I’m delighted to be welcoming Melissa Chan today who is sharing with us some fabulous ideas for bookish activities for Christmas for all the family.
Enjoy. x
The Christmas holidays are a great time to gather around the dinner table for a home cooked meal, warm up by the fireplace, or watch a family friendly movie.
Whatever your tradition may be, the holidays are a great time to sit back, relax and enjoy a good book with a hot cocoa or a fresh cup of cinnamon apple cider.
Reading is mostly a solitary activity. But these yearly festivities are a great time to connect with others over a shared love of literature, authors, or even made-up stories.
Here are just a few fun bookish activities for Christmas. Try them out for yourself, and who knows, maybe you will and your loved ones will have a new holiday tradition for years to come.
Build a themed gingerbread house
Constructing a yearly gingerbread house is a great activity for kids and grown-ups alike.
To make things a little more exciting, try decorating the house based on one of your favorite novels or fairytales. Maybe it is the iconic cottage from the story of Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm. Or perhaps you are a fan of Peter and Wendy from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and want to decorate the house based on that.
Whatever your choice, your confectionery treat will bring a smile to anyone’s face who has read the book or simply likes the taste of icing and cookies. If you are not one for making gingerbread houses, try other baked goods.
Cookies can be decorated to be any character or author. Cakes and pies can also showcase some great works of literature. And if you are making icing, don’t forget to lick the spoon!
Organize a book exchange
Gifts and presents are an essential part of the holiday season for many gift-givers and receivers.
Appliances, accessories, and home decor goods make for great gifts. But these can often be expensive and difficult to pick out, especially if the recipient is somewhat picky and already has everything they need.
Consider organizing a book exchange. Anyone can participate, it can be within a small or large of family and friends.
The great thing about books is that unlike other types of presents, the physical copy of the book isn’t the important thing. It’s mostly about the recommendation of the book itself.
If you like, each person can exchange a hard copy of a book, used or new with another in the group.
Alternatively, each member of the group can exchange a notecard with a recommendation to hand out to each member of the group. This way everyone gets the book recommendation from every other person.
The cards can be fun and dressed up like holiday cards, or even personalized. They can even come with a piece of candy or chocolate.
Maybe an end of the year book exchange is the perfect time to give, receive, and have a lively chat about some of the best books you’ve read over the course of the year.
Read books aloud
Especially fun for youngsters, consider reading books aloud.
Shut off the TV, put away the electronic devices for a night, and grab your favorite family friendly read.
It can be a family friendly tale or an adventure story just to remind you how safe and sound you are near a warm fireplace.
Consider fairytales or short stories, this way when the children have to leave for an early bedtime, they are not halfway through the story.
Take turns reading. Pass the book around. Maybe pause for a while for some warm milk and cookies in between chapters.
For those who don’t want to read, or simply want everyone to sit back and relax, play the audiobook version. Audiobooks and their software often have options for speeding up and slowing down the voice tracks. You will probably want to set it to the slowest track, so everyone can have a chance to follow along with ease.
Bookish activities for Christmas will give sparkle to your celebrations and support building that special togetherness.