . .


    This is the story of a treasure thought to be lost in a batch of tamales; of a desperate and funny attempt by Maria and her cousins to eat their way out of trouble; and the warm way a family pulls together to make it a perfect Christmas after all.

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  13. An Orange for Frankie

    The Stowell family is abuzz with holiday excitement, and Frankie, the youngest boy, is the most excited of all. But there's a cloud over the joyous season: Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and Pa hasn't returned yet from his trip to Lansing. He promised to bring back the oranges for the mantelpiece. Every year there are nine of them nestled among the evergreens, one for each of the children. But this year, heavy snows might mean no oranges . . . and, worse, no Pa!

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  14. Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever

    Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.

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  15. Oskar and the Eight Blessings

    A refugee seeking sanctuary from the horrors of Kristallnacht, Oskar arrives by ship in New York City with only a photograph and an address for an aunt he has never met. It is both the seventh day of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve, 1938. As Oskar walks the length of Manhattan, from the Battery to his new home in the north of the city, he passes experiences the city's many holiday sights, and encounters it various residents. Each offers Oskar a small act of kindness, welcoming him to the city and helping him on his way to a new life in the new world.

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  16. The Christmas Pine

    Deep in a snowy wood stands a little pine tree with a special destiny: when it grows up, it’s going to be a fabulous Christmas tree! The tree travels far across the sea to shine in a city square. Crowds gather to admire it, children sing carols around it, and the tree brings joy and the spirit of the season to all who pass by.

    Inspired by the annual journey of London’s Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square, this story includes back matter detailing the tree’s history as a gift to the United Kingdom from the people of Norway in remembrance of the UK’s support during World War II – an enduring symbol of friendship and peace.

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  17. Pick a Pine Tree

    Part of the magic of the Christmas season stems from the traditions that families and friends take part in every year: hanging up stockings; putting lights in the windows; and, one of the most important of all, picking out and taking home the Christmas tree. Joyously drawn and rhythmically written, this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday season is as merry as the tradition it depicts.

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  18. The Little Reindeer (My Little Animal Friend)

    When a jingling sound wakes her from her sleep, a little girl’s dreams come true when she meets a lost reindeer in the forest. They set off on a magical adventure and it becomes a Christmas never to forget.

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  19. The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

    Christmas always comes to Nella’s house, but Santa Claus brings gifts only once in a while. That’s because it’s the Depression and Nella’s family is poor. Even so, Nella’s hoping that this year she and her two sisters will get a beautiful Baby Betty doll.


    On Christmas morning, the girls are beside themselves with excitement! There is Baby Betty, in all her eyelash-fluttering magnificence. “Mine!” Nella shouts, and claims the doll for herself. But soon she discovers that Baby Betty isn’t nearly as much fun as her sisters. 

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  20. The Christmas Cat

    It is Christmas Eve. An abandoned gray cat shivers alone in the cold, snowy forest. Not far away in a warm and cozy farmhouse, Jason anxiously asks his brother Nate if Santa Claus will be able to come in such bad weather. But soon the bitter wind stops howling and the sound of sleigh bells rings clearly through the woods. Neither the cat nor the boys know it, but a small Christmas miracle is about to occur....

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  21. Christmas Tapestry

    When a leak ruins the sacristy wall in his father’s church, Jonathan Jefferson Weeks thinks Christmas Eve service will be ruined. Luckily he and his father find a beautiful tapestry, perfect for covering the damaged wall and giving the church a festive look! But then, an old Jewish woman recognizes the beautiful cloth. Her discovery leads to a real miracle on Christmas Eve.

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  22. Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury

    I was afraid that I was going to have to just call this post "all the Christmas books by Jan Brett." Fortunately, other people wanted the same thing!

    This deluxe Christmas collection is the perfect holiday gift! It includes seven of Jan Brett's most beloved Yuletide titles: The Night Before Christmas, Trouble with Trolls, Christmas Trolls, The Mitten, The Hat, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and The Wild Christmas Reindeer.

