The festive season is a captivating period brimming with enchantment, love, warmth, and cherished traditions. Many parents are eager to involve their infants in the holiday magic, and what better way to kick off the festivities than through the joy of reading? Reading plays a crucial role in language development, and the more you read to your infant, the more their language skills blossom.
To enhance your holiday experience with your little one, we’ve compiled a curated list of 10 captivating holiday books. These selections aim to introduce your infant to tactile play, foster hand-eye coordination, promote language development, and more. Whether you opt for Christmas classics, lift-a-flap adventures, or books with interactive finger puppets, this list offers a delightful book for every holiday occasion this year.
1. LLAMA LLAMA JINGLE BELLS
Along with the rest of the Llama Llama series, Anna Dewdney’s holiday book is a snug inclusion in this year’s reading lineup. Tailored for infants and babies who may not be ready for more extended tales, “Llama Llama Jingle Bells” has charming and vibrant illustrations. Despite its petite size, this book is sturdy and delightful, making it the perfect choice for our little readers.
2.FA-LA-LA LLAMA
Written by Joan Holub and illustrated by Allison Back, this board book makes a fantastic inclusion in your infant holiday reading repertoire. Boasting captivating illustrations and expertly crafted tactile features such as crinkly wrapped presents and soft, fluffy sweaters, it guarantees to captivate and entertain your 0-3-year-old. Adding to the excitement, the book narrates a lyrical tale of llamas joyfully celebrating Christmas, with the bonus feature of being singable to “Deck the Halls.” What a delightful and entertaining experience!
3. BABY’S FIRST HANUKKAH
Produced by DK Children, this delightful board book is part of the Baby’s First Holidays series. It’s suitable for everyone from infant to toddler age range. Discover the magic of Hanukkah, including pictures of the Jewish festival of lights, lighting the menorah candles, latkes, and more. Because of the durable padded pages typical of board books, Baby’s First Hanukkah is durable, educational, engaging, and fun for the whole family.
4. I CAN SEE CHRISTMAS
Author Elly Crawford designed this series of books for ages 0 to 6 months. Babies need visual stimulation during this critical developmental time to ensure vital brain and eye development. Featuring high-contrast black and white images, I Can See Christmas is an excellent way to help your infant enhance their tracking capabilities and facilitate brain and eye development. It is expertly crafted to keep the baby’s attention during tummy time. The I Can See series also features Easter and Valentine’s Day holiday books.
5. BABIES LOVE CHRISTMAS
Created by Cottage Door Press, this lift-a-flap board book is engaging, adorable, and full of holiday fun. Lift-a-flap books are excellent for infants beginning to explore with their hands. Designed for chunky, curious fingers, Babies Love Christmas features six durable flaps that open throughout the book to reveal surprises.
6. HAPPY HANUKKAH, LITTLE DREIDEL
Practice hand-eye coordination with your infant while learning about Hanukkah traditions. This board book is an interactive finger-puppet book that enhances verbal learning and tactile play and is a great way to spend time together. The durable pages are great for tiny hands and exploring mouths, too. Happy Hanukkah! Little Dreidel is rated for babies ages 1 to 3 years.
7. CHRISTMAS ON THE FARM
This book, written by Greg Huett, is delightfully portrayed. “Christmas On The Farm” illustrates how every year, the animals on Farmer Jay’s farm get to experience the joy of Christmas through two time-honored traditions: The reading of the classic, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Farmer Jay and Mrs. Jay treats the animals to a particular batch of her famous “barnyard” cookies. But this year, one of the animals asks Farmer Jay the true meaning of Christmas and these Christmas traditions.
8. HANUKKAH BABY
Hanukkah Baby is part of a series of books called Indestructables, written by Ekaterina Trukhan and illustrated by Amy Pixton, the mother of triplets. It ranks #13 on Amazon’s list of Top 100 Children’s Jewish Books and is suitable for babies from 0 to 2. The Indestructible series features rip and waterproof pages that are safe to chew and are 100% washable. This will ensure your baby can engage with the story through developmental play. Bright images with simple text portray Hanukkah’s magic and history in a book your infant can love for the first few years of life.
9. CHRISTMAS CHEER
This board book is perfect for young ones exploring, learning, developing, and growing this holiday season. Each page of Christmas Cheer is uniquely designed to overlap with the following pages, creating a full-size design when the book is closed. With bright colors and a range of shapes, this infant book urges tiny hands and wandering fingers to pick it up. The different-shaped pages feature everything from tree decorating to Christmas caroling and more. Add this book to your holiday traditions for a fun, inviting story and playtime.
7. THE LITTLEIST COWBOYS CHRISTMAS
At a ranch near Aspen, Colorado, author Michael Chandler and his four-year-old son are invited to a Christmas Eve party at a neighbor’s. The party is not ordinary–this one is for Lefty, an appaloosa stud. At the party are Lefty’s owner, Joe, the author, and his Son, the famous singer/songwriter John Denver, and his young son. Together they share a heartwarming night celebrating music, life, love, and the joy of Christmas.