Counting till Christmas

This year we have decided to do a book advent "calendar." We have a regular one that is a little house, but it never seems that fun for everyone. I thought this year, we'd try books. Every night we get to unwrap one and read it. 24 different books in a row. No reading Elf on the Shelf 12 times in a row! I used some books we already had, bought a few new ones, and my sister actually found about half of them for $1 each at the flea market. I figure I can catch some on sale after Christmas to replace the ones we end up not loving or that we grow out of.
All 24 of the books are wrapped and read to be opened. (Do you have any idea how long it takes to wrap 24 little book? I bet my back can tell you after sitting on the floor doing it!) They are all in a basket, along with this Frosty that my little boy LOVES, waiting a spot under the Christmas tree.  Several of my Facebook friends wanted to see the finished list so here it is!

1. The Christmas Story - Jane Werner
2. Christmas in the Manger - Nola Buck
3. Bear Stays up-Karma Wilson
4. The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Suess
6. Clifford's Christmas - Norman Bridwell
7. The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas-Justine Korman
8. The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear-Stan & Jan Berenstain
9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-Robert May
10. Christmas Trolls-Jan Brett
11. Santa's Favorite Story-Hisako Aoki
12. Olive, the Other Reindeer-J. Otto Seibold
13. The Nutcracker-Rita Balducci
14. The Christmas Story with Ruth Morehead's Holly Babes
15. Frosty the Snowman-Steve Nelson
16. Mouse's First Christmas-Lauren Thompson
17. Christmas Surprises-Lucinda McQueen
18. Little Porcupine's Christmas-Joseph Slate
19. Franlkin's Christmas Gift-Paulette Bourgeois
20. Arthur's Perfect Christmas-Marc Brown
21. Little Critter I Smell Christmas-Mercer Mayer
22. Country Angel Christmas-Tomie dePada
23. Biscuit's Christmas Ever-Alyssa Saton Cappercilli
24. The Night Before Christmas-Clement C. Moore

This is not the order we are reading them in, and it is not all of the Christmas books we have. I left out some that we like to read alot, like The Jolly Christmas Postman. I also left out several that only the baby would enjoy and some that were characters like Max and Ruby and the Care Bears. I think it would also be fun to just do 12 days. You need less books that way! Maybe start small and expand your collection after Christmas...or better yet, books for Christmas gifts! Let me know if you have a favorite that's missing from our family library!