The 24 Books of Christmas

By Marsha Rich, Client Care Coordinator for The EdUCater Team

​Books have always been important to me. As a child, reading wasn’t debated or encouraged: it was just something the whole family did. We read because nothing else provided the fantastic experiences we found in our books. Books took us on extraordinary adventures—all over the world, under the sea, back in time, and sometimes into outer space. We went everywhere in our books.
 
I knew that when I grew up and became a mom, I’d want my kids to have these experiences too. When a friend told me about a tradition she started with her children when they were just toddlers, I couldn’t wait to adopt it for my own family.

This is how The 24 Books of Christmas became a tradition at my house, too.

​In the beginning, when we couldn’t afford to buy new books, I would scour library sales, yard sales, and consignment stores looking for great children’s books in good condition. I even asked my friends and family to give me the ones their kids had outgrown. Every year, I would slowly collect the 23 I needed, wrap them in bright paper, and place them under the tree.
 
The children would open one of the 23 books each night leading up to Christmas Eve. Our family would gather around as I read it out loud, and at the end, the child who chose the book would get to keep it for their own. These weren’t just Christmas books we were reading. They were adventure stories and books on science, history, and famous people. Some were just fun books that put a smile on everyone’s face.

The 24th book every year was always the same: The Night Before Christmas. 

​Even now, with my younger children who are 11 and 17 and the oldest is already out on her own, we keep with this tradition. It's a special time we all look forward to. My kids find as much joy in their simple children’s books now as they did when they were little. They talk about how they want to continue this tradition with their own children someday. 
 
For my children, as for me, reading is an adventure. They love any book that takes them to far-away places and shows them something new. I’m happy to know that The 24 Books of Christmas will be part of their lives for years to come.

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