Celebrate the magic of stories and the joy of reading with our selection of festive literacy resources. Whether it’s sharing a cosy Christmas tale, discovering a new poem to learn by heart, or inspiring young writers with stories of wonder and enchantment, tap into the anticipation and excitement of the season to promote reading and writing for pleasure in these last few weeks of term.

Celebrate the joy of reading

1. Virtual Author Advent Calendar: Put books and reading at the heart of your class Christmas celebrations with Reading Rocks’ Author Advent Calendar. Every day from 1st to 19th December, primary schools can ‘open a window’ and receive a festive message from a well-loved author or illustrator.

2. Book Friday: Encourage pupils and staff to share their favourite reading recommendations on Friday 28th November with the free resource pack from Books for Topics. Resources include posters featuring book recommendations from 40 authors and reading for pleasure advocates and a resource pack with pupil recommendation ideas such as bunting, bookmarks and activity sheets.

3. Christmas booklists: Find the perfect Christmas storytime book to share with younger children or some fun festive reads  to inspire KS2 pupils in these seasonal booklists from Books for Topics.

4. Jólabókaflóð: Create a cosy, festive reading experience that turns reading into a treat rather than a task with the ideas and activities in the Jólabókaflóð resource pack from the National Literacy Trust. Suitable for pupils of any age, the ideas are inspired by the Icelandic tradition of exchanging books as gifts on Christmas Eve and reading them together with a festive treat.

5. Online Author Events: Don’t miss out on the last few FREE online author events coming up before the end of term to build excitement around reading.

A poem is a gift that lasts forever

6. Poetry by Heart Festive Showcase: Count down to Christmas with Poetry by Heart’s Festive Showcase, a selection of 31 festive poems to read, learn by heart and share out loud. This digital anthology of classic and contemporary poems provides an easy and fun way to introduce more poetry into your classroom.

Writing inspiration

7. The Christmas Shed: Inspire young writers to write their own Christmas stories with the Literacy Shed’s collection of seasonal films and Christmas adverts from years gone by.

Encouraging reading at home

8. Inclusive Christmas Gift Guide: From fun stocking fillers to box sets for readers who love a series, literacy charity Inclusive Books for Children has selected a diverse selection of winning reads to share with parents.

9. Christmas Book Fair: Sign up for a new virtual Christmas Book Fair from Reading Rocks to help families buy great books for Christmas and receive FREE books for your school. You will receive PDFs of the book selections for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 to share with parents and, for every 10 books ordered, schools will receive two  books for their library. Orders close on 12th December.

10. Winter Mini Challenge: Encourage young readers aged 4-11 to keep reading over the holidays with this year’s Winter Mini Challenge. To take part, children must read at least three books of their choice and can then rate and review the books on the Winter Mini Challenge website to unlock a virtual badge and download a certificate. This year’s Winter Mini Challenge runs from 1st December to 20th February 2026.