When we get to the holidays, our schedules tend to fill up. I know in our homeschool, I’m ready to wind down as we prepare to celebrate. I’m always looking for something super easy, and the solution for us has been books! This Christmas I invite you to simplify your routine and try this out.

Below is a list of books. Each book is absolutely wonderful on it’s own, but sometimes it’s fun to add a little something extra, but simple! With each book, I have described a short activity to go along with it.

Choose one of these, two of these, or do them all. That’s it! No worksheets, no schedule, just read the books with your kiddos. If you want to add in the activity, go for it! We have loved using picture books to study during the Christmas season, and I hope it can do the same for you and your family too!

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Great Joy

BOOK: “Great Joy” by Kate DiCamillo

This sweet story follows a girl with a big heart who wants to share the Christmas spirit with a lonely man she sees sleeping on the street.

ACTIVITY: Angel Ornaments – Any time I look for a craft, I want something unique but also with supplies I know I will have around the house. I most always have craft sticks, so the only kicker in this supply list was the yarn. However, the cuteness-factor of this craft motivated me to purchase the yarn and go for it. This angel is so sweet, and I think my kids will adore seeing the final product.

Christmas Farm

BOOK: “Christmas Farm” by Mary Lyn Ray

In this story, a woman asks the help of her neighbor to plant Christmas trees on her property. Their time and hard work result in a beautiful Christmas tree farm that they can share with their community.

ACTIVITY: There are so many different ideas out there to craft a Christmas tree. I’ll share a few simple ones here, but the picture above is an example that’s great for little ones! I drew the outline of the tree and had my little ones paint it with green watercolor. Next, I provided them with q-tips and paint to make ornaments. This was so simple and turned out cute! Listed below are a few more Christmas tree ideas:

• Fingerprint Christmas Tree
• Fork Painted Christmas Tree
• Pinecone Christmas Trees (We did these one year and they turned out so cute!)

The Gingerbread Man

BOOK: “The Gingerbread Man” by Karen Scmidt

This classic story about a runaway gingerbread man is entertaining and silly. The pictures are fun and the ending is a bit of a surprise!

ACTIVITY: This one may seem obvious, but it’s a great opportunity to bake gingerbread cookies together. We’ve been using the same recipe for years and it’s absolutely delicious! If you want to make it even simpler, you could play with play dough instead. Use gingerbread cookie cutters and things like beads or buttons to decorate.

The First Christmas Night

BOOK: “The First Christmas Night” by Keith Christopher

This rhyming book tells the story of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus starting from the arrival to the stable. The pictures are so beautiful and almost look like real people!

ACTIVITY: I found this precious nativity lunch idea on Pinterest, and it turned out adorable. (Get directions and FREE printable here) One thing I loved about it was that the food was pretty good for you! (Minus the marshmallow sheep and candy gifts) This was SO easy to add into our day because we actually had almost all of the items, and we eat lunch every day! No extra time needed.

As a side note, we used our play doh shapes to make the star. I bought these play doh shapes years ago when my oldest was a toddler. They are awesome and get used all the time!

Merry Christmas

Happy Reading! I hope you enjoy these books with your family. If you end up doing one of the activities along with it, I’d love to hear about it! Send me a message or tag me on Instagram @simply.learning.together