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December is my favorite month for reading with toddlers. The days are shorter, everyone is a little cozier, and a basket of holiday books by the couch turns into the easiest daily ritual you will ever start.
These are 20 Christmas and winter books toddlers actually ask for again and again. I have grouped them by age and type, from sturdy lift-the-flap board books for one-year-olds to longer picture books for preschoolers, and paired each one with a simple play idea to bring the story off the page.
📖 Christmas Board Books for 1- and 2-Year-Olds
Short, sturdy and interactive. Flaps, textures and simple words are exactly what little ones need at this age.
1. Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present? by Karen Katz
A cheerful lift-the-flap book where Baby searches all over the house for a Christmas present. The flaps are big and easy to lift, and toddlers love guessing what is hiding behind each one.
Play idea: Hide a small wrapped toy somewhere in the room and play your own “Where is the present?” game after reading.
2. Dear Santa by Rod Campbell
A child writes to Santa asking for the perfect present, and each flap reveals a gift that is not quite right, until the very last page. It is a holiday version of the classic Dear Zoo, with the same satisfying repetition.
Play idea: Wrap a few toys in tissue paper and let your toddler unwrap them one by one, saying “too big!” or “just right!”
3. That’s Not My Reindeer… by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells
A touchy-feely board book with a different texture on every page: fuzzy, bumpy, shiny and soft. Perfect for babies and young toddlers who explore with their hands.
Play idea: Make a texture basket with a soft scarf, a pinecone (supervised) and a crinkly ribbon. You can find more ideas in our Montessori treasure baskets guide.
4. Merry Christmas, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond
The mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie celebrates Christmas, from decorating the tree to waiting for Santa. Short sentences and familiar characters make it a great first holiday book.
Play idea: Count the ornaments on your own tree together, or let your toddler hang a few shatterproof ones on the lowest branches.
5. Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry
Little Blue Truck delivers Christmas trees to all of his animal friends. The rhyming text and gentle counting make it a favorite read-aloud for truck-loving toddlers.
Play idea: Pull out the toy trucks and “deliver” pinecones or small toy trees around the room. Pair it with a Christmas sensory bin full of trees and scoops.
🎄 Christmas Picture Books for 2- to 4-Year-Olds
Longer stories with a little more plot, perfect for snuggling up before nap or bedtime.
6. Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
Bear usually sleeps through winter, but this year his friends help him stay awake for Christmas. The rhyming text is a joy to read aloud, and the message about giving is sweet without being preachy.
Play idea: Wrap a “gift” for a stuffed animal together, just like Bear does for his friends.
7. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Little Llama gets overwhelmed by all the holiday waiting, shopping and wrapping, until Mama reminds him what matters most. Very relatable for toddlers (and parents!) in December.
Play idea: Talk about big feelings: “Llama felt too excited. Have you ever felt like that?” Then take three deep “candle breaths” together.
8. How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
Silly dinosaurs show how not to behave at Christmas, then how to do it right. Toddlers love the giant dinosaurs and the funny “Does he…?” questions.
Play idea: Act out the right and wrong ways together: gentle hands with the tree, patient waiting for presents, saying thank you.
9. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
A playful twist on the Gingerbread Man, with Jan Brett’s detailed illustrations and a fold-out gingerbread house at the end that toddlers love to open.
Play idea: Make gingerbread people from brown gingerbread playdough with cookie cutters and act out the chase. Our Christmas crafts for toddlers has more gingerbread ideas.
10. Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Stick Man gets carried farther and farther from his family tree, until a surprise visitor on Christmas Eve helps him home. From the team behind The Gruffalo, with the same wonderful rhythm.
Play idea: Go on a nature walk to find your own stick man, then add yarn arms and googly eyes.
11. Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh and J.otto Seibold
Olive the dog mishears a famous Christmas song and decides she must be one of Santa’s reindeer. Best for older toddlers and preschoolers who know the song.
Play idea: Sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” together and see if your child can hear why Olive got confused.
❄️ Winter Books Toddlers Love (Great All Season Long)
These are not strictly Christmas books, so they work from December all the way through February.
12. The Mitten by Jan Brett
Nicki drops a white mitten in the snow, and one by one, forest animals squeeze inside. Toddlers love predicting which animal comes next and waiting for the big sneeze at the end.
