9 Books To Get Into The Christmas Spirit

There are so many ways to get into the mood for the holiday season. From decorating to baking to movie marathons, the list is endless. Me being me, love to read Christmas-themed books from all eras and all categories. So if you are anything like me, grab your hot cocoa, the fuzzy sweater and one of the books from this list to get in the holiday mood.

Wishin' and Hopin'

Wally Lamb

Set in 1964 Connecticut, a substitute teacher and a new Russian student ensure that Mouseketeer Annette Funicello's less-famous cousin has a Christmas he'll never forget.

This book not only embodies the joys of the holiday season but it also sheds light on the typical catholic schooling of the 1960s. What can I say, I'm a sucker for period pieces!

Let it Snow

John Green, Maureen Jhonson, Lauren Myracle

The stories are The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson, A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green, and The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle. The book follows three different teenagers as they experience a huge snow storm in the town of Gracetown during the Christmas season.

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol is about a mean-spirited and selfish old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas. One cold Christmas Eve, Scrooge is unkind to the people who work for him, then refuses to give to charity, and then is rude to his nephew when he invites him to spend Christmas with him.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

The story follows the lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details their passage from childhood to womanhood. The book records their adventures for a whole year from one Christmas to the next, making it a perfect holiday read for all ages.

The Night Before Christmas

Nikolai Gogol

Written in 1831, this dark tale relates the adventures of Vakula, the blacksmith, in his fight against the devil, who has stolen the moon above the village of Dikanka and is wreaking havoc on its inhabitants, all to win the love of the most beautiful girl in town. The basis for many film and opera adaptations, and still a story traditionally read aloud to children on Christmas Eve in Ukraine and Russia.

The book shares its title with the famous childrens' poem and is equally a perfect holiday read.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.

Set in a land that is perpetually in a state of winter and is ruled by the White Witch, this book gives off the vibes of a perfect Christmas.

Letters From Father Christmas

J R R Tolkien

For more than twenty years, the children of J.R.R. Tolkien received letters from the North Pole - from Father Christmas himself! They told wonderful stories of mischief and disaster, adventures, and battles: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place, how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house, and many others.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Agatha Christie

In Hercule Poirot's Christmas, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder. The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons and their wives return home for Christmas. But a heartwarming family holiday is not exactly what he has in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults and finally announces that he is cutting off their allowances and changing his will. Poirot is called in the aftermath of Simeon Lee's announcement.

The Gift of Magi

O Henry

One dollar and eighty-seven cents is all the money Della has in the world to buy her beloved a Christmas present. She has nothing to sell except her only treasure--her long, beautiful brown hair. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century, this classic piece of American literature tells the story of a young couple and the sacrifices each must make to buy the other a gift.