Christmas Books

Did you read Christmas books as a child? What were your favorites?

Here are some that were well-loved in my family:


The Sweet Smell of Christmas: 

The story is cute, but the book is SCRATCH N SNIFF! All the Christmas smells are there: candy canes, hot cocoa, pine, oranges. I think my sister and I ruined it with all of our scratching, so I was very relieved that it came back into print a few years ago.

The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry:

This is a lovely edition of the classic Christmas tale of a couple who sell their most-prized possessions to afford to buy gifts for one another. BUT, there's a twist...

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

Chris Van Allsburg is one of my favorite picture book writers (I am hoping Santa brings me a copy of the new Chronicles of Harris Burdock book for Christmas), and while this is perhaps his most well-known book, it's absolutely lovely. I wish train rides were always the way they're depicted in the book.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

It's a classic for good reason.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

Every Christmas Eve, my sister still insists we read this aloud as a family. The cover is a bit different than our version at home, but I believe it's the same illustrator. With so many editions to choose from, this one seems cozy and warm.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

While all of the other tales are Christmas specific, "The Mitten" is just a sweet, fun, winter tale.







The Night Before Christmas

New Music

One of the best things about December is that all of the "best of" lists for the year come out. I'm always looking for new music, so was pretty excited when I saw this list from Paste Magazine with the 50 best albums of the year.

What are your favorite songs / albums of the year?

Happy Holidays

Now that it's December, I'm starting to get into the holiday spirit. How cute is this new ad for the John Lewis department store? I love it.

Documentaries

Though I generally enjoy documentaries, I find I only watch them occasionally. However, I've seen some really great-looking previews lately. Has anyone seen any of these?  Are any of them on your list of movies to see?

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
I can't upload a video to this directly, but here is the trailer for the first full-length film about Chinese artist, Weiwei: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. I think it looks amazing.



Being Elmo:

 I Believe I Can Fly: