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Meaningful gifts

Which Night Before Christmas book should I buy for my child?

How to choose a Night Before Christmas book by age, what to look for in an edition, and how to pair the classic poem with a book about your own family.

Storybook Studio Editorial Team7 min read
Two facing pages from a Storybook Studio personalized Christmas book: a family walking through a glowing toy workshop, and a small boy opening a drawer of carved wooden ornaments with his parents

The short answer

For most families, the best Night Before Christmas book is a clearly illustrated edition of Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem that matches your child's age: a sturdy board book for babies and toddlers, a full-text picture book for ages three to seven, and an illustrated gift edition for older readers. Many families pair the poem with a second book about their own Christmas Eve.

Key takeaways

  • The poem is public domain, so the real choice is the edition: its illustrations, its size and whether it prints the full text.
  • Match the format to the child: board book under three, full picture book from about three to seven, a gift edition for older readers.
  • A second, smaller book about your own family's Christmas Eve makes a natural partner to the classic.

The Night Before Christmas book most families mean is Clement Clarke Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," first printed in 1823. Because the text is public domain, dozens of publishers sell their own editions, and the right one for you depends mostly on your child's age and on which illustrations you want to look at every December for years.

Which Night Before Christmas book is best

There is no single official edition, so start with three questions.

Does it print the full poem? Some board books shorten the text to a handful of lines. That is fine for a one-year-old, but if you want to read the whole poem aloud, check the product description or the look-inside pages for the familiar ending, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Do you like the pictures? This is the part that really differs. Some editions copy the look of nineteenth-century engravings, some use soft watercolor, and some are bright and cartoonish. You will read the same pages every Christmas Eve, so pick art you enjoy, not only art your child likes today.

Will it survive? A holiday book comes out of a box once a year and gets handled by small hands. Thick pages and a sewn or sturdy binding matter more than gold foil on the cover.

If you just want to read the words before buying anything, the full poem is free from the Poetry Foundation and from Project Gutenberg, which also hosts a scanned illustrated edition.

How to choose by age

Babies and young toddlers (under 3). Choose a board book. The rhythm of the poem is what holds a baby's attention, so an abridged text is perfectly fine at this age. Look for big, simple pictures of the reindeer, the chimney and the stockings that you can point to and name.

Preschool and early school age (about 3 to 7). This is the sweet spot for a full-text picture book. Children this age love the list of reindeer names and the sound of "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer!" Read it slowly the first time, and let them chime in on the lines they remember the next year. Some words, like "kerchief" or "sash," will need a quick explanation, and that is part of the fun.

Older children (7 and up). A larger illustrated gift edition works well, especially if the child is starting to read aloud. Some families take turns reading a stanza each. An older child may also enjoy learning that the poem was published anonymously and that the question of who wrote it has been debated, which turns a familiar book into a small history lesson.

Grandparents reading on video. If a grandparent lives far away, a copy at each house lets them read along on a call. Agree on the same edition so the page turns match.

Building a Christmas Eve reading tradition

The poem works best as part of a routine rather than a one-off. A simple order many families use is: pajamas, a short tidy-up of the tree area, the poem, then lights out. Keeping it short protects bedtime on a night when children are already excited.

A few ideas that cost nothing:

  • Same reader, same chair. Let Dad read it every year, or let the oldest child take over once they can.
  • Write the year inside the cover. Add who was there and how old everyone was. After a few years the inside cover becomes its own record.
  • Pair it with one other book. The classic poem is about a house that could be anyone's. A second book that is clearly about your own family gives children something to recognize on the page.

That second book is where a personalized Christmas book fits. It does not replace the poem; it sits beside it.

What a finished personalized Christmas book looks like

Our sample personalized Christmas book shows a simple, conventional family: a mom, a dad and their young son spending Christmas Eve in a glowing toy workshop. In one spread the three of them walk down a long aisle of rocking horses, toy drums and wrapped gifts while snow falls outside tall arched windows. In another, the boy leans over a workbench and pulls open a small drawer of carved wooden ornaments while his parents watch over his shoulder.

The illustrated family is drawn from one photo you approve, so the child on the page looks like your child, and you choose who else belongs in the story. A family of four called Jake, Samantha and their two kids could all appear, or a pet could join them. The digital book stands on its own, and you can order a printed copy later if you want something to keep on the shelf next to the poem.

You can see the finished sample before deciding, and the Christmas gift guide covers how it compares with other holiday gifts.

Frequently asked questions

Who wrote The Night Before Christmas?

The poem is traditionally credited to Clement Clarke Moore, a New York professor. It was first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel in 1823, and Moore later included it in a collection of his poems. Some scholars have argued for another author, Henry Livingston Jr., but Moore remains the usual credit.

Is there a free version of the poem?

Yes. The poem is in the public domain. You can read the full text on the Poetry Foundation website, and Project Gutenberg offers a free illustrated edition you can read online or download.

What age is the full poem right for?

Most children can follow the full poem from about age three, especially with pictures. Younger children enjoy the rhythm even if they do not follow the story, so a shortened board book is a good start.

Can I get a Christmas Eve book about my own family?

Yes. A personalized Christmas book uses one photo you approve to draw your child, and anyone else you choose, into the illustrations. Many families read it alongside the classic poem on Christmas Eve.

Should I buy a hardcover or a board book?

Buy a board book for children under three and a hardcover picture book after that. If you only want one copy that will last for years, a hardcover is the safer choice; just keep it on a higher shelf between readings.

Related reading:

Sources

  1. A Visit from St. Nicholas, Poetry Foundation
  2. Clement Clarke Moore, Poetry Foundation
  3. The Night Before Christmas (Project Gutenberg eBook), Project Gutenberg

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