Christmas Books for Babies, Toddlers & Preschoolers

A list of the best picture books, board books, classic books and character Christmas books for your baby, toddler or preschooler! Unique and beautiful books to add to your Christmas book collection or to use for a Christmas Book Advent Calendar.

All of the books below are linked to Amazon and are affiliate links which means that our family earns a small amount at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Christmas Picture Books

The Christmas books in this section were carefully chosen. I wanted to find some unique and beautiful books that also have a great story, yet are simple enough to hold children’s attention.

When Santa was a Baby: A cute story imagining what Santa must have been like as a baby. This is one that will be enjoyed by all ages of believers!

How to Pick a Pine Tree: Another beautiful story that could be shared by the whole family.

Mice Skating is a beautifully illustrated story about a mouse who wants to go out and ice skate instead of being stuck inside for winter–what young child couldn’t relate? 😉

Over and Under the Snow I like to include some “winter themed” books in our Christmas book advent calendar. This is a nonfiction picture book all about what animals do in the winter!

First Snow Simple text and beautiful illustrations all about the magic of the first snow of the season.

The Christmas Tree Who Loved Trains A fun book that is perfect for all “choo choo” lovers!

Classic Christmas Books

These books have withstood the test of time and are sure to be favorites for years to come!

The Night Before Christmas There are many versions of this classic story available, but I love this large padded board book version because of its nice size, durability and classic illustrations.

The Polar Express Is a magical Christmas must read!!

The Gingerbread Man This classic story is another must in your collection and the perfect excuse to bake some gingerbread men! 😉

Santa’s Toy Shop Little Golden Books are great for adding to your collection because they are classic and inexpensive (less than $5!). This is a magical story all about Santa’s workshop.

Christmas Board Books

These smaller books are sturdy and durable, but still have substantial stories and illustrations that make them worth adding to your collection!

Jingle Bells I ordered this book in September when I first came across it because I LOVE the idea and I know Henry will too! It has the “Jingle Bell” lyrics and comes with bells to shake! Not to mention, the retro inspired illustrations are so, so cute.

All of Jill Howarth’s books! I ADORE all of her books, but her Christmas ones are especially beautiful. I love the retro style illustrations and that the text is perfect for little ones. Her Christmas books include, The ABCs of Christmas, The Colors of Christmas and The 12 Days of Christmas.

First 100 Christmas Words This is another book that we got for Henry this year. He is just starting to get interested in words and talking, so this will be a great one to help him learn some new Christmas words!

Where’s Santa Claus? These felt lift-the-flap books are the BEST for babies and toddlers because they don’t tear! Henry loved these books starting around 8 months and continues to love them as he is approaching two. And unlike his other lift-the-flap books, they are all still intact!

First Stories: Nutcracker This colorful rendition of The Nutcracker has cute illustrations and lots of interactive elements to keep your little one’s attention!

The Itsy Bitsy Snowman Henry love the books in this series! They are all written so they can be sang to the tune of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. Plus the illustrations and storyline are cute and engaging for little ones!

Christmas Songs Song Book: This is technically a board book, but is one that will be loved for years! What little one doesn’t love pushing buttons or listening to music? I love this particular book because the Christmas songs don’t have words, so it isn’t too annoying to listen to on repeat 😉 but it is also fun to sing the songs together!

Favorite Character Christmas Books

It’s also fun to find Christmas books with your little one’s favorite characters!

If you have a Pete the Cat lover, be sure to get Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas (so fun!)

If your little one loves The Little Blue Truck, then Little Blue Truck’s Christmas is a must!

Biscuit books are always a hit at our house and Biscuit’s Pet & Play Christmas is no exception!

Thomas the Train fan? Be sure to check out Thomas’ Night Before Christmas!

Don’t forget to check out this post for more details on making a Christmas Book Advent Calendar, more book ideas AND to download free labels for your books!

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