Bookish Christmas Fun

Are you looking ahead to a Christmas that doesn’t involve extra family and friends as much as previous years’ celebrations? Perhaps you usually travel, but this year you’ll be home.

We know that Christmas vacation may look a little … empty this year. We spend a lot of time before Christmas meditating on Advent and looking ahead to celebrating the Incarnation. But the days just after Christmas? What will you do when you are stuck at home and the “weather outside is frightful”? When the hubbub of Christmas preparation has died down, the presents are opened, the feast consumed?

Bookish Christmas Fun

The 12 Days of Christmas, Book-Style is one answer to the “what do we do now?” question. Members, you can download a set of 12 activity cards, and use the ideas below on the appropriate days.* Not a member? Feel free to pilfer at will from the activities below, even if you don’t match them to a colorful card.

*Members, look for the 12 Days of Christmas as your December printable at your Member pages: Silver Key page. Golden Key page.

Fine print: We are participants in the Amazon LLC affiliate program; purchases you make through affiliate links like the one below may earn us a commission. Read more here.

BOOKS ABOUT SNOW

Preschool-Elementary: Check out our Winter Storytime List

Older Kids:

FOOD AND RECIPES FROM BOOKS

Check out recipes online or in your favorite cookbooks, or look for some of the literary cookbooks at your local library—put them on hold now!

MAKE SOMETHING FROM A BOOK

Check out some craft or activity books from the library and have the book + supplies ready to go. Not a crafty type? Don’t worry—all you need for some origami is printer paper, a pair of scissors (to cut the paper into a square), and directions! Many of these are written directly to kids, so you can make a cup of tea and grab your own book while they get to work.

  • The Dangerous Book for Boys (amazon link; this is a RR staff favorite and we reference it a lot! Kids can learn codes, build stuff, and more with this book)
  • Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction (amazon link; there are 4 books in this fun series and kids LOVE them: secret agents, ninjas, weapons of the dark ages, spitball warfare…)
  • Ultimate Slime (amazon link)
  • Junk Drawer Physics (for your aspiring engineers and kids who love to see how things work)
  • LEGO books are in the 688 and 790 sections in your local library
  • Origami books are in the 736 section in your local library
  • Craft books are in the 754 section in your local library
  • Drawing books are in the 740s section in your local library (this is a good option if you have children or teens who are into comic books and graphic novels)

FAVORITE MOVIES BASED ON BOOKS

We might complain that a screenwriter didn’t get it quite right, but most of us enjoy watching movies based on favorite books. Here are some RR staff favorites. Age recommendations are general; you know your children best! A good rule of thumb is that if a child isn’t ready to read the book, he or she should definitely not watch the movie!

(Links are to IMDB. We encourage you to read reviews if you’re unfamiliar with a particular movie; commonsensemedia is a good source of movie reviews for parents.)

ALL AGES

MIDDLE GRADES AND TEENS

What other movies-based-on-books has your family especially enjoyed? Do you have favorite craft or activity books to recommend?

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Stay Up to Date!

Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.

Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.

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Betsy Farquhar

Betsy is the Managing Editor at Redeemed Reader. When she reads ahead for you, she uses sticky notes instead of book darts and willfully dog ears pages even in library books. Betsy is a fan of George MacDonald, robust book discussions, and the Oxford comma. She lives with her husband and their three children in the beautiful Southeast.

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2 Comments

  1. Heather on December 3, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    My favorite is The worst Christmas pageant ever! I think the movie is only on dvd. I love the book and movie!

  2. The Warren & the World Vol 8, Issue 45 on December 5, 2020 at 3:00 am

    […] Are you looking ahead to a Christmas that doesn’t involve extra family and friends as much as previous years’ celebrations? Perhaps you usually travel, but this year you’ll be home.We know that Christmas vacation may look a little … empty this year. We spend a lot of time before Christmas meditating on Advent and looking ahead to celebrating the Incarnation. But the days just after Christmas? Read more […]

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