Last night at Christmas Eve mass, our priest did a magical thing: he read a picture book as part of his homily! With his gentle voice reciting the beautiful rhyming text, both children and adults in the congregation were hanging on his every word.

The book Santa’s Birthday Gift by Sherrill S. Cannon, tells the story of how Santa, a toymaker, came to visit Jesus on the night he was born, bearing lots of gifts. Instead of leaving all the toys with Jesus, he makes a promise to give them to all the girls and boys. A tradition of the spirit of Christmas was born.

I’m a huge supporter of using picture books with children (and adults!) of all ages because they are a simple way to introduce a topic or get across a concept in a fun and interesting way. Our priest brought the spirit of Christmas into our hearts last night…through the simple words of a picture book.

Happy Holidays!