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  23. The Christmas Tree Ship

    It was November of 1912. With Captain Herman Scheunemann at its helm, the Rouse Simmons set off from the small Northern Michigan town of Manistique with its traditional load of trees bound for Chicago. The captain would sell the trees for 50 cents or $1.00 and even gave many away to needy families. The ship had been affectionately nicknamed the Christmas Tree Ship. Using stories she loved to hear her grandfather Axel Anderson tell, author Carol Crane weaves this heartwarming fictional tale based on the true events of the little schooner carrying up to 5,000 trees.

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  24. The Real Santa

    It’s not Christmas without Santa! But what does Santa truly look like? Does he match the figurines on the mantel, or the faces on our favorite

    holiday sweaters? Does he look like you or like me?

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  25. Gifts of the Heart

    Richie and Trisha want to buy Christmas gifts for their family, but they don't have enough money. Enter Kay Lamity, a new housekeeper . . . but is that all she is? She comes into their lives like a whirlwind, brimming with positive energy and a can-do attitude. Kay not only straightens them out when it comes to whether or not Santa Claus is real, she teaches them something about gifts: the just-good-enough kind that come from the pocketbook and the unforgettable kind that come from the heart. Because of Kay, Trisha and Richie—and the family—have a Christmas morning they will never forget.

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  26. A Very Mercy Christmas (Mercy Watson)

    When Stella gets the sudden idea to go caroling, she has a little trouble getting someone to join her. Her brother, Frank, is not good at spontaneity. The Watsons are very involved in a precarious fruitcake attempt (but happy to send their pig, Mercy, out for the occasion). Eugenia Lincoln declines, a bit rudely, to accompany on her accordion, and Horace Broom is too busy studying planetary movement. Will Stella need to sing by herself—with enthusiastic contributions from the pig, the cat, and the horse she picks up on the way? Or does the evening hold a miracle Stella hadn’t expected? 

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  27. The Wishing Tree

    Theo loves everything about Christmas—from the twinkling lights to the merry carolers . . . and don’t forget about Santa! But with days before before December 25th, there isn’t even a single holly in sight.

    Determined to show his town what Christmas is all about, Theo finds ways to share his holiday cheer. And along the way, with a little help from the magical wishing tree, Theo discovers the true meaning of Christmas and a new holiday tradition.

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  28. Last Stop on the Reindeer Express

    Christmas is coming but Mia has no time to send the card she made to Grandpa, who lives far away. But when she stumbles across a magical mailbox, Mia finds herself inside the Reindeer Express and is whisked away on an exciting voyage over many exotic lands, reaching Grandpa just in time. Young readers will love opening doors that lead into the next page, peeking through holes into the next scene, and opening the card that Mia made for Grandpa. 

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  29. When Santa Was a Baby

    Santa's parents think their little one is absolutely wonderful, even though he has a booming voice instead of a baby's gurgle, loves to stand in front of the refrigerator, gives his birthday presents away, trains his hamsters to pull a matchbox sleigh ... and has an unusual interest in chimneys. 

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  30. An Otis Christmas

    It's Christmas eve on the farm where Otis and all of his friends live. The farmer has given Otis his first real Christmas present--a shiny new horn! A tree has been decorated, a big snowstorm is on its way, and all of the animals are excited. Best of all, one of the horses on the farm is about to give birth to a foal! Yet in the middle of the night the horse begins neighing in pain and when the farmer says, "We'd better get Doc Baker out here or we'll lose 'em both," Otis knows the horse is in trouble. Snow has been falling hard for hours and the roads are unpassable. How will they got Doc? Otis to the rescue! He knows a shortcut through the woods and he arrives at the doc's house flashing his headlights and revving his engine. When Doc fails to awake, Otis uses his new horn. Then, with Doc in tow, he races back to the farm just in time for a Christmas miracle . . . and the arrival of a new friend to play with.

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Enjoy this delightful list – many of which I hope are new to you. You’ll notice that I omitted some of the more obvious choices, such as The Polar Express, The Night Before Christmas, or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I wanted to give you a list of books for you to hopefully find some new traditions to cherish.

pin this so you can come back each time you need a new book!

a collage of book covers from Christmas themed picture books