2013 Home for the Holidays Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 51
“Elf on the Shelf” is available lo-
cally at Mary Todd Hallmark and is
available in a boy elf or a girl elf.
The elf and book combo may seem
a little pricey, but remember that
once the elf comes to stay, he or
she will return year after year.
Another activity book is the “1,001
Things to Spot at Christmas.” This
book offers puzzle pages where
children identify objects in colorful
picture pages. The book provides
several hours of entertainment,
depending on the age level of the
child, and could be spread across
multiple days by solving one puz-
zle each night before bedtime.
Other books that can go on the list
of bedtime reading could be those
about the magic of Christmas:
“Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or more
contemporary books such as “The
Polar Express.” And, it doesn’t
have to be a one-book-per-night
situation. Choose longer, more
complicated storylines for older
children and divide the reading
into nightly “chapters,” timing it to
come to a conclusion on Christmas
Eve.
As the holiday season progresses,
Santa becomes an important part of
the season for children. Books such
as “How Santa Got His Job” and
“The Night Before Christmas” are
sure to be favorites. It might even
be wise to designate “The Night
Before Christmas” as the special
read for Christmas Eve.
In addition, children can enjoy
and relate to the birth of Christ
and the true spirit of Christmas
through books written especially
for their age level. Stories such as
“God Gave Us Christmas,” “The
Christmas Story” and “On This
Special Night” can help children
understand the true meaning of the
holiday.
“On This Special Night” is a story
of a journey much like that made
by the shepherds. As the animals
on the plain near where Christ was
born see a special star appear in
the night sky, they realize it has a
meaning that is significant to all of
them. They begin their journey, fol-
lowing the star to the site where the
Christ Child lay. While this book,
like others written about the birth
of Christ, is not biblically correct, it
does convey a message of the mira-
cle of the birth, and small children
will better relate to little animals
than they might to shepherds.
Children’s books are available in a
variety of locations in Lincoln and
with a variety of price tags.
In addition, the Lincoln Public Li-
brary Annex offers a large variety
of books, and some are especially
suitable for small children, a great
target audience at this time of year.
Reading the real Christmas story
from the Bible can be a solemn
and important event in the family.
While older children may under-
stand the written Word on their
own, don’t be afraid to paraphrase
the story and bring it down to an
understandable level on your own
for the littler ones.
At the end of a hectic day, setting
aside even as little as 15 minutes
of peace and quiet for the family
through a family reading time may
have a very surprising effect on
