Best Christmas Books to Read This Year

One of the best ways to get in the mood for Christmas is to read books about Christmas! These are some of the best Christmas books for adults that are sure to make you feel festive.

Do you love Christmas? Then you’ll love these books set at Christmas! Think snowy landscapes, warm hot chocolate by the fire, a dash of romance… Sound good to you?

These are some of the best books about Christmas that will get you in the Christmas mood. There’s a mix here of books about Christmas for adults, young adults and children that can actually be enjoyed by people of all ages.

And if you’re here looking for books on Christmas to gift to a loved one this year (and who doesn’t love new books for Christmas) then you’ve come to the right place. These famous Christmas books will make the perfect gifts!

Classic Christmas Books

These Christmas book classics are some of the best Christmas novels to have ever been written. Whilst they’re not the most famous pieces of literature by any of these literary giants, it’s well worth reading their forays into Christmas literature.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Unlike most Dickens novels (I’m looking at you, Bleak House), this book is short and sweet.

A Christmas Carol tells the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish old man who hates Christmas. He’s mean to those who work for him, refuses to donate anything to charity and is rude to his nephew when he invites him to Christmas.

One evening, he is visited by the ghost of someone he once knew, whose spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth in chains as he was greedy and selfish throughout his life.

He is then visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, who show Christmas at three different points in time.

After these haunting visits, Scrooge realises the error of his ways and rediscovers his Christmas spirit.

Scrooge is an iconic Christmas figure (bah humbug!) so reading the Dickens’ classic where this character was born is an absolute must.

It’s the classic tale of a grumpy old fool realising that there’s so much joy to be found in life and the perfect tale to cosy up with at Christmas.

Buy A Christmas Carol: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

If you’re looking for books set at Christmas that aren’t necessarily books about Christmas, then this one’s for you. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie is one of the best Christmas mystery books that you can devour in an afternoon.

Mr Simeon Lee is an incredibly wealthy Englishman who invites all of his family to spend Christmas at his mansion.

He’s not the most tolerable old man and has fallen out with most of his sons over the years so it’s set to be a fraught affair.

What is supposed to be a happy family reunion is actually a tense meeting and poor Mr Lee winds up dead.

But who did it?

A disgruntled son? A spiteful daughter-in-law? A long lost granddaughter?

It’s up to Mr Hercule Poirot to investigate and, in true Agatha Christie style, it’s all rather twisty and clever.

You won’t spot the ending coming in this short mystery and you’ll be on tenterhooks as you read who dunnit. This is one of the best short Christmas stories for adults and I’d highly recommend it to fans of Christie and mystery books.

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Buy Hercule Poirot’s Christmas: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

Letters From Father Christmas by J R R Tolkien

Letters From Father Christmas is an absolute joy to read. It’s a collection of letters written by Tolkien to his children over the course of several decades.

It’s such a heartwarming and imaginative collection of letters that will fill you with a childlike joy for Christmas. As you might expect from Tolkien, it’s sprinkled with love, humour, important lessons, and even some battles!

Whilst reading this, you can’t help but be jealous of Tolkien’s children who received these letters every year. And you’ll definitely shed a tear when you reach the last of Father Christmas’ letters!

What’s amazing is that this isn’t just a collection of made-up stories, but you also get a glimpse into what Tolkien and his family’s lives were like over the years through snippets of Father Christmas’ responses.

This collection is the perfect cosy Christmas read for children and adults alike and an absolute must for fans of Tolkien.

READ MORE: 15 Best Christmas Books for Kids

I’d highly recommend the centenary edition which contains pictures of the original letters so you can see Father Christmas’ wobbly writing for yourself as well as all his wonderful illustrations.

This book is for the adults who’ve forgotten the childish joy that Christmas can bring.

Buy Letters From Father Christmas: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

Best Christmas Romance Books

There’s something about a romance at Christmas time that is just extra cheesy and special. These romantic Christmas books will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

In a Holidaze starts with an interesting premise – it’s kind of like Groundhog day where Maelyn Jones is forced to re-live the days before Christmas again and again and again.

Every year, her family heads to a snowy cabin in Utah, where they spend the holiday with their family friends. This is a decades-long tradition that each of the families cherishes.

