Reading these words is a fundamental part of our Christmas Eve traditions. The kids are ready for bed and we settle down to read The Night Before Christmas together before everyone (hopefully) goes quickly to sleep.
There are so many different editions of this classic poem, written by a New York clergyman and first published in a local newspaper in 1822. This edition, with its gorgeous soft-focus colour pages and smaller black and white illustrations, captures the atmosphere of the story perfectly for me. The large pages (a little larger than A4) also make it ideal for a family to read together – no fights over who can and can’t see the pages.
Finding Christmas stories to read together, whether Bible and nativity stories or more contemporary tales, can be a wonderful part of forming lasting family Christmas traditions. For our family, The Night Before Christmas is a special part of how we celebrate Christmas together.
Title: The Night Before Christmas
Author: Clement C. Moore
Illustrator: Christian Birmingham
Publisher: HarperCollins, $16.99 RRP
Publication Date: 29 March 2003
Format: Soft cover
ISBN: 0007167113
For ages: 3+
Type: Picture book
