Christmas DIY: Traditions | 25-Books-in-December

Happy Holidays! Today I want to share a special project that our family started in 2012. Originally inspired by Pinterest, I added touches better suited to my style and our family. We loved it so much that it's definitely a tradition that we'll continue for years to come! It's such a simple project that any parent can put together... you and your child can share your love of reading together all month long! The best part... it's a great way to start a wonderful collection of books that your child can enjoy all year!

When it came to gathering books together for this project, and being the frugal mommy that I am, I tried to find the most inexpensive route. I rotate my daughter's book collection every six months, so I like to include some of those books for this project. They're almost like new to her, since it's been a while since she's seen that particular book.

I also frequent the local Goodwill often and make it a habit to scour the children's book section. You do have to thumb through each book to make sure the pages are all there, and that they aren't covered with crayon marks. But it's definitely worth the time and effort, because the prices of kids books are incredible! And on that rare occasion you may find something you weren't expecting!

Here is the stack of books that I'm using for this year's 25-Books-in-December...

When I mentioned earlier that sometimes you find something unexpected, this is what I was talking about! 90% of these books came from our local Goodwill. You can imagine how excited I was to find numerous Hawaiian books for $.50 a piece! It was a great way to build my daughter's Hawaiian book collection :) The other 10% of them are from family members and cousins that passed down their favorite books. They were put away until she was old enough to read them.

So don't think that you need to go out and buy ALL brand new books for this project! "Be Green" and buy secondhand, like I did :) If you're a book lover yourself, you'll find much joy in searching the thrift store's shelves for books to be treasured by your little ones. I absolutely love it!

Next comes another fun part...I don't know about you, but I love wrapping presents! It's one of my favorite things to do during Christmas time, so I treated this batch of books just like a stack of Christmas presents! I alternated between pretty printed wrapping paper and brown Kraft paper, and adorned each book with a handmade tag and white & gold twine.

My Silhouette Cameo named "Candy" [a gift from the hubs last Valentine's Day ;)] helped with the tags. Super simple... no cutting for me! I decorated each one with various washi tape and hand wrote the numbers with some of my favorite pens. Some gold and white twine wrapped around each book finishes my 25-Books-in-December.

Christmas DIY: Traditions | 25-Books-in-December

PROJECT IN ACTION: Here is a look at a favorite book from last week. This is such a fun tradition! We get to read together as a family or one-on-one, and discover new adventures each and every night. We look forward to putting on our favorite jammies and snuggling up together with a new book. At the end of the night, it goes into a basket under the Christmas tree with the rest of the books we opened, to be enjoyed any time.

That's all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed my Christmas post! If you're looking for more DIY Holiday inspiration, check out my handmade Activity Advent Calendar. I have even more fun projects, ideas, and inspiration on my "Holidays" pinboard on pinterest! Are you documenting December? I'm doing a December Daily this year! I'll also be sharing more of my Christmas projects this month, so stay tuned!

You can stay updated on all of my recent posts, projects, and photos by following me on instagram or by "liking" my fan page on Facebook.

Do you share this family tradition? Have I inspired you to try it? Any thoughts, questions, or comments about this post? I'd love to hear it! Your feedback is always welcome and much appreciated.

Mahalo for stopping by!