These Christmas books for book clubs make a good December gathering, whether your group wants a ghost story, a muddled romance, a murder in a snowbound room, or a short novel that asks something of its readers. Each…
Items 49 The creator’s order
1 A Christmas Carol (1843) ★ 7.9 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1843 Dickens makes a miser watch how his choices land on other people. Discuss which of the three spirits would have changed Scrooge’s mind on its own, and which part of his life he most needed to see again. An especially workable choice for a short December meeting. 0 2 Small Things Like These (2020) ★ 8.5 Open Library Published Jan 1, 2020 Just before Christmas, a coal merchant in a small Irish town discovers something he can no longer ignore. Ask what makes Bill’s eventual choice possible and why many of his neighbors choose differently. A short novel with institutional abuse behind its quiet setting. 0 3 Skipping Christmas (1998) ★ 6.3 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1998 A couple decides to trade its usual Christmas obligations for a cruise. The joke is in how seriously the neighbors take a missing rooftop decoration. Ask which holiday ritual you’d happily drop and which one you’d defend if your street did the same. 0 4 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972) ★ 8.8 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1972 The Herdmans upend a church pageant after hearing that rehearsals come with snacks. Adults and kids can ask why the newcomers understand parts of the Christmas story that the regular performers have stopped noticing. 0 5 Mr. Dickens and his carol (2017) ★ 6.0 Open Library Published Jan 1, 2017 An imagined Charles Dickens is under pressure to deliver a Christmas book and find a way out of his debts. Read alongside A Christmas Carol if the group has time, then discuss which experiences the novel uses to explain the ghost story and which it leaves mysterious. 0 6 A Christmas Memory (1956) Published Jan 1, 1956 A boy and his much older cousin make fruitcakes for a long list of recipients, many of whom barely know them. Discuss how making something together can matter as much as giving it. Often read as a short story, and available in gift editions or story collections. 0 7 The Christmas hirelings (1894) ★ 8.0 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1894 An elderly baronet brings children to his house for Christmas, an arrangement that soon pushes at his assumptions about family. Ask what makes such a heavily planned celebration feel genuine by the time it happens. 0 8 The Father Christmas letters (1976) ★ 9.0 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1976 Tolkien kept up a family tradition by sending his children illustrated letters from Father Christmas. The voice changes when the North Polar Bear gets involved. Ask what the drawings make possible that a letter alone couldn’t, then compare the imaginary North Pole with the rituals your own families… 0 9 The Christmas Pig (2021) ★ 9.3 Open Library Published Jan 1, 2021 A boy enters a realm full of lost belongings to find the toy he misses at Christmas. Invite younger readers to name the lost object they’d try hardest to rescue, then ask what makes a replacement start to matter in its own right. 0 10 The Nutcracker and the King of Mice (1853) ★ 10.0 Open Library Published Jan 1, 1853 Read Hoffmann’s original for the parts many productions of the ballet leave out, including the nutcracker’s backstory. Ask how the story changes when the clashing mice and the threat to the heroine feel more like a nightmare than a dance. 0 
A Christmas Carol (1843)Published Jan 1, 1843Dickens makes a miser watch how his choices land on other people. Discuss which of the three spirits would have changed Scrooge’s mind on its own, and which part of his life he most needed to see again. An especially workable choice for a short December meeting.0
Small Things Like These (2020)Published Jan 1, 2020Just before Christmas, a coal merchant in a small Irish town discovers something he can no longer ignore. Ask what makes Bill’s eventual choice possible and why many of his neighbors choose differently. A short novel with institutional abuse behind its quiet setting.0
Skipping Christmas (1998)Published Jan 1, 1998A couple decides to trade its usual Christmas obligations for a cruise. The joke is in how seriously the neighbors take a missing rooftop decoration. Ask which holiday ritual you’d happily drop and which one you’d defend if your street did the same.0
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972)Published Jan 1, 1972The Herdmans upend a church pageant after hearing that rehearsals come with snacks. Adults and kids can ask why the newcomers understand parts of the Christmas story that the regular performers have stopped noticing.0
Mr. Dickens and his carol (2017)Published Jan 1, 2017An imagined Charles Dickens is under pressure to deliver a Christmas book and find a way out of his debts. Read alongside A Christmas Carol if the group has time, then discuss which experiences the novel uses to explain the ghost story and which it leaves mysterious.0
A Christmas Memory (1956)Published Jan 1, 1956A boy and his much older cousin make fruitcakes for a long list of recipients, many of whom barely know them. Discuss how making something together can matter as much as giving it. Often read as a short story, and available in gift editions or story collections.0
The Christmas hirelings (1894)Published Jan 1, 1894An elderly baronet brings children to his house for Christmas, an arrangement that soon pushes at his assumptions about family. Ask what makes such a heavily planned celebration feel genuine by the time it happens.0
The Father Christmas letters (1976)Published Jan 1, 1976Tolkien kept up a family tradition by sending his children illustrated letters from Father Christmas. The voice changes when the North Polar Bear gets involved. Ask what the drawings make possible that a letter alone couldn’t, then compare the imaginary North Pole with the rituals your own families…0
The Christmas Pig (2021)Published Jan 1, 2021A boy enters a realm full of lost belongings to find the toy he misses at Christmas. Invite younger readers to name the lost object they’d try hardest to rescue, then ask what makes a replacement start to matter in its own right.0
The Nutcracker and the King of Mice (1853)Published Jan 1, 1853Read Hoffmann’s original for the parts many productions of the ballet leave out, including the nutcracker’s backstory. Ask how the story changes when the clashing mice and the threat to the heroine feel more like a nightmare than a dance.0