The magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child is my favorite thing about Christmas. Ever since I became a mom almost ten years ago I have been saying, “I liked Christmas when I was a kid. But I love Christmas as a parent.” I love planning, shopping, and wrapping gifts for my kids. Watching them get excited at bedtime the night before, waking me up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, and the energetic unwrapping is so fun. Leading up to Christmas, we make desserts, watc movies, and play games. 

Because of this child centered Christmas in my home, my favorite books about Christmas are children’s books. Allow me to introduce to you my top 4.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

I think this may be the most popular of the four books on my list. Script writers even added extra plotlines to turn this story into a full length movie. A little boy is struggling to fall asleep on Christmas Eve. The sound of a train brings him outside of his house, and sure enough, a train is sitting there. The conductor invites him on and the train is filled with other children, and the train is taking theml to the North Pole. The North Pole is a large city – quite different from the small village it is more commonly depicted in other stories. The train’s passengers get to watch Santa take off for his flight around the world. The little boy – who is the narrator, so we don’t know his name, but the movie gives him the name of Billy – is chosen to ask Santa for a gift. He chooses a bell from Santa’s sleigh, it is the first gift of Christmas. On the train ride back home, the boy realizes that his bathrobe had a hole in the pocket, and the bell fell out. He is devastated, but the next morning, opens a present that has the bell in it and a note from Santa. His parents can’t hear the bell ring and think it’s broken. He and his sister can. As they grow up, his sister also loses the ability to hear the bell, but he never does because he believes.   

Drummer Boy by Loren Long

A little boy gets an early Christmas present: a little drummer boy. The child’s love and attention warms the drummer boy’s heart, and he plays his drum for the boy when they are alone. One morning the dog’s tail accidentally knocks the drummer boy into the trash can, and the drummer boy goes on an adventure. On this adventure he plays his drum for a rat in the dump, baby owls in a nest, the entire city on the top of a bell tower, the stars while impaled on a thorn bush, a snowman, and a cemetery. The entire time he misses the little boy. The next morning in the cemetery, he hears, “Merry Christmas, Grandpa.” It’s the little boy! While visiting his grandfather’s grave, the boy sees his missing toy and takes him home. The child places the drummer boy in the nativity decoration, and the drummer boy plays his drum for the baby Jesus and his heart feels warm. 

The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale by Angela Elwell Hunt

In this story, three large and tall trees are growing near each other, and talk about their dreams for the future.The first two trees want to be chopped down and built into a treasure chest and a powerful ship. The third tree hopes to remain in the ground and grow as tall as he can. He wants people to think of heaven and God when they see him. All three trees are chopped down. The first two are made into versions of their dreams. The one who wanted to be a treasure chest is presented to a baby filled with fine things of the ancient world. The one who wanted to be a powerful ship is made into a fishing boat. One day a man who can control the storm and walk on water sails in him. The third one is made into a feeding box for animals. One special night, a baby is laid in him. And in that moment he knows he will inspire people to think of God. 

Santa’s Book of Names by David McPhail

It’s Christmas Eve, and a young boy, Edward, has woken up to Santa delivering presents to his house. He sneaks out to the living room, but Santa is gone. Edward finds a book he can’t read, but correctly guesses it’s Santa’s book. He tries to catch Santa before he takes off. The best he can do is draw a giant “B” in the snow. Santa returns, and Santa has lost his glasses, so he enlists Edward to read through his book to tell him what gift is assigned to whom. Edward’s night with Santa helps him improve his reading skills. 

All four of these heartwarming stories have a similar theme: belief. “Billy” from the Polar Express keeps his belief all through his adult life, allowing him to always hear that Christmas bell from Santa’s sleigh. The drummer boy believes in his song, and after half a dozen practice audiences, knows that it is a valuable gift to the Savior of the world. Though the three trees did not get their original visions of their futures, they all served Jesus Christ and believed he was special. And Edward learns to believe in himself just as his parents and Santa believed in him.