I love a sweet Christmas story. During December I am able to suspend a traditionally critical eye, and just enjoy a book that brings warmth to the season. The Christmas Jars is one of my favorites, with an engaging plot and an unforgettable message that pushes you to action. I am looking forward to reading this one out loud to my boys before Christmas and starting the tradition with them for next year! Click here to order.

There are some really amazing real-life Christmas jar stories out there you can read online too! Click here. Do you have a favorite Christmas book? Please share!

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Frequently Asked Questions: The Christmas Jars

Is The Christmas Jars good as a family read aloud?

That is exactly how I planned to use it — reading it out loud to my boys before Christmas and then starting the tradition with them the following year. It is short, warm, and the message is clear enough for children to grasp without anything being explained to them.

Is it too sentimental?

It is a sweet Christmas story and it does not apologise for that. What I would say is that during December I am able to suspend a traditionally critical eye and simply enjoy a book that brings warmth to the season. If you cannot do that, this may not be your book. If you can, it is one of the best of its kind.

What is the Christmas jar tradition?

Without spoiling the plot, the book centres on a jar of saved coins given anonymously to someone who needs it. Families who read it often start doing the same thing each year. There are real-life Christmas jar stories online, and reading a few of those with your children makes the idea concrete.

How long does it take to read?

An evening or two. It is deliberately short, which is one of its strengths — December is not a month with spare hours in it, and a Christmas book you cannot finish before Christmas is not much use. Read aloud a chapter a night, it fits neatly into the run-up to the holiday.