December is the perfect month to wrap up some picture books to read aloud throughout the month! Every day, students get excited to see the surprise book of the day and look forward to the unwrapping. It’s the classroom version of unboxing!
There are SO many books to read in December, from the many holidays to gingerbread and animals in winter, but in this post, I’ll share my favorite Christmas picture books and activity ideas to go with them!
You can grab any of the ideas shown in my 12 Days of Christmas Read-Alouds pack.
*You can click on most titles below to purchase the books via Amazon or visit my December book list HERE. These are affiliate links, which means I earn a small percentage if you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. I always only recommend resources I love!
Of course, you can also check your library for these titles instead of buying and sometimes you can find read-alouds on Youtube!
5 Fun Ways to Unwrap your Christmas Picture Book of the Day
Before I share my top picks, I wanted to share some ideas to make your daily UNwrapping extra fun!
- Hot Potato Game with Holiday Music- Play a festive song while students pass the wrapped book around. When the music stops, the student holding the book gets to unwrap it.
- Build-a-Snowman Title Reveal– Like hangman, but building a snowman instead, using the book’s title. Once the class guesses the title, unwrap the book and dive in!
- Special Delivery from an Elf– Pretend a mystery elf delivered the book. Leave a fun note or small “footprints” leading to the hidden book for students to find and unwrap.
- Props or Picture from the Story– Show a key prop or an image that hints at the book’s story. Let students guess what the book might be before unwrapping it.
- Use as a reward – Choose a student of the day or great listener!
Now, let’s get to the books!
Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Siebold and Vivian Walsh
This book just makes me crack up because I ALWAYS get lyrics wrong! And “ALL OF the other reindeer” sure sounds like “OLIVE,” the dog’s name! So I would probably make the same mistake that Olive the dog made, in thinking the song was about her. 🤣
When Olive mishears the song and thinks she’s a reindeer, she joins Santa’s team and ends up saving the day!
Activity Ideas:
Have students write why they would be a great Santa’s helper. I loved reading my students’ “job applications”- so cute and funny!
Discuss cause & effect in the story (One of my favorite parts is when Olive thinks she’s flying but it’s because they’ve tied her to the sleigh!)
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
These circle stories are a classic and this one is super cute and can start a discussion on holiday traditions!
Activity Ideas:
This is another great story for cause and effect, of course! Sequencing what the mouse asks for is also a great activity, and
Predict what would happen next if the story were to continue or write their own ending.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Colandro
Similar to the classic “Old Lady who swallowed a Fly,” the old lady swallows a series of items and at the end, she whistles, and the items come out to form Santa’s sleigh and team.
Activity Ideas:
We love sequencing this story and placing pictures of the items into the mouth! You can make the paper bag lady show below and use the cards to “feed” her!
There Was a COLD Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro
Another book in the series, this follows the same pattern of swallowing items that eventually come back up by hiccupping.
This one is easier to predict so I like to stop at the page that shows all the items and ask kids to predict what will come out when she hiccups- a snowman!
Activity Ideas:
You can sequence this story as well, then compare and contrast both stories to each other!
Make a class version! (or individual student versions). Brainstorm holiday things, then have kids write the “ingredients” and ending to their own version of this classic story!
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for many years, you’re likely familiar with this story! I LOVE setting the scene while reading it- dimmed lights, low holiday music, hot chocolate and cookies… so cozy and fun! I also make “tickets” that I hole-punch as kids line up and we pretend we’re the Polar Express as we march around the classroom with jingle bell necklaces!
Activity Ideas:
After our classroom “Polar Express” train ride above, the students imagine they’re in the North Pole and write descriptively about it.
We also sequence the story with the fun craft below.
Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini
This book goes to show that no matter how much you plan, something can still go wrong! But with a little problem-solving, everything will be ok! Moose plans every detail for Christmas, but forgot to get a tree! When he can’t find one anywhere, he comes up with the ridiculous idea of using mousse to shape his long hair into a tree. So silly and fun!
Activity Ideas:
Great for story elements- discuss and have students identify the characters, setting, problem, and solution.
Decorate their own Mooseltoe tree (more below)!
OK, we know during the holiday season, we could all use a little break! I LOVE this activity for when you could use a little breather too! Kids LOVE decorating Moose’s hair like a tree and I loved that it took them a long time! LOL Most kids love to color and will use every single piece to color, cut, and paste onto Moose’s hair tree.
But it’s great for fine motor skills, of course! Plus, afterwards we incorporate math with a graph of all the pieces they used AND they write to describe their “Christmoose” tree. See? Cross-curricular activity win!
It’s also the perfect activity for a sub!
The Hat by Jan Brett
Hedgie the hedgehog gets a sock stuck on his head and the other animals tease him, but then the animals all place clothing on their heads too!
Activity Ideas:
This story is full of opinions of the other animals- although unsolicited!- so it’s a great book for teaching fact and opinion and having kids sort statements.
Also great for cause and effect, as well as character analysis!
A fun activity would be to dress up and accessorize animals (paper ones, that is!).
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Written by the same authors as The Hat, this story is a little similar in that it involves a group of animals in a snowy setting, and the animals take turns in appearing. In this story, though, the animals pile up into a mitten one by one, until the mitten bursts.
Activity Ideas:
We love acting this story out! Kids play the animal roles and huddle up together until the “mitten” bursts and they all jump up into the air.
You can have kids act out, sequence, and retell the story with the mitten craft below.
Camouflage: Since the boy in the beginning of the story couldn’t find his mitten because it was white, it’s also a great book for discussing camouflage and have kids draw other things that might blend into a snow scene. This leads to our Animals in Winter unit!
The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth
Who doesn’t love the classic gingerbread man story?! This one is my favorite one of the original story (although I love many of the variations of the gingerbread man stories!) I like the rhythmic refrains and the poem ending when he gets eaten!
Of course, this is the perfect story for sequencing, and for identifying story elements: character/ setting/ problem/ solution
You’ll find activities for both skills in my 12 Days of Christmas Read-Alouds pack.
The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
I have one more book by Jan Brett in this roundup! I love all things gingerbread, but I especially love this one because of the beautiful pictures and the gorgeous gingerbread house you unfold at the end of the book!
It’s the gingerbread man, but a baby because the oven door is opened before he’s fully baked!
Such a cute story and I have WAY too many gingerbread activities to share all here, but make sure to read my post on Gingerbread Activities!
In my December Christmas Read-Alouds pack, I include a compare/contrast activity to use with the gingerbread story above, and a gingerbread man and house to decorate!
A New Improved Santa by Patricia Rae Wolff
In this story, Santa suffers from the same desire many of us do every January- we want to get in shape! LOL He sets out on a mission to improve himself, but gets carried away with wacky versions of himself that don’t quite work out. He realizes he was the best just the way he was (and he’s still improved because now he’s smarter!).
Activity Ideas:
Design a new look for Santa! Have students draw and write about Santa’s look before and after their makeover- so silly and fun!
Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor
Fancy Nancy books have a special place in my heart because my daughter just LOVED them when small (and once she “decorated” my entire house with glitter because she wanted to make it fancy like Nancy!! 😵
Besides my personal bias, these books are perfect for teaching rich vocabulary!
This one is also great for sharing Christmas traditions, and for designing fancy ornaments, tree-toppers or gingerbread houses!
These 12 Christmas picture books are perfect for bringing holiday cheer and meaningful lessons to your classroom. From Olive’s determination to Fancy Nancy’s festive flair, there’s something for everyone. Which one will you read first? Let me know your favorite!
To get all the activities from this post, here’s my Christmas Read-Alouds pack!
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