Menu

Reading list

Best Christmas Books: Festive Reads for Adults and Classics to Revisit

By

Last updated 18 books

Short answer

The best Christmas books depend on your mood. Read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens for a classic, Skipping Christmas by John Grisham for a funny novel, One Day in December by Josie Silver for romance, Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie for a mystery, or A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote for a short read.

Classic Christmas books

These four were first published in book form more than 70 years ago and are still read every December. They are a novella, two short stories and a memoir-style piece, so the form is named in each note.

  1. A Christmas Carol

    Charles Dickens, 1843

    A novella about Scrooge, three ghosts and a change of heart, shorter, sharper and funnier than most film versions suggest. Dickens writes it like a story told aloud. Good for reading aloud over a few evenings, or re-reading every year.

  2. The Gift of the Magi

    O. Henry, 1906

    A short story, first collected in The Four Million, about a young couple who each sell their most prized possession to buy the other a Christmas present. The twist is famous and still lands. Good for a lunch break or a first Christmas read for a teenager.

  3. The Greatest Gift

    Philip Van Doren Stern, 1943

    A short story in which a man who feels he has failed everyone is shown his town as if he had never been born, and the basis of the film It's a Wonderful Life. Stern could not find a publisher, so he sent it out as booklets to 200 friends in December 1943. Good for film fans who want the original.

  4. A Child's Christmas in Wales

    Dylan Thomas, 1954

    A short prose memoir, first published as a book by New Directions in 1954, in which a grown man looks back on the Christmases of his boyhood in very musical language that suits being read slowly. The current New Directions paperback is 48 pages. Good for reading aloud on Christmas Eve.

Best Christmas novels

Full-length adult novels where Christmas is central to the plot. The tones differ on purpose: funny, gentle, family-sized and a little bittersweet.

  1. Skipping Christmas

    John Grisham, 2001

    Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas, spend the money on a Caribbean cruise and ignore every neighbourhood tradition. It is a light comedy at about 200 pages, not a legal thriller. Good for a quick, funny read when the Christmas rush is wearing you down.

  2. A Redbird Christmas

    Fannie Flagg, 2004

    A man from Chicago is told he has little time left and moves to the small Alabama town of Lost River for the winter, where a wounded cardinal named Jack becomes part of the town. It is gentle and warm. Good for a cosy night in and for readers who like small-town stories.

  3. Winter Street

    Elin Hilderbrand, 2014

    Kelley Quinn runs a Nantucket inn and expects a perfect family Christmas, until he discovers the hired Santa kissing his wife and his grown children arrive with troubles of their own. It is also the first book in the Quinn family series. Good for readers who like a big cast and plenty of family chaos.

  4. Mr. Dickens and His Carol

    Samantha Silva, 2017

    An imagined account of how Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol: his latest book is failing, his publishers want a Christmas story, and a woman named Eleanor Lovejoy may be the muse he needs. The story is invented, not a biography. Good for Dickens fans and anyone who likes a book about writing a book.

  5. Christmas Pudding

    Nancy Mitford, 1932

    A comic novel of a Cotswolds Christmas, in which a young novelist arrives to read a Victorian poet's diaries and falls in with the family. It was published by Thornton Butterworth in 1932 and is easiest to find in the Vintage paperback Christmas Pudding and Pigeon Pie (2013), which collects it with a second Mitford novel. Good for dry, quick British humour, read as a period piece.

Romantic Christmas books

Four romances for anyone searching for the best Christmas romance books, with Christmas as the backdrop and the plot. They are contemporary, a time-loop rom-com, a dating comedy and a historical novella. Listings differ on how explicit each book is, so check the retailer or library description for content notes before you give one as a gift.

  1. One Day in December

    Josie Silver, 2018

    On a December bus ride Laurie sees a stranger and they share a spark, then a year later he turns up as her best friend's boyfriend. The novel follows both of them over ten years of Decembers. Good for romance readers who like a long timeline and slow-burn longing.

  2. In a Holidaze

    Christina Lauren, 2020

    Maelyn spends every Christmas at a family cabin in Utah and this is the last one, until a wish sends her back to relive the week and put things right. It is a rom-com with a time-loop twist. Good for readers who want something funny with a touch of fantasy.

  3. The Twelve Dates of Christmas

    Jenny Bayliss, 2020

    Kate Turner, a designer in the small English town of Blexford, is signed up by her best friend with a dating agency and sets off on twelve dates before Christmas. The countdown structure makes it easy to read a chapter at a time. Good for an advent-style read in December.

