31 Best Christmas Books for Kindergarten

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Christmas books for kindergarten are a fun way to make story time feel extra special throughout December. This list includes our favorite funny, classic, and beautifully illustrated Christmas stories that work well for 5 and 6 year olds.

Whether you’re choosing a classroom story or something cozy to read at home, these kindergarten Christmas books are engaging, easy to follow, and perfect for the holiday season.

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Our Favorite Kindergarten Christmas Books

These are the Christmas books that worked particularly well for us during the kindergarten years. I’ve included silly stories, traditional favorites, and beautifully illustrated picture books, with options that work well for both classroom story time and reading at home.

How to Catch Santa Claus

This one always got my son giggling, and he loved coming up with his own trap ideas after we read it. It’s lighthearted, imaginative, and a good choice for a December afternoon when attention spans are short. We even used it for a writing prompt: What would you say if you actually caught Santa?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

No Christmas book list feels complete without the Grinch. The rhymes are fun to read aloud, and although it’s a little longer than some kindergarten books, my son stayed engaged. It also gave us a good excuse to talk about kindness and how people can change.

The Polar Express

This is one of our Christmas traditions. We always read it with cocoa, and my son loved the idea of the bell only being heard by those who believe. It’s wordier than most kindergarten Christmas books, so I’d save it for a quieter story time, but it’s one we come back to every year.

The Night Before Christmas

We read this every Christmas Eve, so it has become part of our family tradition. The rhythm and rhyme make it easy for younger kids to follow, and it’s perfect for winding down before bed when everyone is excited about Christmas morning.

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree

I love the idea behind this one: one Christmas tree ends up bringing joy to so many different animals. My son enjoyed seeing where each piece of the tree ended up, and it gave us an easy way to talk about sharing and reusing things. We followed it with our own little Christmas tree craft.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

The illustrations are wonderfully nostalgic, and it’s a nice choice if your kids already know the Peanuts characters. It prompted questions from my son about the meaning of Christmas, and of course we followed the book by watching the TV special.

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas

If your kindergartner already loves Pete the Cat, this is an easy one to add to the Christmas pile. It has the same familiar rhythm and humor, with Pete stepping in to help Santa. My son enjoyed it, and the story gave us a simple way to talk about helping out when someone needs you.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Spoon!

This one is fast, silly, and particularly good for those wiggly December mornings. The familiar pattern makes it easy for kids to join in and guess what might come next. We ended up inventing our own ridiculous things for the old lady to swallow afterward.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas

This has such a cozy woodland feel to it. Bear is trying to stay awake long enough to experience Christmas with his friends, which my son thought was hilarious because Bear should have been hibernating. It’s a lovely bedtime story and an easy way to bring a little science into December too.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Even if kids already know the song, there’s something different about sitting down and reading Rudolph’s story together. My son enjoyed it, and it naturally led to a conversation about being different and how those differences can sometimes turn out to be strengths.

Related free reindeer printables

Pete the Cat’s 12 Groovy Days of Christmas

This is a fun Pete the Cat version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, with plenty for younger kids to spot and count. We used it alongside our 12 Days of Christmas coloring pages, which turned it into an easy little Christmas-themed morning activity.

Santa’s Sleigh Is on Its Way to Florida

We first picked this up when we lived in Florida, and my son loved seeing places he recognized in a Christmas book. I also liked having a story that showed Christmas without the usual snow-covered setting. There are versions for other locations too, so it’s worth looking for one close to home.

Pick a Pine Tree

We always liked reading this one before putting up our own Christmas tree. It follows the whole process, from choosing the tree to decorating it, and the illustrations are beautiful. It usually got us talking about our own ornaments and Christmas traditions before we’d even finished the book.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

We’ve read several versions of this poem, but this interactive edition has hidden pictures for kids to find. That little extra made a surprising difference when my son was younger because he had something to look for while I read. It’s a fun one to save for Christmas Eve.

Little Blue Truck’s Christmas

If your child already loves Little Blue Truck, this one fits right in. It’s sweet, short, and ends with a light-up Christmas tree. My son loved counting the trees on each page, so we managed to sneak in a little number practice without making it feel like school.

Cooking with the Grinch

This is a fun pick if your kindergartner enjoys helping in the kitchen. The story includes a simple recipe, so we used it as an excuse to bake something together after reading. It was a fun way to combine a Christmas story with something hands-on during one of those slower December afternoons.

