There’s something about a stack of Christmas picture books that makes December feel calmer. Whether you read them by the tree at home, at the start of a homeschool morning or on the carpet before an art lesson, a good holiday story slows everyone down for a few minutes and gives kids something wonderful to look at and talk about.

This list is for parents, grandparents, homeschool families and teachers looking for Christmas books that are worth reading again every year. These are 20 of my favorites: classics like The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas, cozy stories for the littlest listeners, legends from other places and a few silly ones that kids ask for again and again. Each book comes with a simple art idea from my shop, so a read-aloud can turn into an afternoon of drawing and painting.

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How to Use These Books for Holiday Art

You don’t need a big plan to pair a book with art. Read the story first, then go back and look closely at a page or two. Ask what colors the illustrator chose, how they showed snow or night or light, and what kids notice in the background. Then put the book where everyone can see it while they create. These books also make lovely gifts, and tucking a book in with a box of oil pastels or a new sketchbook is one of my favorite ways to give something that gets used.

The books are listed in no particular order, so skip to whatever suits the kids in front of you. Most are picture books for about ages 3 to 8, with a couple of board books for toddlers and a few that older kids will enjoy too.

1. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

A boy boards a mysterious train on Christmas Eve and rides it all the way to the North Pole. This Caldecott Medal winner has been a holiday favorite for forty years, and the current edition has new reproductions of Chris Van Allsburg’s original paintings, so the dark, glowing night scenes look better than ever.

Art idea: Stay up north with my Christmas Polar Bear art lesson. Kids blend pencil crayons and soft pastels to create a cozy polar bear in a Santa hat beside a decorated tree, and along the way they practice shading, texture, value and contrast. It’s a step-by-step lesson that works for classroom teachers, art teachers and homeschool families.

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss

Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, did not. Dr. Seuss’s rhyming classic is pure fun to read aloud, and it ends with a heart that grows three sizes, which is a lovely thing to talk about with kids in December.

Art idea: The Grinch is all wild lines and funny shapes, so it’s a great warm-up for drawing. My Christmas Directed Drawing pages teach kids to draw festive holiday characters and symbols with easy visual steps. They’re designed for Grades 1 to 4 (and easy to adapt for Kindergarten or Grade 5), and kids can draw right on the pages, in a sketchbook or on bigger paper.

3. The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett and Clement C. Moore

Jan Brett’s version of the famous poem shows St. Nick delivering presents to a sleeping family, while two elf stowaways from the North Pole get into mischief under a bright midnight sky. Her detailed borders give kids something new to spot on every page.

Art idea: After reading, invite older kids to draw Santa up close. In my Santa Claus Portrait art lesson, students in Grades 3 to 6 draw a detailed Santa face with black marker and oil pastels, read about the history of Santa Claus and reflect on their own art. Jan Brett’s busy borders are also a great example to point to when kids decorate the edges of their own page.

4. Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett

Matti opens the oven too soon, and out jumps a cheeky Gingerbread Baby who leads the whole village on a chase into the forest. Meanwhile, Matti is quietly building a gingerbread house, and readers find out what happens when they lift the flap at the end.

Art idea: Make drawing a game with my Christmas Roll and Draw Game. Kids roll a die to choose the parts of each drawing, so everyone ends up with a different holiday picture, and one of the Christmas subjects is a gingerbread character. It’s low prep and works well for art centers, fast finishers and family game night.

5. The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett

Teeka has an important job: getting Santa’s reindeer ready for their Christmas Eve ride. The reindeer are spirited and mischievous, but in the end kindness works better than bossing them around. It’s a gentle story with a message kids can use long after December.

Art idea: Pair it with my Rudolph reindeer art lesson. Kids follow a step-by-step drawing tutorial to sketch Rudolph and his glowing red nose, then use oil pastel blending and paint to add rich texture. It’s low prep, works for elementary and middle school, and the finished reindeer make a bright bulletin board before winter break.

6. Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares

Two cardinals, Red and Lulu, make their nest in a beautiful evergreen tree, until the day their tree is cut down and carried away to the city. Red’s search for Lulu is a tender story about love, home and a little bit of Christmas magic, and the illustrations of the bright red birds against the snow are stunning.

Art idea: Red and Lulu leads beautifully into my Winter Cardinal art lesson. Kids use oil pastels and paint to create a bold cardinal perched in a winter scene, layering color, blending and adding texture with paint. It works as a Christmas project or a winter one, for elementary and middle school.

7. Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas tree is too tall for his parlor, so he cuts off the top. That little treetop gets passed along again and again, bringing holiday cheer to a whole forest of animals. The rhyming text makes it a joy to read aloud, and kids love guessing who will get the tree next.

Art idea: Give the tree a bold, colorful home with my Ted Harrison Christmas Tree art lesson. Inspired by the Canadian artist Ted Harrison, kids draw a decorated Christmas tree in a landscape of colorful snowy landforms, bright mountains and a glowing sky. They start with thick oil pastel outlines and decorative sky bands, then add watercolor or tempera paint cakes for a rich, layered look.

8. The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

On a snowy farm in the Swedish countryside, the friendly Tomten makes his quiet nighttime visits to every animal and every sleeping person, reminding them that spring will come again. It’s one of the calmest, coziest winter books I know, perfect for the end of a busy December day.

Art idea: The Tomten is a close cousin of the Christmas gnome, so my Christmas Gnome art lesson is a natural follow-up. It’s for Grades 2 to 5: kids follow photo-based steps to draw a gnome with oil pastels, and they read about Christmas traditions around the world, which is a lovely way to talk about where the Tomten comes from.

9. Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

Bear’s friends are determined to keep him awake for Christmas, so they wake him up to find a tree, bake, hang stockings and sing. Bear stays up, and he discovers that giving is one of the best presents of all. Little ones love the gentle rhymes and the cozy, glowing pictures.

Art idea: Since this story is all about giving, try my Christmas Present art lesson. Elementary kids use oil pastels and paper to design a festive, colorful present, and it comes as a complete art activity for classroom teachers and homeschool families. Ask kids who they would give their present to.

10. Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht and Jarvis

This festive read-aloud follows a family through one of the best traditions of the season: picking out a Christmas tree, bringing it home and decorating it. Jarvis’s bright illustrations are full of color and pattern, which makes it a wonderful book to pause on and look closely.

Art idea: Pick a Pine Tree pairs perfectly with my Christmas Tree art lesson for Grades 2 to 5. Using green cardstock and oil pastels (or crayons), kids follow an 11-step tutorial to make a bright, expressive tree they can decorate their own way, and the lesson includes a nonfiction reading on Christmas tree traditions.

11. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

The holidays are coming, and Llama Llama does not like waiting. Shopping, baking and wrapping all start to feel like too much, until Mama Llama reminds him that the true gift is having each other. It’s a sweet, honest book for any child who finds December a little overwhelming.

Art idea: Bring the calm back with some pattern and color. My Yayoi Kusama Christmas Ornament art project has kids paint a soft pink background, cut out big ornament shapes and cover them with dotted patterns inspired by Kusama’s style. It teaches pattern, repetition, line, shape and mixed media.

12. The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert and Per Breiehagen

Long ago, a brave little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa’s elves. She straps on her skis and heads out across the snowy landscape, meeting a red bird, a polar bear and a reindeer along the way. The real photographs make this book feel like a winter fairy tale.

Art idea: For older kids, the reindeer Anja meets can inspire my Christmas Reindeer chalk pastel lesson. It’s for Grades 5 to 8: students draw a reindeer on black paper and build shading, blending and fur detail to explore value, contrast and glowing light.

13. Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner

Have you ever wondered what snowmen do for Christmas? This companion to the bestseller Snowmen at Night shows the snowmen back again and celebrating the holiday the snowman way, with all the best parts of Christmas packed into the pictures.

Art idea: Build a snowy scene with my Christmas Snowman art lesson. Kids use crayon and paint to create a wax resist winter wonderland with their own snowman, exploring texture and contrast through an easy guided drawing and painting process.

14. Night Tree by Eve Bunting and Ted Rand

By moonlight in a quiet forest, a boy and his family decorate their favorite tree with popcorn, apples, tangerines and sunflower-seed balls as a gift for the animals of the woods. It’s a beautiful book for talking about kindness and the wild animals that share our winter.

Art idea: Bring one of those forest visitors to life with my Christmas Red Fox art lesson. Kids follow a guided drawing and then use collage to layer textures and patterns into a cozy, festive fox. It’s a low-prep lesson that builds drawing confidence while trying something new.

15. How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton

It’s Christmas Eve and an elf is on the loose in your house. Can your traps catch him? Kids love the rhymes, the silly traps and the elf who always seems to stay one step ahead.

