In the Elf-help section.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
but can you recite the whole of it? Put your brain at ease and read the rest at poet.org
‘ Visit from St. Nicholas’ by Clement Clarke Moore, 1779 - 1863
Need to calm the little ones down on Christmas Eve so that the final present wrapping can be done, a bedtime story for the season could work. Not all of the 20 summarised by Ellie Hall at Buzzfeed are bedtime stories, though it’s likely one of these is in your home ‘20 Magical Children’s Christmas Books To Read Aloud’
Congratulations to those who have finished their Christmas shopping, but if you’re still looking for a children’s gift this list of books is spot on, especially for Australia. I bought one for a little niece. 8 books by Australian authors to buy for kids aged 0 to 8 this Christmas
Do Christmas games calm the festive folk down at your gathering, give a few more minutes to those preparing the feast or raise the tempo among the competitive types? Try a Christmas Quiz from Dr Steve (Steven M Sultanoff) at Humor Matters***. On offer is Christmas Carols and Songs - Final Exam Note there are three different versions, but when visiting this site the link to‘printable version‘ for each takes to the same version. This is an old page and site. So you may need to select and drag from the web page to extract versions 2 & 3, (possible was just in too much of a festive hurry). You can just use Version 1. Don’t forget to grab the answers from the site – wouldn’t want the quiz master to be in trouble.
What Christmas song is ‘Noises from celestial beings above’? Answer : ‘Angels we have heard on high’ Full lyrics at metrolyrics.com and probably a hundred other sites.
Dazzle family and friends or send them into a comatose daze with your extreme knowledge of that rousing Christmas carol ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’. From the Library of Congress blog is this fulsome and interesting illustrated history of the lyrics and tune. Read all about it in this piece by Cait Miller, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”: An Illustrated History
‘Some Stories behind Christmas Carols’ presents brief historical information about a few other carols.
Finally looking to 2017, ramp up your reading and take part in one of the multitude of challenges available. Tanya Patrice offers ‘The Master List of 2017 Reading Challenges’ It is an extensive list and surely there’s a challenge to suit your interests. I am very fond of libraries and so partial to Bea’s ‘2017 Library Love Challenge’ Since the Centre is spiritually oriented, Tim Challies’ challenge options look to feed the mind, spirit and soul. Check out ‘The 2017 Christian Reading Challenge’ Are you shy or doubtful about participating in a reading challenge? No worries, do one on your own without signing up or registering. Still gets you reading, make it your New Year resolution.
There are ‘lists’ to help find something to read that suits age ranges or interests from a myriad of sources. Below are just a sample.
- ReadPlus is geared to books for young people aged 5 to 18. You can find out about books that have won major awards in the ‘Latest News’, while under the ‘Promote Reading’ there are some worthy lists such as ‘Books for Boys’. For fuller benefits of the site, one needs to sign up to it.
- ‘Announcing Australia’s Top 100 for 2016!’ at Better Reading which says “The Top 100 is more than just a list – it’s a go-to for your next read.” It also has a ‘Kids’ Top 50’.
- Staff at LibraryThing give their favourites; seethe ‘Top Five Books of 2016’ at the blog.
- The folks at Goodreads give us ‘Best Books of 2016’ and ‘Most Popular Books Published in 2016’.
- Times Critics’ Top Books of 2016 from the New York Times.
[***With thanks to Jenny Watts and the great work she does for teacher-librarians around Australia.]
Sandro Botticelli [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/visit-st-nicholas
https://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/20-childrens-christmas-books-to-read-aloud?utm_term=.ldAAjw0Ve#.de4oDnXrv
http://www.writerscentre.com.au/blog/8-books-by-australian-authors-to-buy-for-kids-aged-0-to-8-this-christmas/
http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Christmas/xmassongs.htm
http://www.metrolyrics.com/angels-we-have-heard-on-high-lyrics-christmas-song.html
http://blogs.loc.gov/music/2016/12/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-an-illustrated-history/
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/carols_stories.shtml
http://www.girlxoxo.com/the-master-list-of-2017-reading-challenges/
http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/sign-up-2017-library-love-challenge.html
http://www.challies.com/resources/the-2017-christian-reading-challenge
http://readplus.com.au/index.php
http://www.betterreading.com.au/top-100/
http://blog.librarything.com/main/2016/12/top-five-2016/
https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2016
https://www.goodreads.com/book/popular_by_date/2016
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/14/arts/the-top-books-of-2016.html?_r=1