The holidays—and winter break—have arrived. It’s hectic, it’s action-packed … and it’s the ideal time to set the stage for your kids to fall in love with reading.
Make yourself a cup of cocoa, find a warm blanket, and snuggle in for these fun ideas for making those extended gloomy days indoors bright through the magic of books.
1. Bring Stories to Life
Enjoy activities inspired by your child’s favorite books! For instance, if they’re into stories set in outer space, visit a local planetarium or stargaze together in the backyard. Check out this list of even more activities to foster a love of books both on and off the page.
2. Book-ify Movie Night
Devote some family chill time to celebrating your child’s favorite reads. From classics to comics, there’s no shortage of films adapted from kids’ books to help take movie night—and their love of reading—to the next level.
3. Share the Book Love
What do you get when you combine holiday gifting with a love of books? A White Elephant Book Exchange! This twist on the old party game is a great way for the family to get festive (and silly) while sharing their favorite books. Here are the rules.
4. Not-So-Secret Stashes
The best books shouldn’t hide on shelves. Place baskets throughout your home and entice your child with collections curated by their favorite topics. Regularly switch them up with new titles to keep them reaching for more.
5. C’mon, Get Crafty!
Cold-weather days are perfect for crafts. Encourage your child to mine some books for projects to do with friends and family. It’s a fun way to choose activities based on their own interests and share them with others in a hands-on way.
6. Winter Reading Bingo
Here’s how it works: pick 1-5 holiday books. Then create a Bingo grid filled with common words or objects from each book for your child to find and cross off.
When they get 5 in a row, bingo! Create yours for free at MyFreeBingoCards.com.
7. Make it a Treat
Show of hands … whose kids skip happily to bed each night, nary a word until morning?
Here’s a Bingo card example of our own:
That’s great for you! For the occasional protest, though, fun tip: let them stay up past bedtime once in a while—with a book. It’ll feel like a rare and special privilege.
8. Be Your Own Author
What better way to get your child excited to read books than to let them create their own? Get them fired up talking about their favorite book, movie or video game and set them up with a book-making kit like this one from Lulu Junior, or make your own with some arts and craft supplies around the house. You can also check out these ideas from Scholastic.
9. Take it to the Big Screen
Does your child go crazy for tools they can use on their phone or tablet? Challenge them to imagine their favorite book as a movie and make a short trailer using a camera and video editing app. Try this list of top apps just for kids.
10. Epic Holiday Book List
Last but not least, get your child into the spirit of reading and the holidays with our list of recommended holiday picture books. Readers of all ages and backgrounds can enjoy these timeless, heartwarming classics.
Welp, that’s our list. Happy Christmas-Hanukkah-Kwanzaa … and reading!
