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A snowy village square at dusk, with a lit Christmas tree, wreaths on the doors and toy bears in scarves.

FREE CHRISTMAS READING CHALLENGE · AGES 5–11

Christmas reading challenge: 12 festive ideas and a holiday reading log

Twelve festive reading challenges for the Christmas holidays, from reading by the tree to writing your own ending to a Christmas story, plus a reading log for the break. Tick them off on screen or print an A4 card and log. There is no sign-up, and your ticks stay on your device.

Your Christmas reading challenge

Tap a challenge when it is done. Do them in any order, on any days of the holidays, and swap any that do not suit you.

0 of 12 done

Each prints on one A4 page. To keep a copy, choose “Save as PDF” in your browser’s print window.

All twelve challenges, with ideas for younger and older readers

  1. Read by the lights

    Switch the big light off and read by the Christmas tree or a string of fairy lights.

    Younger readers:
    Snuggle up with a grown-up and share a picture book, taking turns to read a page.
    Older readers:
    Choose a chapter book and finish one whole chapter before the lights go off.
    Swap:
    No tree? Read by a window with lights outside, or under a blanket with a torch.

  2. Read to a grandparent

    Read something to a grandparent or another older relative, in person or on a video call.

    Younger readers:
    Practise a short favourite book first, so it feels easy when you read it to them.
    Older readers:
    Pick a funny poem or an exciting page and give every character a different voice.
    Swap:
    Any grown-up who does not usually hear you read: a neighbour, an aunt or a family friend.

  3. Read a recipe

    Read a recipe out loud while you help to make it: biscuits, a winter soup or a hot chocolate.

    Younger readers:
    Read the list of ingredients and help to count them out.
    Older readers:
    Read the whole method, then work out how long everything will take and when it will be ready.
    Swap:
    Any recipe at all, even the cooking instructions on the side of a packet.

  4. Read the cards

    Read the messages in the cards that come through the door, then write one of your own.

    Younger readers:
    Find your own name in each card and work out who sent it.
    Older readers:
    Write a card with a short rhyme of your own inside.
    Swap:
    Read and write thank-you notes, postcards or a letter to a friend you miss.

  5. Learn a winter poem

    Read a winter poem until you know a verse by heart, then perform it for the family.

    Younger readers:
    Four short lines that rhyme are plenty to learn and say.
    Older readers:
    Find a longer poem and practise it with expression, going quieter and louder where it fits.
    Swap:
    Any poem you like, about snow, dark evenings, animals or anything at all.

  6. Read the rules

    Read the instructions for a new game or present, then explain them to everyone else.

    Younger readers:
    Read the words on the box with a grown-up and say what you think the game is about.
    Older readers:
    Be the rule-checker for the whole game and read out the tricky bits when there is an argument.
    Swap:
    An old board game from the back of the cupboard works just as well.

  7. A story on Christmas Eve

    Read a story aloud, or listen to one, on Christmas Eve.

    Younger readers:
    A grown-up reads, and you join in with the words and lines you know.
    Older readers:
    Read part of the story aloud to a younger brother, sister or cousin.
    Swap:
    Any evening of the holidays, with a favourite bedtime story.

    Want a short one? The Missing Christmas Star, a free story where your child chooses the ending

  8. Read the cracker jokes

    Read out the jokes from the crackers, or from a joke book, and make everyone groan.

    Younger readers:
    Read the question and let somebody else guess the answer.
    Older readers:
    Write three jokes of your own, ready for next year.
    Swap:
    A joke book or a comic from the library.

  9. A pyjama reading morning

    Spend a slow morning reading in your pyjamas before the day gets going.

    Younger readers:
    Look at a comic or a picture book while breakfast is made.
    Older readers:
    See how far you get into a new book before lunchtime.
    Swap:
    Any lazy day, at any time of day.

  10. Swap a book

    Swap a book with a cousin, a friend or someone in your family, and tell each other what you thought.

    Younger readers:
    Swap a favourite picture book and read it together.
    Older readers:
    Write a short note to tuck inside, saying why you chose it.
    Swap:
    Borrow a book from the library instead, checking its holiday opening times first.

  11. Read on the way

    Read something on a journey or a winter walk: signs, a map, a menu or a book in the car.

    Younger readers:
    Spot words on signs and shop fronts and read them as you go.
    Older readers:
    Use the map or the timetable to tell everyone where you are and how far is left.
    Swap:
    Staying at home? Read a map of somewhere you would love to visit one day.

  12. Write your own ending

    Write a new ending for a Christmas story, then read it aloud to someone.

    Younger readers:
    Say your ending out loud while a grown-up writes it down, then read it back together.
    Older readers:
    Write a whole new final scene with speech in it, then read it to the family with expression.
    Swap:
    Write an ending for any story you read over the holidays.

    Need an idea? 24 Christmas story starters, with a story recipe

The Christmas holiday reading log

One sheet of A4 with fourteen rows, one for each reading day, and the dates left blank because every school breaks up on a different day. Print a second sheet if your holidays are longer, and add up the minutes at the end if your child likes to see the total grow.

Example rows

A few example rows, written for this page to show the log in use, the way a Year 2 or Year 3 child might fill it in. It is not a real child’s log, and the dates are left as words because yours will differ.

