12 Best Biblical Christmas Books to Read with Babies and Toddlers

For some reason, I can’t get enough of Christmas this year! I was actually kind-of glad that Thanksgiving was a week early so we could put up our Christmas tree sooner and play holiday music on Pandora!

One tradition we have during this season is to read through a special group of books that only appear during the month of December.

The kids look forward to the Christmas books and cuddling up on the couch by the lighted tree to read along with me. There are a lot of stories about Christmas out there and I’ve tried to choose those that are meaningful and teach the story of Christmas according to the Bible. Here are TWELVE of our favorites! 

12 Meaningful Bible-Based Christmas Books for Babies and Toddlers

1. Tonight You Are My Baby – Mommas, get out the Kleenex. I actually found this in a Scholastic catalog last year and I cry each time I read about the Christmas story from Mary’s perspective. I think of how much I love my kiddos and how much Mary must have loved her little boy.

2. Room for a Little One – The illustrations in this book are really unique and our whole family enjoys the story of all the weary animals who find their way into the stable before the donkey brings the special guests–Mary and Joesph (and soon baby Jesus!).

3. Who is Coming to Our House? – A cute story about how the animals clean their stable for a special visitor. This is a great book for the older children to read to the littlest ones!

4. Song of the Stars – This is actually a new addition to our collection this year. This is an excerpt from the description on Amazon: The long-awaited child had arrived! Creation cried out in celebration, but only a few people heard. Only a few joined nature’s chorus, a song in praise of the newborn King.

5. The Christmas Story – Just a straight-up account of Jesus’ birth. I loved this book when I was little and the pictures really capture my children’s attention.

6. J is for Jesus – This book explains how the candy cane represents Jesus’ birth and the gospel message!

7. The Crippled Lamb – A story about God’s plan for a crippled lamb named Joshua. Prepare to shed a few tears (once again).

8. The Nutcracker – A classic Christmas story; this particular version has beautiful illustrations and is popular even with young children.

9. Bear Stays up for Christmas – This is a sweet book about the lengths Bear’s friends go to in trying to keep him awake until Christmas morning.

10. The Pine Tree Parable – The Pine Tree Parable tells the story of a farmer and his family who nurture seedlings into Christmas trees, offering them to their neighbors and learning about Christ in the process. Easiest for ages 2 and up to understand.

11. The First Christmas: Lift-a-Pop Board Book – A simple story engages toddlers with lift-a-flap pages where they can learn and enjoy the traditional telling of Jesus’s birth and the meaning of Christmas.

12. A Star for Jesus – In this rhyming, oversized die-cut board book featuring a star, young readers learn the story of the Christmas star and how it led the wise men to Jesus, and why stars can remind us of Jesus’s birth year-round.

What are your little ones’ favorite Christmas books? I’d love some new ideas, so feel free to share some in the comments!

You may also like….