Have you been searching for a list of the best December read alouds and activities to do with your students this month? If so, I’ve got you covered with this post on the best December read alouds for kids this month to celebrate the holiday season!
It’s finally here! The most wonderful time of the year! It’s also the busiest, and most expensive, and sometimes most stressful… ya feel me?’
This time of year is my absolute favorite, don’t get me wrong. I love the decorations and baking and how there seems to be holiday cheer everywhere you turn. I love watching Christmas movies on repeat and giving myself an excuse to drink excessive hot chocolate and eat too many cookies. Experimenting with recipes for the family is hard work, am I right? I even get excited about the holiday cups at Starbucks! Lol
But I also feel the stress and pressure of finding gifts for everyone on my list, getting shopping done early (I hate last minute shopping!!!!), and just the overall hustle and bustle that tries to pull me and my family in a million different directions and makes me want to hide under the covers. YIKES!
Slowing Down
Luckily, I have learned to be more intentional over the years by MAKING time to slow down, breathe in the season, and remember that it’s not about the perfect gift or picturesque tree or the family holiday card photo where everyone is actually looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. Does this happen at your house? If so, I am jealous…
That being said, holiday books are one of my favorite ways to remember to SLOW DOWN with kiddos. That’s why I put together this list of the best December read alouds for elementary students.
Why Do Read Alouds Matter?
I know, if you’ve read previous posts, I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about this already. But in my opinion, it can’t be said enough!
I have so many fond memories of reading some of these stories as a child and I never want to miss an opportunity to pass that on to my own child or the students in my care. I love that books can take us to a different place for a while and allow us to dream, imagine, and just “be.”
Sharing books with kiddos is so important. From just creating a bonding experience, to working on concepts of print, language and vocabulary, to modeling comprehension skills, there are so many hidden learning opportunities within read alouds that don’t always have to involve an actual lesson. The kids don’t even have to know they’re learning. How cool is that? I love a good sneaky learning opportunity.
Sharing the Joy of Christmas
There are so many fun holiday stories that are just waiting to be shared with little imaginations. Kids need to read and hear creative stories in order to foster their own imagination, which is an important part of development. Think: creativity and imagination now is equal to resourcefulness, empathy, and problem solving later. It’s really important, OKAY? 🙂
So if you’ve made it this far, I know you are ready to read about the best December read alouds to make your classroom fun and engaging this month!
Whether you want to read them to your littles at home or to your kiddos at school, there is something on this list for everyone!
Okay, let’s jump into this list! By clicking on each image and title, you will be led straight to Amazon where you can learn more about this book and add it to your cart so it’s at your doorstep and ready to share with your little readers ASAP.
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The Best December Read Alouds: A List of My Favorites
1. How to Catch An Elf
Kiddos will love brainstorming all the different ways to catch an elf after reading this fun story! It might be even more fun if they have already been trying to catch that sneaky little elf that visits their home or classroom every December. This is a fun way to teach “how to” writing for older kids but since it rhymes throughout, it can also be used with littles to teach or reinforce tons of phonemic awareness skills.
If you like this one, check out How to Catch a Gingerbread Man! Pair it with my How to Catch a Gingerbread Man writing bundle for the perfect, fun December activity!
2. The Littlest Reindeer
If you have not read this one, please add it to your Amazon cart right now! This is the sweetest story about a little reindeer named Dot who wants to help Santa but feels like she’s too little, too young, and too inexperienced. This precious story is about finding your strengths and remembering that we all have something special to offer this world. This is a great holiday book to pair with a social emotional lesson about self-esteem and personal strengths and would pair perfectly with a self-reflective writing activity.
PS: There is also an elf version of this story with a very similar premise. Check out The Littlest Elf here.
3. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas
If your kiddos love Pete, they will love this story about how he saves Christmas! Santa is sick and asks Pete to step in to make sure all the good children aren’t disappointed on Christmas day! This is a fun story that could be paired with a writing activity where students write about what they would do if Santa asked them to deliver the presents and save Christmas. There is also tons of rhyming so you could definitely work on phonemic awareness, letters, or sounds with little ones. Additionally, there is a theme throughout the story about “giving it your all, no matter what.” This would be the basis for a great social emotional lesson or discussion, as well as a writing activity where students describe what it means to “give it their all.”
4. How to Catch Santa
Children are always wondering how they could catch Santa, or at least a glimpse of him, and this book has all kinds of fun tips and tricks! From traps, to riddles, to cookies and glitter, the funny little kiddos in this book have a plan for every possible scenario! Your kids will love reading this book and devising their own plan to catch Santa too! This read aloud pairs perfectly with my How to Catch Santa writing bundle, as well as my FREE Santa Writing Paper.
5. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies
If your kiddos love the “Mouse” books, this is a must read for the month of December. I love the “Mouse” books for retelling, sequencing, and text structure. I also think they make great mentor texts and I love reading students’ own stories that are modeled after this same type of structure. This would pair well with a writing activity where students write about what would happen if you took them to the movies.
A few other favorites to add to your list!
- Little Blue Truck’s Christmas (my toddler loves this one)
- The Gingerbread Man (it’s a classic!)
- Five Busy Elves (cute for littles who are learning to count to 5)
- Ten Gingerbread Men (*I cannot find a link for this one but here’s a read aloud video. It’s adorable and perfect for teaching littles to count to 10. Pairs great with these Gingerbread Ten Frame Mats)
- Snowmen at Christmas
- The Berenstain Bears, The Very First Christmas
- Bear Stays Up for Christmas
- The Berenstain Bears’ Night Before Christmas
- The Sweet Smell of Christmas (a childhood favorite and YES, the pages are scratch and sniff!)
- The Berenstain Bears and the Christmas Angel (a faith based story)
Happy holidays! I hope you take the time to slow down and share one (or many) of these stories with the sweet kiddos in your life! Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list? Please share in the comments! I’d love to keep adding to my list.
XO,
Meg