Family Christmas Book Exchange

A Family Christmas Book Exchange is such a fun way to celebrate the holiday with your family, and share your love of books!

Books are a big part of not just Christmas at our house, but the whole year. When it comes time to write letters to Santa, books are at the top of everyone’s Christmas list. As an avid reader, it makes my heart happy that my kids love books so much too.

I’ve hosted and participated in many Christmas book exchanges with friends and book clubs over the years, but this past year it hit me…how fun it would be to have a family Christmas book exchange!

Picking names…

I put my plan into action, and a few weeks before Christmas, we all picked names out of a hat. The name we chose was the person we would buy a book for. Though it was supposed to be a secret, that’s usually easier said than done, especially with little ones that are just bursting with eagerness! We set a reasonable budget, considering the ages of our kids, and how much money they would be able to earn. All the kids had opportunities to earn money along the way by doing extra chores around the house, and they could also use any savings they already had.

Choosing books…

Each child could consult with mom and dad about ideas, but in the end, they got to make the final decision on their own about which book was just the right one. It was so fun to hear them so excited about it, and to talk about what their person would love…and why. My husband and I spent time with each child to help them make their purchase. Sometimes it was at the bookstore, and often times we spent time perusing online resources. It was a really fun way to spend time with each child alone, and an extra benefit of this new tradition.

Christmas Eve Book Party!

We decided on Christmas Eve as the night for our book party, and thought it would be the perfect addition to our Christmas Eve “lineup”. We went one-by-one starting with the smallest, each person opening up their book, then in turn, handing over their gift to the next in line. The laughter and squeals of excitement to both give and receive were the icing on the cake.

Our first annual family book exchange was a bona fide hit, and is now a tradition that will be a part of our family for many Christmases to come.

Family Christmas Book Exchange