But the family who owns the cabin are facing rising costs and can no longer justify keeping their treasured cabin. Maelyn is devastated and whilst driving away from the cabin for the last time, she makes a wish.

She wants the universe to show her what will make her happy.

The next thing she knows, she’s transported back a few days earlier when they all arrived at the cabin. With a chance to do things differently, Maelyn is determined to change things so that she can save the cabin.

And there’s obviously some romance along the way.

Maelyn has been in love with Andrew since they were children. She’s never said anything for fear of messing things up for both their families, but with the chance to start the holiday afresh, she decides to take the plunge.

It’s a swoon-worthy romance and a great read for fans of the friends-to-lovers trope.

I did think the time loop part of the story added little to the overarching story and the book would’ve been better without it, but this is still a very enjoyable Christmas read.

Buy In a Holidaze: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

All I Want for Christmas by Joanna Bolouri

Joanna Boluri is one of my favourite romance writers and All I Want For Christmas is a brilliant feel-good Christmas book to add to your reading list.

It’s told from the perspective of Nick (yes, a romance from the man’s perspective!), who’s just been dumped and grudgingly accepts work at Santa’s grotto. It’s definitely not the most wonderful time of the year for Nick.

But at his new job, he meets a wonderful little boy named Alfie, whose only wish this Christmas is for his mum, Sarah, to be happy again.

Nick is so moved by little Alfie that he sets Sarah up on a date with his friend Matt. The pair hit it off and Sarah seems happy so mission accomplished.

Except Nick now realises that he is also into Sarah, which makes things just a little bit complicated.

All I Want For Christmas is a funny and heartwarming tale about love, family and friends, and how these relationships can be just a little bit messy sometimes.

Buy All I Want for Christmas: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

Ok so technically this one isn’t a Christmas book but lots of important moments are set on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, which still counts as festive.

This Time Next Year is about two babies born 1 minute apart on New Year’s Day in 1990. The mothers are from completely different walks of life but meet in the hospital and help each other through their births.

Connie had told Tara that she was going to name her child Quinn, a name that meant luck, but once the babies are born, Tara decides she’s going to name her child Quinn too.

Thinking it would be silly to name her child the same name, Connie names her daughter Minnie instead. Minnie Cooper. No, nobody realised it was the name of the car until it was too late.

Minnie is down on her luck throughout her life, especially on New Year’s Eve. She always tries to stay in so that bad things can’t happen to her or anyone around her.

Now she’s 30. And finds herself trapped in a toilet on New Year’s Eve. When someone finally rescues her, it turns out that person is Quinn. The Quinn Hamilton who stole her name from her 30 years ago.

The two find themselves thrown together a few times through circumstance and it turns out that they might be just what the other needs in life.

This is a lovely romance book that will give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside and make you believe in fate. It’s funny, romantic, heartwarming – a tale of love, self-discovery and family.

A must-read if you love Christmas romances.

Buy This Time Next Year: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

And Christmas romance books I’d skip? Baby It’s Cold Outside by Emily Bell, 12 Dates of Christmas and One Day in December by Josie Silver. Well-loved by plenty but neither of these hit the mark for me.

Young Adult Christmas Books

I love a good young adult Christmas book, and these four Christmas books for teens are some of the best. They’re such easy reads and I absolutely love them.

Let It Snow by John Green

Let It Snow is made up of three short stories by three bestselling young adult authors that have been woven together to create this fantastic Christmas tale.

The story is set on Christmas Eve in a snow-laden Gracetown and follows 3 different teenage romances at different stages.

The first story is written by Maureen Johnson whose writing is very similar to John Green’s. Her story is a brilliant opener for this book and will grip you right away.

The second story, written by John Green, is without a doubt the best part of the novel. John Green has this magical ability to put into words exactly how a teenager feels.

His story is a classic friends-to-lovers tale but despite the fact this trope has been retold time and time again, his story felt particularly real.

In the final section, all the different strands of the story come together and you see how all the characters that you’ve already met in the previous two sections know each other.

It’s really rather clever and amazing that it was written by 3 different authors.

I almost wish that this novel had actually been split into three separate books so that each author could’ve spent more time developing the relationships between each pair.