Art idea: Follow it with my Santa’s Elf art lesson, where kids create a stunned elf, shocked that Christmas is already here. They use felt markers and tempera paint, and the lesson comes with step-by-step instructions for the classroom or homeschool.

16. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by Eric Litwin, Kimberly Dean and James Dean

In this rockin’ spin on The Night Before Christmas, Santa needs help and Pete the Cat steps in, proving that giving your all is the groovy thing to do. Pete fans of every age will want to hear this one more than once.

Art idea: Let kids take a story in their own direction with my Christmas Finish the Picture pages. Each page has a partly started Christmas drawing for kids to complete with their own ideas, then color or shade. They’re print and go, so they’re handy for fast finishers, sub days and busy December afternoons at home.

17. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

In Mexico, the poinsettia is called flor de la Nochebuena, the flower of the Holy Night. Tomie dePaola retells the Mexican legend of how the poinsettia came to be, through a little girl’s unselfish gift.

Art idea: My Christmas Poinsettia art project is for Grades 3 to 6. Kids learn to draw and paint a bright poinsettia step by step with simple materials like permanent marker, watercolor, colored pencils or crayons, and they read about Christmas traditions, plant facts and the flower’s symbolism.

18. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg and Richard Cowdrey

On a dark November night, a stranger arrives in a small town and starts building a candy shop. A little girl who helps him learns the story behind the shape and stripes of the candy cane. Richard Cowdrey’s warm illustrations make this newly illustrated edition a lovely one to share.

Art idea: Turn those stripes into a line study with my Candy Cane Zen Doodle art lesson. Kids follow a directed drawing, paint with felt markers and fill their candy cane with detailed Zen Doodle patterns, all while exploring the element of art line.

19. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg

The Jolly Postman rides again with a Christmas postbag full of real letters, cards and little surprises tucked into envelopes inside the book, including notes from the Big Bad Wolf and all the King’s men. Kids love opening every envelope and reading the letters aloud.

Art idea: This one is perfect for drawing and writing together. My Christmas Write and Draw pages pair a step-by-step Christmas drawing with sentence writing practice for K to 2: kids draw the picture, trace and write the word, then write their own sentence. Older kids could write a holiday letter to a favorite character instead.

20. Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry

Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends, and little readers can count each tree from one to five and back again. It’s a light-up board book, made for the youngest listeners in the family.

Art idea: When the little ones grow into Grades 1 to 4, my Christmas Tree and Bird art lesson is a sweet next step. Kids create a Christmas tree and bird with oil pastel marks and tempera paint, and the fully planned lesson includes a hook, a Christmas reading, a rubric and reflections.

Tips for Giving Books (and Art) This Christmas

If you’re choosing a book as a gift, think about the child’s age and what they love right now. Board books like Little Blue Truck’s Christmas suit toddlers, rhyming stories like Bear Stays Up for Christmas and How to Catch an Elf are great for preschool and kindergarten, and longer stories like The Polar Express, Red and Lulu and The Legend of the Poinsettia hold the attention of older kids. Pair the book with one simple art supply that matches its pictures: oil pastels for the bold colors in Red and Lulu, a black marker and crayons for the Grinch, or watercolors for the soft night skies in The Polar Express.

For families who want to keep the art going all year, I put together a whole art curriculum with lessons, videos and printables for every season called the Artastic Collective. It’s a lovely fit for homeschoolers who want their read-alouds and art time to feel connected, and on the Artastic Collective blog I shared more about choosing a homeschool art curriculum, including picture books to pair with art lessons.

Save This List for Later

Pin it for later: save this to your Pinterest board so your Christmas read-aloud list is ready every December.

More December and Christmas Art Ideas

Looking for more ways to fill December with art? These posts are full of Christmas and winter lesson ideas:

• Christmas art projects for kids: free holiday art ideas for teachers and homeschoolers
• Last-minute Christmas art lesson ideas for kids
• 12 days of Christmas art projects for the classroom
• 5 Christmas art lesson ideas using flexible, choice art mediums
• 5 winter art lesson ideas for your classroom
• 5 New Year’s art lesson and activity ideas
• Best art books for toddlers and preschoolers
• All my art book lists for kids

Grab These Christmas Art Lessons on Their Own

Every art idea in this list is available on its own in my shop, so you can pick just the one that goes with your favorite book. Tap a cover to see what’s included.

Happy reading, and merry creating!

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.