Play idea: Use a big sock or a paper mitten and let your toddler “squeeze” in toy animals one at a time. It is a great sequencing and counting game.
13. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Peter wakes up to snow and spends the day exploring it: making tracks, snow angels and a snowball for his pocket. A Caldecott Medal classic that captures the wonder of a first snow.
Play idea: No snow where you live? Make our 2-ingredient fake snow and let your toddler make tracks with toy animals and fingers.
14. Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner
What do snowmen do while we sleep? Sled, skate and drink cocoa, of course! Look for the hidden pictures in the snowy illustrations.
Play idea: Build a mini snowman from playdough or cotton balls and invent what your snowman does at night.
15. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
While Bear sleeps through winter, his animal friends sneak into his cave for a party. The repeating line “but the bear snores on” is perfect for toddlers to chime in.
Play idea: Play “sleeping bear”: one person snores while everyone else tiptoes, until the bear wakes up!
16. Dream Snow by Eric Carle
A farmer dreams that snow is covering his animals, then wakes up on Christmas morning. The see-through pages let toddlers “lift” the snow off each animal.
Play idea: Cover small toy animals with tissue paper “snow” and let your toddler uncover each one.
17. Snow by Uri Shulevitz
A boy and his dog believe the snow is coming, even when the grown-ups say it will not. A gentle Caldecott Honor book about wonder and patience.
Play idea: Look out the window together and talk about the weather today. Is it sunny, windy, rainy or snowy?
⭐ Classic and Faith-Based Christmas Books
18. The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
The classic poem that so many families read on Christmas Eve. Choose a board book edition for toddlers, since the full text is long.
Play idea: Make it a Christmas Eve tradition and read it in the same spot every year.
19. Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck and Felicia Bond
A simple, rhyming board book that tells the nativity story from the animals’ point of view. Gentle and short enough for the youngest listeners.
Play idea: Set out a child-safe nativity set and let your toddler place each figure as you read.
20. Room for a Little One by Martin Waddell and Jason Cockcroft
One by one, animals find shelter in a stable on a cold night, until there is room for one more very special little one. A quiet, beautiful bedtime read.
Play idea: Build a “stable” from a shoebox and invite stuffed animals inside, one at a time, saying “there is room for you, too.”
🧺 How to Make a Christmas Book Basket
A book basket is the easiest holiday tradition I know. Here is how I set ours up every year:
- Pick 6 to 10 books, not 30. A small basket gets read more than a full shelf.
- Keep it low and face-out so your toddler can see the covers and choose on their own.
- Wrap them (optional): some families wrap one book a night as a 24-book countdown. Board books are the easiest to wrap and re-wrap.
- Rotate in winter books after Christmas so the basket lasts through January.
- Check your library first. Holiday books go fast, so place holds in early November.
💡 Tips for Reading With Toddlers
- Let them turn the pages, even if they skip a few.
- Read the same book again (and again). Repetition is how toddlers learn language and feel confident.
- Pause and let them fill in repeated lines like “but the bear snores on.”
- Point and name: “Look, a reindeer! What sound does the bell make?”
- Short is fine. Two minutes of reading together counts.
Want more ideas like these? Our list of the best read-aloud books for toddlers has favorites for the whole year.
❓ Christmas Books for Toddlers: FAQ
What are the best Christmas books for 1-year-olds?
Board books with flaps or textures work best: Where Is Baby’s Christmas Present?, Dear Santa, That’s Not My Reindeer and Merry Christmas, Mouse! are all short, sturdy and interactive.
What are good Christmas books for 2-year-olds?
Two-year-olds love rhyme and repetition. Try Little Blue Truck’s Christmas, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Llama Llama Holiday Drama and The Mitten.
What Christmas books are good for preschoolers?
Three- and four-year-olds are ready for longer stories like Stick Man, Gingerbread Baby, Olive, the Other Reindeer and Snowmen at Night.
How many books should be in a Christmas countdown?
Twenty-four or twenty-five if you unwrap one a night, but you do not need 24 new books. Mix library books, books you already own and a few new favorites. Rewrapping last year’s books works beautifully too.
Are there non-religious Christmas books for toddlers?
Yes. Most of the books on this list are secular, and the winter books (The Mitten, The Snowy Day, Snowmen at Night, Bear Snores On, Snow) work for any family celebrating any winter holiday.