Our Favorite Christmas Books 2020

With my oldest daughter, we started the tradition of letting her open a new Christmas book on Christmas Eve to read before she goes to bed. Between the books from my childhood and some I kept from my elementary classroom, we have quite a collection of Christmas books over here! And thankfully, my girls love them as much as I do. Today, I'm sharing the books my girls are loving this Christmas. Many of these are heavily discounted right now. You still have time to grab one if you need it for Christmas Eve!

Click on any title or picture to be directed to the book!

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Avery - 14 months old

Elmo's Christmas Hugs - We are big into all things Elmo right now, so to say that she loves this book is an understatement! Make Elmo decorate trees, play the piano, and give his friends a hug. It's CUTE. 

Christmas Surprise - We're at the stage where any book with flaps is an instant hit. I love this one because it has real pictures of Christmas objects and answers questions in complete sentences...great for language development! It also has a handle at the top to make it easy for toddler traveling all over the house, ha!

Babies Love Christmas - I mean, it's in the title! More flaps, more fun Christmas things. My baby loves it, I'm sure yours will, too!

Christmas in the Manger - I really love this illustrator, Felicia Bond! Her books are always so kid friendly and cute. This little rhyming book introduces all the characters in the nativity story. Somehow we got our hands on this book in July and we've been reading it ever since, ha!

The Itsy Bitsy Angel - It's what it sounds like - a Christmas remake of the Itsy Bitsy Spider but with an angel. It's about a little angel discovering the nativity story. It's really cute and catchy!

Ella Mae- 4 years old

Clifford's Christmas - I feel like Clifford will always be a classic! (P.S.....all the shows are on Amazon Prime Video!) She adores Clifford and we've read this no less than 85 times already this season. 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell - She thinks the "Old Lady" series is hilarious! She giggles and giggles and talks about how silly it all is. It's also a short read which is a plus, ha!

Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas - If you have a Pete the Cat lover in your house, you need to order this ASAP! My big girl has asked almost every grown up that has been in her house to read this to her and sing along, so be prepared for that! 

Merry Christmas, Curious George - Another classic character we are obsessed with. We love all the movies, shows, and books! Your George loving kid will ask for this book on repeat. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - ahh, a classic!! I'm so glad she loves this one as much as I do! She loves all 3 versions of The Grinch movies. She loves to see Grinch decorations. She HATES to see the Grinch in person, ha! I think this story will always be a favorite in her heart, though. 

Are your kids loving any of these this year? Which one is your favorite?

Christmas Crunch

 

WARNING: this stuff is addicting!!!

It's easy. 

It's delicious.

It's great for a crowd. 

It's great to bag up and give as gifts.

It's great to eat a whole bowl on the couch during movie night......oops. 

I promise you'll want to make this ASAP!

Yummmmmmm. Here's the step-by-step:

Go ahead and start melting your vanilla almond bark in the microwave. About 9 squares will do. Start with 60 seconds, stir, and then melt in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. 

While the vanilla almond bark is melting, mix together your cereal, marshmallows, and pretzels in a large bowl.

Once the vanilla almond bark is melted and smooth, combine it with the cereal mixture and lay on wax paper on a rimmed cookie sheet. Add the sprinkles on top. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then, break into smaller pieces.

In a gallon sealable bag, pour in half the cereal mixture and half the powdered sugar and give it a good shake. Add it into a bowl/container, and then repeat with the other half of the cereal mixture and powdered sugar. 

Mix in the holiday M&Ms and it's good to go!

Find the original recipe from Chex HERE

Christmas Crunch

• 6 cups Chex cereal
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup mini pretzels
• 15 oz vanilla almond bark (about 9 squares)
• 3 tbsp holiday sprinkles
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 cup holiday M&Ms

1. Line large rimmed cookie sheet with waxed paper. In large bowl, mix cereal, marshmallows and pretzels.
2. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave almond bark uncovered on high 60-90 seconds, stir, and then heat in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth. Pour onto cereal mixture; mix well.
3. Spread mixture on the cookie sheet; cover with holiday sprinkles and cool completely, about 15 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces.
4. In a gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, add half of the coated cereal pieces and powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake to coat. Remove from bag and repeat with the other half of the cereal and powdered sugar.
5. In large serving bowl, mix coated cereal mixture and chocolate candies.