5 Nostalgic Christmas Books for Kids That Adults Love Too
Festive nostalgia has properly got hold of me this year, so I’ve put together a list of Christmas books for kids that bring just as much joy at any age (yes, even to a 34-year-old). These are the sort of books made for reading by the fire, or curled up under a blanket with a mug of cocoa.
Whether you’re adding to your own holiday collection or looking for a gift for someone else, these are the kind of timeless stories that hold up no matter how many times you’ve read them.
Here’s my list of Christmas books for kids that adults love just as much:
- 1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
- 2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
- 3. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
- 4. The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann
- 5. Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
- Honorable Mention: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
- More Christmas Books for Kids & Big Kids
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means I earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase using a link, but at no cost to you. I’ve included Amazon links to each recommended book as well as Bookshop.org where available.
1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
Why Kids Love It: With its memorable rhymes and brilliant illustrations, Dr. Seuss’s story about the Grinch who tries to steal Christmas is both funny and easy to fall into. Kids love the character designs and the strange, colourful world of Whoville.
Why Adults Love It: This one holds up as an adult precisely because it’s not just a silly story — there’s a real message in there about kindness, community, and what Christmas is actually meant to be about, tucked in among the rhymes.
I also love rewatching the Grinch film adaptations at Christmas, though my favourite has to be Jim Carrey’s version.
“Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas… perhaps… means a little bit more.”
2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Why Kids Love It: A train ride to the North Pole on Christmas Eve is exactly the kind of idea that captures a kid’s imagination completely, and the dreamy, atmospheric illustrations only add to it. There’s also a film version, if you want to watch as well as read.
Why Adults Love It: Underneath the Santa story, The Polar Express is really about belief and the particular kind of wonder that only seems to exist in childhood. It’s the sort of book that tends to make adults a bit reflective around the holidays.
“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”
3. The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Why Kids Love It: The Snowman is entirely wordless — not a single line of text in the whole book — which means kids end up telling their own version of the story every time they read it. I had a copy as a child, and the illustrations have stuck with me ever since.
Why Adults Love It: It’s a quiet, gentle story about friendship and impermanence that says a lot without needing any words at all. I still love watching the animated film, which I actually used to show when I taught English in Hong Kong, since the whole story is told through music.
4. The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann
Why Kids Love It: The Nutcracker takes young readers through a genuinely strange, magical world, from Clara to the Mouse King to the Sugar Plum Fairy. I remember seeing the ballet as a child and being completely transported by it.
Why Adults Love It: For grown-ups, this is less about the plot and more about the tradition itself — most of us know this story through the ballet or a film version (there are plenty of Nutcracker adaptations to choose from) long before we ever read Hoffmann’s original text, which is odder and darker than people expect.
5. Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Why Kids Love It: Twas the Night Before Christmas is the classic Christmas Eve poem — rhythmic, easy to read aloud, and full of imagery that’s stuck in the culture for two hundred years. I had an illustrated edition of this as a child and loved reading it every December.
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Learn More About GenkiWhy Adults Love It: It’s less about the story and more about what it brings back — this is one of those poems that, the moment you hear it, puts you straight back in a childhood Christmas.
“The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.”
Read Next: There’s also a colouring book version of this book and I included it in my list of the best Christmas colouring books for adults.
Honorable Mention: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Not strictly a Christmas book, but the illustrations are set in a snowy winter landscape and the animated film premiered at Christmas, so I’ve always associated it with the season.
There’s also an animated film version on Prime Video — I watched it when it came out at Christmas 2022 and cried like a baby.
Why Kids Love It: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a beautifully illustrated story about friendship, told gently enough that kids connect with it easily. There’s also a version with illustrations from the animated film.
Why Adults Love It: The book’s small moments of wisdom about kindness and connection land just as well, if not better, with adults — which is really why it’s ended up as a favourite across every age group.
“‘What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said?’ asked the boy. ‘Help,’ said the horse.”
More Christmas Books for Kids & Big Kids
Do you have any nostalgic Christmas books for kids that you still enjoy today? Let me know your suggestions in the comments below.
Read Next: For more festive reads, check out my post on the best Christmas books for adults. And for more festive bookish ideas, check out these posts on stocking stuffers for book lovers and how to make a book advent calendar.
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Amy Poulton
I’m Amy, an explorer of real and fictional worlds. A word huntress. An escape artist. A page traveller.
I started this blog in 2015 when I was living as an expat in Hong Kong, as a way to keep in touch with friends and family back home. Later, I wrote about my backpacking adventures in Southeast Asia and Mexico, as well as my other experiences living overseas in Italy and Thailand.
Two years ago, I started my next chapter as a digital nomad and travelling cat mom. And of course, I’ve been journeying through books all that time, too.
Now I host Nomad Book Club and literary reading retreats, and offer trip planning services.
Learn more about me and the Page Traveller blog here.