Here are the Christmas unit studies, Advent studies, books, printables and gift ideas our family loves, all in one place, to help you keep Christ at the center of December without a lot of planning.
Tap ♡ Save on anything you’d like to remember, and I’ll email you your list. I refresh this page every year, so bookmark it and come back each Christmas.
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend resources I’ve personally used and trust.
Giveaway
Win A Copy Of Come And Worship
Enter to win a printed copy of Come and Worship, a 25-day Advent devotional for the whole family from Abby at Family Style Learning.
Ends Wednesday, November 18 at 11:59 PM Central.
You’re entered! You have 1 entry.
Want more chances to win? Get a bonus entry for each:
Already subscribed? Tap anyway to claim your bonus entry.
This giveaway has ended. Thank you so much for entering! The winner will be contacted by email.
Christmas Unit Studies & Curriculum
Easy ways to bring Christmas into your school days all December long.
25 Days Of Christmas
A full Christmas curriculum from Where’d You Learn That? that explores Christmas around the world.
Read My Notes
Each day has a card about a Christmas symbol or tradition from around the world, a simple craft or activity, a picture book and a Scripture reading. It’s a longtime favorite in our house, and it’s low-prep enough to carry you through all of December.
New add-on: Christmas Crafts, 25 simple printable crafts for ages 3 to 7, one for each day of December.
See The Unit Study · See The Crafts Add-On · Watch How We Use It
Christmas Day Made Simple
My own low-prep printable unit with Christ-centered read-alouds, discussion questions and activities.
Read My Notes
Use it for one Christmas school day or spread it over a week. It’s great when you want a simpler approach.
Celebrate Christmas Discovery Deck
20 question cards about Christmas traditions from The Waldock Way, each with a QR code to a short video.
Read My Notes
Add it to your current study, or make it your study. Each day pick a card and read the question, let the kids share their ideas, watch the video and have them write down a few things they notice.
See The Discovery Deck (aff link)
Lights, Camera, Holiday Magic!
A Christmas movie study from The Waldock Way that turns 25 classic Christmas movies into fun learning moments.
Read My Notes
It’s a really fun way to learn a lot through movies you already watch.
Full disclosure: there are a few movies on the list I don’t watch with my kids because I don’t love the content. You can easily pick and choose, and read the concepts for the movies you skip.
See The Movie Study (aff link)
Advent Studies
Our favorite ways to slow down and focus on Jesus in the weeks before Christmas. Our top three favorites come first, followed by more options.
Truth In The Tinsel
A resource we’ve used and loved for years. Each day you read Scripture together and make a simple ornament, walking your kids through the whole Christmas story, from the prophecy in Isaiah through the Gospels. We use it all month to keep our focus on Jesus.
Adoration At The Manger & Gifts At The Manger
Two Advent studies from Not Consumed that I recommend together. Adoration at the Manger is a Christmas hymn study unlike anything I’ve seen, and Gifts at the Manger is a 25-day Bible study about the gifts in the Christmas story and the gifts we receive through faith in Jesus.
Adoration At The Manger · Gifts At The Manger (aff links) · Watch My Review
Hallelujah
Cindy Rollins’ Advent study of Handel’s Messiah, with weekly Scripture, hymns and poems plus a daily listening schedule. Excellent for older children.
See It On Amazon (aff link) · Watch My Review
Come And Worship
A 25-day Advent devotional for the whole family from Abby at Family Style Learning. Get the digital copy free when you join her email list, or order a printed copy for $12.
New to us: this one is new to our family, and we haven’t used it ourselves yet.
Christmas Picture Books
We read a lot of Christmas picture books! Swipe or use the arrows to see them all.
Christ-Centered Christmas Books
Books that point our kids to the real reason we celebrate.
The Sparkle Box Katie Recommends
A family fills a sparkly box with their acts of kindness as a gift to Jesus. It’s more than a book for us: it’s a tradition we’ve kept since my kids were little.
See It On Amazon (aff link) · Get My Sparkle Box Kindness Pack
The Legend Of The Candy Cane Katie Recommends
A candy maker shows Lucy how each part of the candy cane tells what Jesus did for us. I love giving kids something they see all December that points them to the gospel.
Heads-up: some editions include one picture of Jesus. If your family holds the conviction of no images of Christ, you may want to skip it or simply cover that one picture. It’s easy to cover.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
My Christmas List Katie Recommends
Amy Parker’s rhyming prayer of a boy wishing for people around the world instead of toys. A family favorite in our home for over a decade.
It can be hard to find, so check your library or a used bookstore too.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Jesus Came For Me
A sturdy board book from New Growth Press that tells the Christmas story in three parts, with Scripture references and questions. Simple enough for little ones, with plenty for older kids too.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The 12 Days Of Christmas
Uses each gift in the song to teach a truth about God, with Scripture references, so your kids think of it every time they hear the song.
Heads-up: this one also has one picture of Jesus that’s easy to cover.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Santa, Are You For Real?
The true story of Saint Nicholas: who he was, why he gave gifts and how he kept Christ at the heart of Christmas.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Christmas Around The World
Books that give kids a peek into other people’s lives and how they celebrate, so they can love and pray for people who are different from them.