The Littlest Elf

This is a great pick for kids who sometimes feel small or left out. The story follows a little elf who’s trying to find his place at the North Pole, and it hits just the right emotional tone for young readers. Afterward, we made mini elf hats out of paper and talked about the different ways we help others, even when we feel too little.

The Biggest Snowman Ever

My son loves stories about working together, and this one really clicked. It’s simple enough for younger readers to follow, but the teamwork message is clear. After reading, we did a snowman craft and challenged ourselves to “build the biggest one” out of cotton balls and glue.

Create special memories with our free snowman handprint art.

The Giving Snowman

We used this one to talk about small ways we can show kindness during the holidays, and my son came up with his own ideas for giving to others. I liked having a book that shifted the focus away from presents for a while, especially as we got closer to Christmas.

The Grumpy Reindeer

This story sparked so many laughs. The reindeer’s bad mood reminded my son of how he sometimes feels when things don’t go his way, so it turned into a great chance to talk about emotions and empathy. We read it again the next day just because he liked the ending so much. Bonus: it’s short enough to squeeze in before dinner or bedtime.

Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story

We love this one. It starts off like a twist on The Gingerbread Man, but ends with a sweet message about being yourself. It opened the door to talk about what makes each of us unique, and how that’s a good thing. My son asked to draw his own “tough cookie” after reading, and it turned into a whole little afternoon project.

The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving

This is one of the more meaningful books on our list, it’s calm, reflective, and perfect when you want to slow down a bit. We read it at the start of Advent, and it helped set the tone for the season. The story gently encourages generosity without being preachy, which made it easy to connect to real-life situations.

Sneezy the Snowman

Every time we read this one, my son ends up giggling through the whole thing. The repeating structure and silly solutions are great for early readers who love predictability and surprise. We’ve even acted it out a few times, it’s perfect for a winter-themed storytime that doesn’t require a long attention span.

Never EVER Race a Reindeer

This book is just pure fun. The rhymes are bouncy, the illustrations are full of action, and it always gets a big reaction when we read it out loud. My son liked guessing what wild thing would happen next, and afterward, we created our own silly “reindeer race rules” as a writing prompt.

The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas

This one's a nostalgic pick for me, I remember it from my own childhood. It’s sweet and simple, which makes it a great fit for kindergartners. My son liked how the puppy explores Christmas for the first time, and it opened up a little chat about our own first holiday memories. It’s a great bedtime read when you're winding down after a busy December day.

All the Colors of Christmas

The illustrations in this one are beautiful, and they got us talking about all the colors we associate with Christmas. After reading, my son picked the colors that reminded him most of Christmas and explained why. We turned it into a simple art project, and it ended up being one of our favorite seasonal activities.

Little Red Sleigh

We read this when my son was feeling a bit discouraged, so the little sleigh determined to achieve its dream really landed at the right time. It gave us a natural way to talk about keeping going when something feels difficult, and the illustrations are beautiful too.

The Legend of the Candy Cane

We usually read this one closer to Christmas Day when we’re in a more reflective mood. It blends tradition with a quiet, meaningful message, and it’s sparked a few deeper conversations about the story behind the season. After reading, we always do our candy cane scavenger hunt, it ties in perfectly and keeps things light but connected.

Father Christmas

This one’s completely different from most on the list, there are no words, just illustrations. That’s what makes it so special. We sit together and make up our own version of the story each time, which means it changes a little every year. It’s a great way to encourage storytelling skills and imagination without any pressure to read.

The Spirit of Christmas

This is one of the more lyrical, heartfelt books we read in December. The text is poetic, and the illustrations are really striking. I wouldn’t use it for active group time, but it’s perfect for bedtime or quiet mornings. It helped us reflect on what matters most during the holidays, and I find myself reaching for it year after year.

The Christmas Story

We like to include this one each year to focus on the nativity story in a way that’s gentle and accessible. The language is simple enough for kindergarteners to understand, and the illustrations help bring the story to life without overwhelming them. It’s a quiet, grounding read when the rest of the season starts to feel a little too busy.

More Christmas and Holiday Books for Kids

If you’re looking for more seasonal books, these are some of our other favorite lists for younger kids and elementary students:

Thanksgiving Day read alouds
Thanksgiving kindergarten books
Best Christmas elf books
Best Christmas read alouds for elementary

We’ve used many of these books over the years, with options for classroom story time, reading at home, and holiday activities.

Last Updated on 16 September 2026 by Clare Brown

Our Favorite Kindergarten Christmas Books

More Christmas and Holiday Books for Kids

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