I love all things about Christmas. Literally, all of it besides the mud (it happens, things are cold and wet and cold mud is the worst mud). I like reading seasonally year round but especially in the summer and in December. Those times of year I want to IMMERSE myself in the fullness of the season, whichever of those polar opposites it currently is.
December is an especially busy time, as almost anyone knows. Work tried to stick me with a new project since January 1st is a fantastic time to start fresh but I keep telling them that I am a Mom in December...I will work a few hours a week but December is NOT the month I have time for extras. I will, however, offer to decorate the office on their dime, because I am nice like that. (And, mainly, because I want to be filled with Christmas EVERYWHERE, that's my main motivation.)
So I don't read completely seasonal books in December but I do try to read at least a few outside of the ones I read every year. I just could NOT get myself to read a primarily Christmas-set book any other time of the year so if I am going to read one it will be mid-November - the end of the year!
I share a lot here about seasonal picture books we are loving lately but this list is all grown-up books or YA, books I read to myself, curled up on the couch, in front of the tree, with a hot tea and a blanket and a Christmas candle burning in the kitchen. You all, I cannot tell you how much I LOVE those rare moments of peace, quiet, and reading. Especially when so much of December is to-dos and being social and spending money and sharing the season with my family. Reading these books is (one of) the Christmas things I do for me.
Note: Affiliate links abound below, I make a small (very small) commission off items if you purchase through those links, at no extra cost to you. But these are also things I would tell you about if I didn't make pennies off your purchase. I appreciate your understanding and support! Of course I fully support utilize the library or shop used or from an independent bookstore!
The Winter Street Series by Elin Hilderbrand
These books are my very favorite Christmas reads and I've read every single one every year since it's been released (I think the first was in 2014 and then one a year for the following 3 years). I LOVE spending time with the Quinns at their Inn on Winter Street on Nantucket. There is family drama and romance and some of the coziest Christmas scenes I've ever read. I LOVE these books and really enjoy pulling them out again every December (they have their own post here).
The Father Christmas Series by Robin Jones Gunn
This is my other favorite, always read, Christmas series (full post here). This one set mostly in snowy England with a premise that requires just a tiny bit of stretch (maybe there are other people who welcome a stranger into their home to spend the night on Christmas Eve?). I don't see a life where I am spending Christmas in the English countryside so this is a nice way to experience that life.
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
This isn't about people going away to spend Christmas in England but they are going away to a beloved cabin in Utah, 3 families together who spend Christmas there together every year (it makes me a bit itchy just thinking about spending Christmas away every year). Then the cabin might be sold and there are unrequited romances and complicated families and long-family friends. Also, time travel, you know, the usual for Christmas. Slightly open door from what I can remember.
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
The premise of this sounds slightly like my nightmare - a single woman gets roped into signing up for a dating program that gives you 12 dates with 12 people over 23 days in December. You all, that much forced socializing on top of the usual Christmas celebrating and having no say in the activities??? Yes, even if I was single I would not do that. HOWEVER, it's fun to read about even though the end game is pretty obvious very early on. Also, England. (There seems to be A LOT of Christmas books set in England.)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
See! More England! And a short classic that I finally read for the first time a few years ago. I was picturing the classic Mickey Mouse movie the whole time (a lot of it is word for word!). It was nice to check off actually reading this one.
One Day in December by Josie Silver
MORE ENGLAND! Laurie doesn't believe in love at first sight but then she spots "THE ONE" outside the bus window around Christmastime. She spend the next year trying to find that guy but to no luck. Then, maybe exactly a year later, she runs into him. As he is introduced as her best friend's new boyfriend. The story covers the next 10 years of their relationships.
Loving My Actual Christmas: An Experiment in Relishing the Season by Alexandra Kuykendall
Non-fiction about how to slow down and enjoy this time of year without making it the most stressful time of year. I wrote a whole post about this book a few years too. It can help refocus your Christmas brain, if needed.
A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
This is my annual read around New Years. I KNOW it says "summers" in the title but it makes for perfect end of December reading because a big chunk of the story takes place around New Years Eve. Told in alternating timelines, about 1933 for the New Years Eve flashbacks to around 1938 for the current day. If I had to pick, this would probably be my favorite book, hence the annual reading!
That I Plan to Read This Year - I haven't read any of these yet but have holds on 2 and the 2 are sitting in my library book basket waiting for me to read it!
All About Us by Tom Ellen
The summary for this says it's been compared to One Day in December up there except this is written by a man, I can't say I've read any romance stories written by men! And it flashes back to December 5th, 2005...well it will be interesting to reread about that time! (That's the Christmas we were engaged!)
A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss
This is the same author as The Twelve Dates of Christmas and I really would almost read it on the cover alone, so perfectly seasonal (and it has a decent rating on Goodreads, I pass on good cover that have a horrible rating). Actually, from the time I am writing this until you are reading this I hope I have started and finished this!
Always, in December by Emily Stone
I ALSO have this one checked out right now but I don't feel like I can read it until it's actually December. I almost had Matt buy me this one for Christmas because I love the blue & red trim around the cover, mainly, BUT then the reviews said it was sad and I wasn't sure I wanted it taking up space on my bookshelf forever so...library checkout it is!
The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo
Also, super seasonal cover and a cozy setting in upstate New York, maybe something about a knock-off Hallmark Christmas movie filming location? And a switched phone situation which might be unrealistic but a very helpful plot devise? We'll find out!
If you have any more cozy reads for the holidays, let me know!
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