How to Find the Best Christmas Stories

For as long as people have been celebrating Christmas they've been telling - and later writing - stories about it. In these days of computer games, television and two-career families, sitting down to read together just might make for some of the most treasured memories your children carry with them through the years.

Things You'll Need

• Books
• Blankets
• Pillows
• Reading Chairs
• Reading Lamps

Instructions

1. Think back to your childhood and recall the stories you enjoyed most at Christmastime.

2. Ask older friends and relatives what stories they've loved best, as both adults and children.

3. Go to the library or a good neighborhood bookstore and look for the books you remember. While you're there, browse through the works of some of your favorite authors - nearly everyone has written something about Christmas.

4. Seek out mature librarians and bookstore staff members and ask for recommendations. People in their 50s and beyond can cast back farther in time for ideas - and if they're pros, they'll be just as up-to-date on new releases as the youngsters on duty.

5. Peruse the "New York Times Book Review" and the arts sections of other major papers in November. Most publish reviews of both new Christmas collections and old favorites during the month before the holiday.

Tips & Warnings

• Try not to get hung up on what stories are appropriate for what ages. Instead, look for solid, well-written stories that will stand the test of time. Your children will absorb what they can now; next year, when you read the same story again, they'll grasp a little more.

• Here's a highly subjective list of ideas to get you started: "A Child's Christmas in Wales" by Dylan Thomas, "Christmas Trees" by Robert Frost, "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" - King James Version, "The Story of the Other Wise Man" by Henry Van Dyke, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore, "The Father Christmas Letters" by J.R.R. Tolkein, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, and "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" by Francis P. Church, published in "The New York Sun" on September 21, 1897.