Christmas Book Resource Page

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BOOK COVERS REVEALED: SOME OF THE NEWEST ADDITIONS TO MY CHRISTMAS BOOK RESOURCE PAGE

Artwork by Ruth Sanderson

Tomorrow, November 15th, marks the first day of Advent for those of us who are Eastern Orthodox Christians. Remember to comment on any blogs I've posted since November 12, 2012 to enter my Advent Calendar Give-away. Enter as many times as you'd like - by commenting here, or on my facebook page.

Here are some picture books I'm adding to my Christmas Book Resource Page this year. I highlighted pictures from the books on yesterday's post, so if you couldn't guess which books the illustrations were from, I've revealed the book covers below...

#1 - Olivia with the Nutcracker from...

#1 Olivia Helps With Christmas, written and illustrated by Ian Falconer. Everyone's favorite little Pig helps out Mommy and Daddy with Christmas - or does she?

#2 - St. Lucia, from...

#2 The Story of Christmas, by Barbara Cooney, illustrations by Lorett Krupinski. Cooney relates traditions from around the world that have led us to the Christmas celebrations we have today.

#3 - Writing postcards, from....

#3 Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards, by Kevin Major, illustrated by Bruce Roberts. (my review here)

#4 - Romantic Christmas scene, from...

#4 A Star for Christmas, written and illustrated by Trisha Romance. If you love all things Scandinavian, you'll love her old fashioned Carl-Larsson-style illustrations. (read about the book here)

Do These Illustrations Look Familiar?

I'm in the process of updating my Christmas Book Resource Page. The stories are lovely, but the illustrations really inspired me to add these books to the list this year - do any look familiar to you? (The first one is the easiest - would you like to take a guess as to the books or illustrators?)

Check back tomorrow (11/14/12) for the names of the illustrators and book titles that I'll be adding to my 2012 Book Resource Page. And be sure and look at my post on November 15th - I'll announce the winner of my Advent Calendar Giveaway (comment here on this post to enter the Giveaway).

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN - ALREADY?

source: onecharmingparty (right click)

Why am I posting about Christmas early in November, before we've even celebrated Thanksgiving?
My husband and I drove past our huge local shopping mall a couple of nights ago and could hardly believe our eyes: the shops and parking lot were all decked out for Christmas!

[photo sources: OC Register]

It can be challenging to find ways to help children keep their focus on the birth of Christ during the annual "Countdown to Santa/Christmas Presents" that our frenzied culture of consumers gets so caught up in. Well, thank goodness for another kind of countdown: Advent, a time of joyous expectation.
Advent means "coming" or "arrival", referring to the coming of the Christ Child as Messiah. It is a time of waiting and of preparation.

For Western Catholic and Protestant Christians, the season of Advent doesn't start until the fourth Sunday before Christmas. But for me, an Eastern Orthodox Christian, Advent - also know as the "Nativity Fast" - begins on November 15th every year, lasting 40 days.

In helping to mark off the anticipated days leading up to Christmas, many families enjoy using Advent Wreaths with candles and Advent Calendars with little windows to open ~~(look for my Advent Calendar GIVE-AWAY here or at the end of this post).~~ Give-away over 11/15/12

Some devotional books you might consider using during your Advent Countdown...

A daily prayer and activity book for families
during Advent. Link here (right click)

This book has a story for each night of December.
description here (right click)

A great resource during Advent, with Christmas
traditions, recipes, and crafts from many different countries.
right click to browse inside

Make an Advent Calendar of Christmas Books:

I'd like to share some ideas for incorporating beautiful Christmas picture books into your family traditions during this time of anticipation. It takes a little planning, but it's worth the forethought and effort...

1- You need to determine how many books you need - this will depend on how many days leading up to Christmas you'd like to do this activity (i.e. during all of Advent, during the month of December, or just the last two weeks leading up to Christmas).

2- Choose the books. Gather Christmas books you already have (add some library books if you don't have enough of your own - just be sure to label and read the ones from the library first, so they won't be overdue). This is also a nice way to start collecting Christmas picture books - buy a few a year to add in! Click here for my Christmas Book Resource Page, if you need book recommendations.

photo source

3- Wrap the chosen books in Christmas paper and number each book according to which day you want your child to open and read each one. [If you're very ambitious, you could number envelopes to adhere to the books. Inside you would put a card with either an Advent activity, craft, or bible reading written on it. Refer to the 3 books I mentioned at the beginning of this post for ideas. Or - look here for Christmas crafts from Crafty Crow, and here for Orthodox readings for 40 Days of Advent].

Source here (right click)

4- Put the wrapped, numbered books in a special place...
Some families put them in a basket by the fireplace, ready for a book to be chosen and read each night.

source: The Blackberry Vine

You might want to put them under the Christmas tree - opening and reading the last one on Christmas Eve and replacing with presents for Christmas morning...

source: babyjaynes (right click to open new window)

You could line them across your fireplace mantel...

This ambitious idea is from Babycinno (right click)

Or on bookcase shelves...

from Sarahjanestudios (right click)

Whatever you choose, have fun. And don't miss MY ADVENT GIVEAWAY 2012: An Advent Calendar with artwork by Ruth Sanderson from Monastery Greetings. Leave a comment on this post and go HERE for details.

~~HOW TO ENTER:~~ Giveaway over 11/15/12 - Congratulations to Marianthy (mom2eleni)!

~~1- Leave a comment here or on any of my blogs posted from November 12, 2012 through November 14, 2012.~~

~~2- "Like" or comment on this post (or any others I post from 11/12-14/12) on Facebook.~~

~~3- Share this post from my Facebook page to yours, to enter your name in the drawing twice.~~

CHRISTMAS BOOK RESOURCE PAGE

I have organized my favorite Christmas books by age groups and subject. Right click on the titles (they will highlight in red) to read my past posts with reviews about each book. At the end of this post, I've listed helpful books and resources for parents.

CHRISTMAS BOOKS FOR TODDLER-PreK:

God Gave Us Christmas