Christmas Read-Alouds

Yesterday we read Christmas books and had hot chocolate. We'll do the same this morning, too!  I do love good Christmas stories, stories that take us past the commercialism and the pull for more "stuff."
Here are a few we've enjoyed.

We finished The Coat Hanger Christmas Tree by Eleanor Estes.  So far I've enjoyed all her books and this was no exception.  Marianne and her brother want a Christmas tree; their mother says no- over and over.  Their friend Allie lives on a barge and has a tree but not a house.  It's sweet to read how their friendship grows and how though they may not get exactly what they want, they get something better.  (I could not find a picture of the cover to post!)
A Cynthia Rylant classic- to me anyway!  In Silver Packages, An Appalachian Christmas Story, children from a poor town await every year the train and the gentleman on the train who throws silver packages for them.  One boy comes back when he's grown, and brings the same kindness, just in a different way.
 Since I am a sucker for nostalgia and simplicity, I also love this book by Cynthia Rylant.  We are reminded of a little girl's childhood in the country with her grandparents, and especially of Christmas in the country with them.  Such a sweet book.

Also on our Christmas reading list:
Who Is Coming to Our House? The barn animals anticipate the arrival of Mary and Joseph.
Santa's Favorite Story  Santa explains to the animals of the forest that Christmas is not about him at all.
The Legend of the Candy Cane  A cozy story of how a village learns about Jesus through a candy cane.
We're also reading "Christmas chapters" from different books. like "Merry Christmas" from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
And for any grown-ups who have time to read themselves, I love Miss Read's Christmas by Miss Read.  In it you will find two "short" stories of a village Christmas.  I read it every year.

Linking up to Read Aloud Thursdays