Christmas Books for Children

For us, the best thing about Christmas is being snuggled up in new PJ's on Christmas Eve, with a book in hand and treats to eat and drink. Of course, Christmas Day is tons of fun and to see children's faces light up when they get their gifts from Father Christmas is priceless but we love the anticipation of it all. It is easy to get caught up in the mayhem of toys, turkey and tinsel on Christmas Day, so Christmas Eve is a great way to take time out as a family to relax and get in the mood for what is to come. Once you have finished wrapping all of your presents and prepped your sprouts, pop on a pair of PJ's (Kyna Boutique is our favourite for kids and we can't resist a pair of Cath Kidston's for adults)

For a cold winter evening, Cleo in the Snow is a fun book to read to babies and young toddlers. The book sees friends Cleo and Casper playing outside and discovering magical white flakes falling out of the sky. It may not snow in your region of the world this year but children will delight at the thought of what the first experience of snow may feel like. We dream of a white Christmas each time we read this book!

If you are looking for a traditional Christmas Stories with a twist, Babushka is a fun story that can be simply read aloud or acted out in the style of The Nativity. The book introduces children to Babushka, a woman who is so busy focusing on the little things, that she hardly notices the miraculous events going on around her. This touching Christmas story shows that the more you give away in love, the more you will receive. We love the bright and engaging illustrations, by the brilliant Sophie Fatus, in this book as they really help the book come alive.

For Independent readers Winter Shadow is a glorious tale to be read on a cosy night in by the fire. We read this at out first book club of 2014 and it left the whole group in tears, bittersweet tears nothing too deep! The book follows the story of a young girl who stumbles upon a wolf cub and goes on to raise it, until it finally needs to return to the wild. A book that adults and wolf lovers will enjoy just as much as children.

Other favourites for Christmas and winter include, A Skip Through the Seasons, a great book for toddlers and young children to learn about the changing weather and what to expect during winter. For older children, The Abominable Snowman' is a modern retake on the traditional tale and The Snow Queen is one of the most well known fairytales of all time, particularly as it was the base story children's favourite Frozen.

All of these books are wonderful tales that will give children the gift of stories for Christmas, something that cannot be replaced.

Christmas Gift Guide: Books and gifts for Under 5's

With trees almost bare and woolly hats aplenty, December is fast approaching and shops are full to the brim already. If you are just starting with your Christmas shopping or want to tie up the loose ends by shopping online, here is the first of our Christmas Gift Guides. Over the next few days, we will share our ideas on what we think will make great presents for little bookworms. A book is a lovely present for Christmas; one that will last long past the time when the batteries run out of those noisy toys that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Barefoot Books have a great selection of gift anthologies for children of all ages, including Playtime Rhymes for Little People, lovely collection of stories for babies and toddlers

For toddlers, who sing traditional rhymes off by heart, why not try out Barefoot's singalong books. With lots of titles in the series, including the bestselling The Animal Boogie, you are sure to find a book to suit every little personality. If you are looking for a more substantial present, there is a great selection of ' Dazzling gift sets', featuring this cool ' Shiver me Timbers ' set.

If it is a traditional winter book that you are looking for, there is a great selection of books over at Barefoot, such as 'Babushka' and Cleo in the Snow. There is also small collection of Christmas books over on our Little Scribbles' Stories site. Our favourite is this beautifully illustrated 'Christmas at the Toy Museum', in which the toys in the museum learn the true value of Christmas, aaahhh.

If your bookshelves are piled high with books ( you can never have too many) then you will love the selection of bookends over at Little Scribbles' Stories. Add a little organisation and a whole cuteness, with these bus bookends

To complete your storytelling session, this lovely fox cushion is great for little bottoms to get comfy on as they settle down with their favourite book, a gift with a funky difference.

Of course, no Christmas would be complete without games. With a selection of co-operative boardgames available over at Barefoot, you can introduce children to family games and have a little fun yourself. This fishing game is also a great idea for very young children

If you are new to Barefoot Books, just enter TWENTY13 at checkout to get 20% off. For new Little Scribbles' Stories customers, enter NEWSCRIBBLES to get 20% off. Happy Christmas shopping!