Are YOU a book lover? Sure, anyone can say they love books. But when you're the ultimate book lover, you're going to want to take it to the next level and that means incorporating books into your holiday fun.
While most of these can be found on places like Etsy and Amazon, some may require mild crafting skills. Overall they make excellent projects for writers to do when they're not writing, but also are a fun way to bring bookish joy to children.
Here are 8 fun ways to celebrate the holidays with books:
1. Christmas Tree Of Books
A creative and fun way to make books the focal point of your holiday, consider crafting your own Christmas tree from a book stack rather than spending money on a real or plastic version. You can customize its appearance to match your style- maybe you only use mystery novels, maybe you add lights or other book-related ornaments, maybe you go full-Christmas and add an Angel topper and tinsel. Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong! You can also make it as big or little as you like, which means it's perfect for your at-home author office. Bonus: Not only are you saving money, but you're also being eco-friendly!
Fun Topper/Decoration Ideas:
2. Wrapping Paper & Accessories
Wrapping paper is a must during gift-giving, but did you know that it's also an opportunity to spread bookish cheer? That's right! You can purchase book-related wrapping paper and fixings to add your love of books to your holiday season with minimum effort. You can finish the look with book print bows, use book-inspired gift tags, or even create a bookish theme overall, like Game of Thrones or Pride and Prejudice. Simply choose solid book-colored paper (like burgundy, green, brown, etc.) and then print pages of your favorite book out to use as accents.
Wrapping Paper:
Book Bows:
Tutorial- How to Make a Perfect Book Page Bow
3. Ornaments
Ornaments are a fun way to personalize your tree. They're also a neat way to incorporate some of your all-time favorite stories. The photos above are a collection found on Etsy and Amazon, but don't feel limited to buying pre-made cheer. You can DIY some of these options. For example, take the pages of an old (or favorite) book, cut them into strips, and put them inside a glass bulb. You can make ornaments of your favorite book characters or authors by printing out their picture or logo and laminating it. Another great option is to create a garland made from cutting out miniature pictures of your favorite books and hot glueing it onto string.
Ornaments:
4. Bookmark Holiday Cards
Have a favorite memory you want to commemorate and share this year? Maybe you're a fan of professional-style family portraits. You can use a book quote too! Whatever your fancy, what better way to spread joy this season then by sending it to those you love and miss. Bookmark holiday cards are a great alternative to the traditional Christmas card and they double in uses as a bookmark so that they don't immediately get thrown out once the holidays are over. Another great idea is to send Christmas card bookmarks. Instead of a traditional card wishing people a Merry Christmas, you can send them one that doubles as a gift.
Bookmark:
5. Book Advent Calendar
This one is mainly for the kids in your life, but a celebrated tradition like the Christmas Advent Calendar is a staple in a lot of Christian homes. What better way to bring about excitement and anticipation to your little ones than through a book-style Advent Calendar. Bonus points if that calendar also tells the story of Christmas like this one: The Story of Christmas Story Book Set and Advent Calendar
Non-religious but still love books? Another way to do this activity is by reinventing it as a countdown to Christmas using books themselves. Choose 24 books (Christmas-themed or not) and wrap them with the number of each day written on the tag. Have your children unwrap one a day and read it together as a family, saving the most special one for the 24th. Don't worry, you don't have to buy all new books if you're on a tight budget. Simply wrap some of the ones you've got lying around the house already and only purchase the last one.
Need more inspiration? See Sugar Maple's article of how to pull off this special Christmas activity.
6. Eight Nights of Books
Similar to the Advent Calendar idea, you can incorporate books into the Eight Nights of Hannuka. Simply wrap 8 books and label them for each night. Better yet you can make them Hannuka themed, like these options: All About Hanukkah, and The Story of Hanukkah to help your children learn more about the holiday and it's importance while still having fun as a family. Keep a mix of genres to keep things both educational and interesting. You can even pair these with companion items like a dreidel.
7. Book-Themed Gifts & Gift Cards
Although a tad bit unoriginal, giving books as Christmas gifts is a tradition much-loved by bookworms and writers everywhere. You can't go wrong with a copy of your favorite novel (or a signed copy of your own if you wrote one!). Other alternatives include purchasing a bookmark-shaped Amazon gift card, or thinking outside the box, book-themed merchandise. This comes in handy especially for all your writing friends, or maybe even a writer spouse. It's also a fantastic option for teenagers who enjoy reading as well.
Book-inspired gifts:
Kate Spade New York Canvas Tote Bag with Interior Pocket - A book-themed bag for the literary lady in your life
Novel Teas - Various teas that come with literary themes, great for someone who loves a steaming mug with their books
8. Start A Book-Giving Tradition
Looking for a way to bring something special to your Christmas traditions? Look no further! Take a page from this tradition from Iceland. Great for individual readers as well as families with small children, you gift everyone in your household a new book as their Christmas Eve "gift". Then you settle in to read either separately or as a family depending on your preference.
Sources:
All photos (unless specified otherwise) come from Amazon as part of their affiliate program. Book Christmas tree photo comes from Kitchn's article: 10 Ways to DIY a Christmas Tree Out of Things That Are Not Trees, cardboard book print wrapping paper photo, just one more chapter ornament, and books inside an ornament photo come from Etsy, Wishing You Heaps Of Joy photo comes from Kristen Werner's website: Holiday Card Series 2010 – Day 18, Advent Calendar wrapped books photo comes from Sugar Maple's Article: DIY Christmas Book Advent Calendar
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