  4. A Wallflower Christmas

    Lisa Kleypas, 2008

    American Rafe Bowman goes bride shopping in London, where his father wants him to marry Lady Natalie, and he finds himself drawn to her cousin Hannah instead. It is a short historical Christmas novella (224 pages in the St. Martin's hardcover), set in the world of Kleypas's Wallflowers series, so readers of the earlier books will recognise the cast. Good for a one-evening historical romance.

Christmas mystery and cosy crime

All three are British-style crime stories set over Christmas, so expect country houses and a closed circle of suspects.

  1. Hercule Poirot's Christmas

    Agatha Christie, 1938

    The wealthy Simeon Lee invites his estranged family to Gorston Hall for Christmas and is found dead in a locked room, and Poirot is called in. This is one book in a long series, and the case is self-contained. Good for the classic armchair puzzle.

  2. Mystery in White

    J. Jefferson Farjeon, 1937

    On Christmas Eve a snowstorm stops a train and some passengers take shelter in an empty country house, where trouble follows. The British Library reissued it as a Crime Classic in 2014. Good for snowy evenings and readers who like vintage crime.

  3. Tied Up in Tinsel

    Ngaio Marsh, 1972

    A Christmas house party at Halberds, a household staff of ex-convicts, and a manservant who vanishes on Christmas Day. It is the 27th Alleyn book and the case plays out in one house over a few days. Good for readers who like a country-house crime with a theatrical edge.

Christmas short stories and quick reads

If you have an hour, not a week. Two works worth knowing, in two different shapes.

  1. A Christmas Memory

    Truman Capote, 1956

    A short story first printed in Mademoiselle in December 1956, in which a seven-year-old narrator and his much older cousin bake fruitcakes each Christmas in 1930s Alabama and mail them to people they barely know. It is funny first, then sad, and it ends with a kite. Good for a short evening read.

  2. Christmas Days

    Jeanette Winterson, 2016

    A story collection with twelve stories for the twelve days of Christmas, each paired with a recipe. It is a book of short pieces rather than a short book, so take one a night instead of reading it in a sitting. Good for a dip-in book on the bedside table.

How we chose these books

"Best" here means our editorial pick. We do not rank by sales. We chose good Christmas books for adults that are actually about Christmas, or set around it in a way that matters to the plot. Every book was checked for its title, author and first publication year against a library, publisher or bookseller page, linked at the bottom of this page.

Looking for more reading ideas? Browse the full Books hub. If you write too, our guides on how to write a book and how to publish a book cover the steps from first draft to finished book.

Planning a December meeting? See Christmas books for book clubs. Buying for someone else? Try best books to gift for Christmas. Reading with children? See best Christmas picture books.

How this list is updated

We review this list once a year in the autumn and show the date at the top. We do not accept payment to include a book, and we do not use affiliate links. Titles and authors are named for information only.

Questions readers ask

What are the best Christmas books for adults?

It depends on the mood. For a classic, start with A Christmas Carol. For a warm novel, try A Redbird Christmas or Winter Street. For romance, One Day in December is a good first pick. For a puzzle by the fire, try Hercule Poirot's Christmas. Each section on this page lists more, with who it suits.

What are the best classic Christmas books?

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843), The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (1906) and A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas are the three we would hand to anyone. The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern (1943) is the short story behind the film It's a Wonderful Life.

What are the best Christmas novels to read this year?

For a funny one, try Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. For a gentle small-town story, A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. For a family-at-Christmas novel, Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand. All three are full-length novels. This page is reviewed every autumn and was updated for 2026.

What is a good Christmas romance book?

One Day in December by Josie Silver follows two people across ten years of Decembers. For a rom-com, The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss is built around a countdown of dates. For historical romance, A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas is a short historical story. Check each listing for content notes before you buy.

What are the best Christmas books of all time?

No one can rank this fairly, and we do not try. If you want books that have lasted, start with the classics section. A Christmas Carol, The Gift of the Magi, The Greatest Gift and A Child's Christmas in Wales are older titles that are still easy to find, and the first two are more than a century old.

What are good Christmas books for a book club?

Pick something short enough to finish in a week and open enough to argue about. A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Memory both work. Both are short, so members can finish them in an evening, and both leave plenty to discuss about generosity, memory and loss.

What are good Christmas books for kids?

This page is written for adult readers, so we have kept picture books and read-alouds for children off the list. For a child, look for a list built around their age rather than adult picks. Come back here when you want a Christmas book for yourself.

Are there good short Christmas stories to read in one sitting?

Yes. A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote runs to about 45 pages in its book edition. The Gift of the Magi can be read in a few minutes, and The Greatest Gift is a short story you can finish in an evening. Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson is a collection you can dip into one story at a time.

How we checked these books

Every title, author and year was checked against the publisher, retailer or library page below on. The notes on each book are our own.