Source: Flickr, Bailiwick Studios
For many of us, Christmas is a special time of year when we get to spend time with loved ones and give back to our neighbors, family, and communities. For our young ones, it is quickly become all about presents. Especially when you consider how many toy commercials and catalogs they see starting back in September. The idea of Christmas being just about presents can quickly take over before we even realize it.
One way to balance the season of gifts is to talk to kids about giving back and sharing with others. With younger children this can be a bit hard since it’s natural at certain ages to “have a case of the gimmies,” but there are many children’s books that tell wonderful stories about loving one’s family, giving back, and coming together.
Holiday Children’s Books
Consider getting the classic that many of us knew growing up – The Berenstein Bears and the Joy of Giving. This book is especially good if you find your child is asking for every toy from the catalog or spending all day talking about what he or she asked Santa for Christmas. The lovely book tackles what Christmas is really about and helps children understand the ideas of giving and sharing. With a similar story of giving is Santa Mouse, who realizes that Santa is always giving gifts but never receiving them.
You can also trust that Scholastic has a large variety of holiday-themed books, many of which teach wonderful lessons. For example, Light the Lights tells a heartwarming holiday story of an interfaith family and The Mitten, which is adapted from an old Ukrainian tale about a boy and his grandmother.
All of these books make great options for engaging your children during the holidays and talking about giving and the joy of family. They can help balance the stories of gifts received and are easily accessible in most bookstores and local public libraries.