Christmas holiday reading log, example rows
DateWhat I readWhere I read itWho I read withMinutesLoved it? Colour the star
First day offA library book about penguinsOn the sofaDad15★
Christmas EveThe Night Before Christmas (a poem)By the treeThe whole family10★
Christmas DayCracker jokes and a new comic annualAt the tableMy cousins20★
Boxing DayRules for a new board gameOn the floorGrandma10☆
A rainy TuesdayChapter 3 of my reading bookIn bedOn my own15☆

Keeping reading going over the Christmas holidays

The Christmas holidays are a lovely time for reading, and an easy time to stop. Routines slip, the days fill up with visits and films, and the school reading book often stays in the book bag until January. This challenge is a gentle way to keep books in the holiday without turning them into homework: twelve small, festive things to read, each of which fits into an ordinary family Christmas rather than needing time set aside for it.

There is no right order and no fixed start date. Christmas holidays begin and end on different days for different schools, so the card and the log leave the dates for you to fill in. Some families do one challenge a day for twelve days, some save a few for the quiet days after Christmas, and some pick the four or five that suit them and stop there. A card with six ticks and a child who enjoyed every one of them is a success.

Every kind of reading counts. A recipe, the jokes in the crackers, the rules of a new game and the messages in the cards are all real reading with a real reason behind it, and they are often the reading a reluctant reader is happiest to do. Being read to counts as well. A child who listens to a grown-up on Christmas Eve can enjoy a longer and richer story than they could manage alone, and that is time well spent at any age.

Keep it short and keep it theirs. Ten cosy minutes by the tree are worth more than a long session that ends in tears, and on the busiest days one page is plenty. Let your child choose which challenge comes next and what to read for it. If a day goes by without any reading, skip it and carry on tomorrow: the card has no gaps to fill and nobody is keeping score.

Each challenge suggests a way in for younger and older readers. A five-year-old might read the ingredients and count out the eggs, while a ten-year-old reads the whole method and works out the timings. Children who are just starting to read can share the reading, taking a word, a line or a page each, and a grown-up can always do the reading for a challenge while the child does the listening, choosing or performing.

Families celebrate December in many different ways, and some do not celebrate Christmas at all. The challenges are about winter, family and cosy reading rather than religion, and every one comes with a swap that works without a tree, cards or crackers. In a mixed class, offer the card as one choice among others, and let any child use the swaps without needing to explain why.

The reading log is the challenge’s quieter partner. It has a row for each reading day, with space for the date, what was read, where, who with and for how long, and a star to colour in for anything your child loved. It suits children who like to watch their reading add up, and schools that ask for a record over the break. It does not need signing every day: a few rows filled in across the holiday tell the story perfectly well.

For schools, the challenge works best as an invitation rather than homework. Share the page in the last newsletter of the autumn term or send the printed card home in book bags, and say clearly that taking part is optional. In the first week back, invite children to bring their cards and tell the class about their favourite challenge, rather than collecting logs to check. Children who wrote their own Christmas story ending can read it aloud, which makes a happy first literacy lesson of the new term.

To use the card on screen, tap a challenge when it is done to stamp it. Your ticks are kept in this browser on this device, so the card is still there tomorrow, and they are never sent anywhere; the “Forget my ticks” button clears them. If you prefer paper, print the card blank and stick it on the fridge, or print it with the ticks so far as a keepsake once the holidays are over.

For schools: a line for your newsletter

Copy this into the last newsletter of the autumn term, a class page or a message to families. It names the page’s address, so it works on paper too.

Christmas holiday reading: if you would like a gentle way to keep books in the break, try the free Christmas reading challenge at litsee.com/tools/reading-log/christmas-reading-challenge. It has twelve cosy reading ideas, from reading a recipe to sharing a story on Christmas Eve, and a reading log you can print. There is nothing to sign up for, taking part is optional, and every kind of reading counts.

In the National Curriculum

  • “participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say”

    Year 1, Reading – comprehension (statutory)

  • “continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear”

    Year 2, Reading – comprehension (statutory)

  • “preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action”

    Years 3 and 4, Reading – comprehension (statutory)

  • “writing narratives about personal experiences and those of others (real and fictional)”

    Year 2, Writing – composition (statutory)

About this page

How it works · Sources

Sources

The quotations in “In the National Curriculum” are copied word for word from this document, with the year and section each applies to. The challenges, the reading log and the advice are Litsee’s own suggestions.

How it works

The challenge card runs in your browser. When you tick a challenge, the list of ticked challenges (and nothing else) is kept on this device so the card is still there tomorrow; it is never sent anywhere, and “Forget my ticks” clears it. The reading log is a printable sheet, so nothing is typed on screen.

Last updated: .

Questions parents and teachers ask

What is a Christmas reading challenge?

A set of small, festive things to read over the Christmas holidays, ticked off as you go. This one has twelve suggestions, from reading a recipe while you bake to a story aloud on Christmas Eve, and any kind of reading counts towards it.

When should the challenge start and finish?

Whenever your child’s Christmas holidays do. Schools break up and go back on different days, so the card and the reading log leave the dates blank. Many families start on the first day off and aim to finish before term starts again; others do one challenge a day in the run-up to Christmas.

Does my child have to do all twelve challenges?

No. Choose the ones that fit your family’s holiday and skip the rest. A handful of challenges done happily is better than twelve done because they are on a list, and the free choice of what to read for each one matters more than the number of ticks.

Does it work for families who do not celebrate Christmas?

Yes. The challenges are about winter, family and cosy reading rather than religion, and each one has a swap that needs no tree, cards or crackers, such as reading by a window instead of by the lights or writing a thank-you note instead of a card.

Are my child’s ticks saved or shared?

Only on your device. When a challenge is ticked, the page keeps the list of ticked challenges in this browser so you can come back tomorrow. Nothing is sent to Litsee or anyone else, there is no account, and “Forget my ticks” clears it. The reading log is printed, not typed.

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