’Twas Nochebuena
Follow a Latino family making tamales and getting ready for Christmas Eve together. We’ve had it for years and read it many times.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Christmas Coat
A true story of a girl growing up on a Sioux reservation. It has led to great conversations in our house about jealousy and trusting God to provide what we need.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Tree Of Cranes
A mother shares a bit of her own Christmas with her son by decorating a little tree with paper cranes. It has become a favorite for us.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Lucia Morning In Sweden
All about St. Lucia Day, the Swedish tradition on December 13. We read it and then got to go to a real St. Lucia celebration.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Grandma’s Gift
An award winner about a boy who translates for his grandmother as they shop for their holiday meal. There’s lots of Spanish in it too.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Grace At Christmas
Grace’s family opens their home to a family who can’t get home to Trinidad for Christmas, and Grace learns how beautiful it is to share and serve.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Little Fir Tree
A boy who can’t go out to the forest gets a living Christmas tree from his dad each year. It’s a gentle way to think about people who are differently abled.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Navy’s Night Before Christmas
A funny Navy take on the classic poem that opens up conversations about families with someone serving far from home at Christmas.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Cobweb Christmas
A folk tale told in many countries about how tinsel became a Christmas tradition, and a sweet reminder to visit the elderly at Christmas.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Shooting At The Stars
The true story of the World War I Christmas truce, told from soldiers’ letters, with real photos in the back. Best for ages 8 and up.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
An Ellis Island Christmas
Krysia and her mother sail from Poland to join Papa in America and arrive at Ellis Island on Christmas Eve.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Year Of The Perfect Christmas Tree
In the Appalachian mountains during World War I, Ruthie and her mother keep their promise to bring the town its Christmas tree while Papa is away.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Fun Christmas Read-Alouds
Silly, sweet stories just for fun. We don’t do Santa in our home, but we still enjoy fun Christmas stories like these.
Christmas Farm
A realistic look at what it takes to grow a Christmas tree farm. My kids have a much greater appreciation for real trees now.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
A Porcupine In A Pine Tree
The 12 Days of Christmas with a Canadian twist. My kids find it hilarious, and we read it every year.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
The silly song, illustrated. My kids had me read and sing it to them, and the pictures are so funny.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Cookies For Santa
A fun story from America’s Test Kitchen Kids, with the cookie recipe in the back so you can bake them together.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll
Three sisters during the Depression and just one doll. A sweet reminder that people matter more than toys and gifts.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Jolly Christmas Postman
The Jolly Postman delivers real letters kids can pull out and read, from the Big Bad Wolf and other fairy tale friends.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss’ classic about the Grinch whose small heart grows three sizes.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Mooseltoe
Moose has every Christmas detail planned except one: he forgot the tree.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Bear Stays Up For Christmas
Bear’s friends keep him awake for Christmas, and he discovers that giving is one of the best gifts of all.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
A sweet counting book for the littlest ones as Blue delivers Christmas trees to his friends.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Christmas Chapter Books
Read-alouds for older kids, or the whole family, in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
The Last Holiday Concert
A new favorite in our house! Andrew Clements’ story of Hart, the most popular kid in sixth grade, who ends up in charge of the big holiday concert and learns the difference between popularity and leadership.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Barbara Robinson’s funny classic about the Herdmans, the rowdiest kids in town, who take over the church Christmas pageant without ever having heard the Christmas story.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Vanderbeekers Of 141st Street
Karina Yan Glaser’s story of five siblings who have just days before Christmas to convince their grumpy landlord to let them stay in the brownstone they love.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis’ classic. Four siblings step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land where it’s always winter and never Christmas, until Aslan returns.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Gift Of The Magi On My To-Be-Read List
O. Henry’s classic story of a young couple who each give up their greatest treasure to buy the other a Christmas gift, illustrated by P.J. Lynch.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
The Family Under The Bridge On My To-Be-Read List
A Newbery Honor book about Armand, an old man living on the streets of Paris, who finds a family with three children living under his bridge at Christmastime.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
A Boy Called Christmas On My To-Be-Read List
Matt Haig’s funny, imaginative story of Nikolas, an eleven-year-old boy nicknamed Christmas, and his journey to the far north.
See It On Amazon (aff link)
Want even more? Here are my Christmas book videos from past years.
Christmas Printables From My Shop
Simple, low-prep printables to help keep December meaningful and fun.
Christmas Bucks
Kids earn Christmas Bucks by helping around the house in the weeks before Christmas, then use them toward gifts. A fun way to teach responsibility, hard work and the joy of giving.
The Sparkle Box Acts Of Kindness Pack
A companion to The Sparkle Box with a DIY Sparkle Box craft, 50+ acts of kindness ideas, record cards and Scripture memory activities.
Winter Brain Games
41 pages of cozy, screen-free logic puzzles, word searches and more for morning baskets, quiet time and the days around Christmas break.
Save Your Christmas List
Tap Save on any of the Christmas books and resources you like. When you’re ready, I’ll email you your list with where to find each one.
Nothing saved yet.
Christmas Gift Guides
Gift ideas from our big homeschool family: educational gifts, board games, books and stocking stuffers.
Board Game Gifts
We’re a board game loving family, and games are some of our favorite gifts to give.
More Gift Ideas
A Free Printable For Family Movie Nights
The Great Christmas Movie Showdown
Our family’s favorite Christmas movie tradition, ready to print. Everyone picks a movie, the dice decide what you watch each night, and your family crowns the Ultimate Christmas Movie of the year. Includes 20 family movie ideas, score cards and a leaderboard.