It is a firm tradition in our house to do the 12 Books of Christmas each year.  I have seen a lot of people doing a book advent this year, which I think is fantastic, but 24 books always seemed a bit overwhelming for me, so we go for 12 instead (it gives me more time to get it all ready as well!)  And this year is even better, because we've added in more of the spirit of giving to our tradition, which I'm very excited to tell you all about.

• Mog's Christmas Calamity
• Peppa Pig Christmas Activity Books
• Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh Christmas
• Toy Story and Finding Nemo Christmas
• Santa's Busy Christmas
• Jingle, Jingle Little Reindeer
• Twelve Days of Christmas Activity Book
• Can You Find 1001 Christmas Things
• Norman the Slug Who Saved Christmas
• Aliens Love Panta Claus
• Christmas Activity Book
• The Night Before Christmas

And because Christmas is the season of giving and it's so important to teach the children about giving to those less fortunate than us we are also giving away 12 books this year.  I sat with the children going through their book shelves and choosing books that they didn't read any more or that were too young for them.  I won't lie to you, this was not an easy process as they did not want to part with any of their books, but it's so worthwhile to do this with them and to have those conversations about the importance of giving.  We have a lot of books, so I thought we would be able to give away more than 12 (I was aiming for 12 each!) but considering how difficult they found it we have stuck with 12, and we'll do it again in a few months to remind them.  I'm currently deciding where to donate the books, I'm hoping that a local hospital or shelter might be able to take them.