There's No Place Like HOME for Holiday Reading!



Greetings of the season my friends!

It's Jennifer from Stories and Songs in Second, stopping in during this busy holiday time to share good cheer and a unique type of reading celebration with you!  This post was written last December as the sun rose over Bonita Beach in southwest Florida.....a place that my own family has called "home" for the holidays for sixteen years.

Many of my siblings are wake up slowly each morning when we gather here, warming their hands around a mug of coffee or cocoa, with books open on their laps.  We were fortunate to be "raised as readers" by our Mom and Dad, and I am here today to share a creative way to help other teachers and parents encourage children to make time to honor and enjoy reading magic at home!

Today's idea was inspired by a very special Nordic picture book and an Icelandic tradition that I recently learned about!  I hope that you'll find that it is an easy one to adapt for use at home during the winter break, and then implement in your classroom afterwards!

Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!




Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!


My friend Kylie from Ripper's Resources  posted this photo on her Facebook page this morning, and I was immediately enchanted!  I had the sudden urge to go to Iceland to experience their Christmas Eve tradition of Jolabokaflod, and did a Google search to find out more!  This article from NPR revealed that the tradition of "The Christmas Book Flood" began during World War II when currency restrictions limited the quantity of imported gift ware in Iceland.  Restrictions on imported paper were more lenient though, thereby making books the holiday gift of choice.  That tradition has continued ever since.


Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!


My twist on this "Book Flood" tradition is this...

Imagine each member in your family choosing a favorite book they already own, wrapping it up, tagging it with their name and the reason why they love the story inside the package so much, and tucking it under the tree.



Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!



Then, on Christmas Eve night, when the family gathers together, the gift books are opened and either read to a partner, read aloud, or read alone in comfy pajamas with hot chocolate for refreshment before bedtime!



Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!



Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!



Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!



I am also thinking of hosting a "Welcome Back from Winter Break Book Flood" during the first week of January for my students!  I think it will be a wonderful way to introduce and enjoy the new books Santa delivered to our classroom, and get the group talking about the books they hopefully read with their families over vacation.

The "favorite" book that I will "gift" my students with during our classroom "Book Flood" will be the stunning, special saga of a sweet little girl named Anja who dreams of becoming one of Santa's elves. Even though Christmas will be over, the story's theme of perseverance and patience will be a good one to help us start the new year off on the right foot.  I hope that the opening line of
A Christmas Wish, created by the husband-and-wife team of Lori Evert and Per Breiehagen, draws my students in and captures their imagination.  I cannot wait to share it with them!

Long, long ago, in a place so far north that the mothers never pack away the wool hats or mittens...


Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!



I've included a link to these free gift tags and a writing page for you to use if you'd like.  Click  to {HERE} download the pages below!  

Start a simple yet worthy holiday tradition in your home or classroom this December! Host an Iceland-inspired Book Flood and share the gift of reading with your students and family members!







If you're looking for more ways to promote family literacy and engagement in your school community, be sure to check out my friend Em's post about the Readbox At Home she coordinates. There is nothing better than putting books into the hands and hearts of families that do not have access to quality literature, and I hope to enlist the help of some of my literacy initiative parent volunteers in January to do the same for my school community! Em also set up a YouTube channel for her colleagues to upload videos of themselves sharing their favorite books!  Imagine......tuning in for a bedtime story read by teachers from your school every night of winter break! What a special experience!

As always, I thank you for your loyal readership, and wish you these important things as another year draws to a close....

Good books.
Good times.
Good stories.
Good rhymes.









6 comments

  1. This is such a beautiful post! One tradition that I started with my sons is to give them a "Christmas Eve box" to open. Inside, I include a new pair of Christmas pajamas, a sweet treat, a new book, and sometimes a movie DVD. They have learned to look so forward to it! I just read The Reindeer Wish by Lori Everet where Anja befriends a reindeer. Gorgeous photos! I love your idea of a book flood and hope to start a new tradition. :-) Lauren

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    1. I just saw The Reindeer Wish online, Lauren, and am dropping it in my shopping cart today! I wish that I had started your tradition with my children when they were little! May your holidays be happy!
      ~Jennifer

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  2. You have such a gift, Jennifer. I so enjoy reading your posts. I absolutely love the book flood idea. Sharing right now!

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    1. Your kind comments always make my day, Carla! I wish my family had started this great tradition long ago!
      ~Jennifer

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  3. Oh my goodness!!! I am going to find ways to incorporate this throughout the year! Thank you so much for this wonderful post (even though I am a little late reading it).

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    1. Next year, the girls need to have matching pajamas and cocoa mugs while you have your own family Book Flood!
      ~Jennifer

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