All in all, Let It Snow is the perfect young adult Christmas book and fans of John Green will lap up this novel.

If you’re looking for three short and sweet Christmas romances then Let It Snow is definitely the book for you.

READ MORE: Let It Snow Book Review

Buy Let It Snow: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash and Lily’s story begins when Dash stumbles across a red notebook wedged in next to his favourite book at his favourite bookstore.

Inside the mysterious notebook, Dash finds a list of things to do, if he dares (and, of course, he does), and so begins his adventure with Lily, the notebook’s owner.

Whilst the premise of this book sounds too good to be true (if only the perfect guy would stumble across a book where I’d left notes!), this teen romance is sweet, exciting and actually quite relatable.

Listen to Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares for free with an Audible trial!

Both Dash and Lily are outsiders who feel much more comfortable with writing things down than saying them out loud.

Both characters are down to earth and you’ll wish you had friends like these in your life.

This is an absolutely fantastic Christmas book for teens that I’d highly recommend – especially if you’re a romantic and a bookworm.

Once you’ve read it, check out the Dash and Lily series on Netflix, which is a brilliant adaptation of the book!

READ MORE: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares Book Review

Buy Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins et al

My True Love Gave to Me is an anthology of 12 warm, wintery tales by some of the best and most popular YA writers today.

Each story is totally different from the next, but each and every one is a wonderful read.

There’s a story of two best friends who never manage to kiss at New Years, a story about two teens who meet whilst shopping for Christmas trees, a story about a guy who pretends to be Santa for his boyfriend’s family and more.

The greatest thing about this collection is that the stories are so diverse and include characters from all walks of life. You can read about different cultures, traditions, people, even different worlds.

If you love sweet holiday reads and are a fan of any of the YA authors featured in this novel (Jenny Han, Holly Black, Rainbow Rowell and more!) then you’ll adore this collection of short stories.

Buy My True Love Gave to Me: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

RELATED: 22 Best Teen Romance Novels to Read

Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling

This is one that technically isn’t a Christmas book and yet somehow is. The Harry Potter books and films are so often associated with Christmas, and both have some of the best and most magical Christmas scenes.

You get to see Harry receive his very first Christmas presents (real ones anyway), imagine Hogwarts dusted in snow, dream about the tureens of food at the Christmas lunch and wonder what you’d get in your wizard crackers.

Christmas is considered to be a pretty magical time of the year anyway but can you imagine experiencing a Christmas in a place where magic actually exists?

The earlier, lighter novels have some of the most heartwarming and cheering Christmas moments and rereading the first and second Harry Potter novels at Christmastime always fills me with nostalgia.

I’m sure I’m not alone in that feeling and it’s something people often crave at Christmas as we see family, revisit yearly traditions and cosy up with old favourites.

If you’re in London for Christmas and love Harry Potter, then a visit to Hogwarts in the Snow at WB Tour London is also a must!

READ MORE: The Best Harry Potter Christmas Scenes

Buy Harry Potter: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

Wintery Books

The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Ilmari Jääskeläinen

If you’re looking for a winter mystery to curl up with this Christmas, then The Rabbit Back Literature Society is one to consider. There’s a literary society, a disappearance and a whirlwind of snow.

Need I say more?

Ella has just been invited to join “The Society”, an elite group of writers in the town of Rabbit Back in Finland. But it soon becomes apparent that things are not as they first seemed.

The group members are involved in a mysterious ritual called “The Game”, there’s a disappearance at The Society’s party, and it seems as if the very words inside books are rearranging themselves.

This is a charming but eerie novel with threads of dark humour running through it. It bridges the real world and fantasy, which just adds to the sense of mystery. This book is totally unpredictable and will fill your head with questions.

What’s more, this read is translated from Finnish so if you’re looking to add some more diverse literature to your bookshelves then give this one a go!

I will note that it is somewhat obvious in a few places that this is a translated piece of fiction but I find that’s all part of the fun of discovering literature set in different countries and written in other languages.

Buy The Rabbit Back Literature Society: Amazon | Bookshop.org UK

What are your favourite Christmas books and winter reads? Share yours in the comments below!

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