A Sweet + Simple Holiday Book Tradition

This is a short message to tell you about a sweet little holiday book tradition you may want to implement in your classroom as a countdown to winter break. I appreciate any ways to make the holidays special without fuss, and this simple activity builds excitement for reading while celebrating the joy of the season—with no stress.

I’d call that a festive little win-win. 

 A holiday book countdown (similar to an advent calendar) may not be new to you, but if it is, let me give you a short rundown:

Choose ten special books to share during the last ten days of school before winter break. They can be holiday/winter themed, titles that evoke warmth and coziness, or just books you love sharing with students but haven’t yet had a chance to read aloud. You can choose books you already have, grab a few from the school or local library, splurge on an Amazon haul, or source your Goodwill bookstore. (And it doesn’t even have to be ten days! You can just do the last five days of school– or perhaps you want to go hog wild and countdown more than ten! Totally up to you!) 

Gather a few other teacher friends after school, put on some holiday music, and start wrapping! (Or wrap at home with WINE and The Holiday.) You can use festive wrapping paper, tissue paper, or paper bags tied with string, or whatever else you have on hand! I’ve seen teachers place books in paper grocery bags and then staple them shut—really anything will work! You don’t even have to batch wrap; you can wrap one book each day and then place them in a different location in the classroom for students to find each morning! 

Don’t forget to number each book so it becomes a true countdown to winter break. I like to match up certain books with certain days (for instance, I want to make sure I read Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins on the day I’ve planned to play the dreidel game or Snow the day we read in a snowstorm, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas on the day we perform the reader’s theater) so I number the books accordingly. I created some numbered tags (see below) but you can always write numbers with a Sharpie and call it a day. 

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualified purchases.*

Here are some other ideas to make your book countdown super special:

• If you decide to batch-wrap, designate a special place to keep all of your wrapped books so that you can build anticipation and students can wonder about the titles.

• String Christmas lights or battery powered fairy lights around your rocking chair or reading area.

• Allow students to bring in a blanket or stuffed animal for the month of December that they can use to snuggle up with while you read. They can only come out during read-aloud time!

• Set up battery-powered tea lights around your reading area. 
  
• Play holiday jazz in the background. YouTube is a great resource for music!
  
• Better yet—put on holiday jazz WITH a crackling fireplace!

What are your favorite ways to celebrate the holidays in the classroom?

yours in reading,
rawley