10 Children's Christmas books that Should Be in Your Home Library

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Are you looking for some new, fun Christmas stories?  Looking for some books to use to make Christmas
memories?  Here are some of my favorites and why I like them.  Most are under $10, one is under $2.50, so you won't break the bank to add one or more of these to a stocking this year!  While I'm sure you have heard of some of these, I expect a few will be new ones to you, and hopefully they will turn into beloved favorites like they have here!

Total Christmas Makeover by Melissa Spoelstra

FTC disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Total Christmas Makeover By Melissa Spoelstra.

Normally I don't care for devotionals.  I went to a Christian college, so I have quite extensive Bible knowledge.  Also, I have been through a lot in life, and it seems often devotionals that are so fluffy it is like they are reminding women that God loves them even on a bad hair day.  If I can find one that is just right for me, then the picking up the book, reading one devotional, bookmarking it, setting it back down, and then having to find it the next day often seems a little too much trouble.  (Thankfully this is now remedied with e-books.)

But Christmas.  I have always loved Christmas.  I don't have kids, plus very little family.  The last few years I have just spent Christmas Day by myself, taking a nap, reading a book, or even working.  My husband gets time and a half on Christmas and we live too far from any family to be able to visit, so the last few years, Christmas has been like any other day to us.

Descriptions and Prescriptions by Michael R Emlet

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I studied psychology in college.  I didn't expect this book to be anything new to me, but I wanted to read it to see how the concept was presented to pastors and other church leaders in helping those who are mentally ill.  Mental illness is a real -- it's not something we can say to them everything would be fine if they just pray more -- in fact instead of helping, that can be harmful in discouraging the truly sick to avoid going to a psychiatrist.  My grandmother landed in the hospital multiple times over her life because her pastor encouraged her to go off her medication -- without consulting her doctors or being weaned off of it.  Then there are times that someone knows there is a sin issue causing them problems and a pastor just says to go to Christian counseling.  Can there be a good balance between faith and trust in God and medicines that help improve functioning?  I believe so.  And I am happy to say that the author of Descriptions and Prescriptions thinks so as well.

Don't Kill The Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life

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 In  Don't Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, Sandra Beasley presents a sad but at the same time humorously written account of life with multiple food allergies.  Weddings?  As careful as she is, nearly half of them have left her gasping for air during an allergic attack.  Traveling overseas?  Don't forget plenty of meds, they may not have the same food items available.   

What a joy when a doctor relative gifts you with six months of allergy samples -- or they make them in a different way by compounding medicine.  While this is a memoir, I learned a lot about food allergies and some of the theories behind them. Do Bambas help reduce the risk of nut allergies? Did you know that China doesn't have the incidence of peanut allergies the United States does?  Does dry roasting peanuts make a difference in the higher rate of peanut allergies in America?  While that's not known, she does present some interesting facts about food allergies sprinkled through the book.

Macular Degeneration Can Happen in Any Family

My dad was a volunteer fireman for  nearly 50 years.  He first volunteered because his town had so few firefighters that they allowed the boys to leave school if there was a fire if they had joined.  So, naturally, what sixteen year old didn't want to get out of school?  He signed up, and volunteering because his lifeblood.

By the time I was ten, he had a slew of health problems from heart disease to high cholesterol to diabetes.  The one thing that no one was very concerned about at that time was the health of his eyes.

My mom grew up around books and as a child she plunked out stories on the 1915 Oliver typewriter her family owned from the coal mine business.  As I grew up she wrote stories for me, which I treasure.  She would love to read of an evening, and as a child on winter evenings we would curl up together on the couch under an afghan each of us with our own book and a cup of hot chocolate.  She didn't get her eyes checked regularly because it wasn't covered under her insurance.

Making the Dinner Table Family Time

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I think most of us have always thought that sharing a meal together is good for spirit, brain, and health of all family members.  The Family Dinner Project has confirmed that.  October is Eat Better, Eat Together Month, but I really think every month of the year this concept should be practiced.  In fact, I often stay up very late until my husband arrives home from work for us to have dinner together.  (We do not have children, so this is possible.) 


When he works late, the responsibility for fixing dinner is on me.  While I use my cookbook collection (remember those?) my husband, on his nights to cook, prefers using apps.  It's not uncommon for me to wander into the kitchen and I ask what is for dinner and see him searching Yummly on his iPhone 8.  Sometimes he uses the AllRecipes Dinner Spinner to seek out something interesting to cook for dinner.  (Yes, ladies, you can be jealous that my husband considers cooking a hobby!  I realize how lucky I am!) 

My 5 Favorite Fall / Halloween Children's Books From My Childhood

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I love doing these posts to help introduce a new generation to some of my childhood favorites.  I hope you find something you and your child enjoy here.

The one Halloween book that stands out to me most is Grandpa's Ghosts Stories.  I'm not the only one who would put this at the top of the list -- it FINALLY came back into print after the ones from the late 70s and early 80s were going for huge prices on eBay and Amazon.  (I have to confess, I sold mine once when I desperately needed the $60 it was going for.)  Now that it is back in print, I plan to get another copy!  But enough about the high prices this one could fetch, let's get to what I remember about the book.   It was fun, and I think you would enjoy love it.  There's a scary thunderstorm out, and Grandpa starts telling stories of things that are a lot scarier -- like a witch that turns little boys into spiders.  I got it from Weekly Reader book club about 1979, and it's the first book I think of when I think of Halloween.  (Although this isn't exactly a Halloween book, the content is appropriate for the season.)