🎄Jolabokaflod: 10 Books to Gift or Read on Christmas Eve
Here's how you can celebrate Jolabokaflod, Iceland's “Christmas book flood” tradition of reading book gifts and drinking hot chocolate, this Christmas Eve.
Jolabokaflod, otherwise known as the “Christmas book flood,” is Iceland’s tradition of reading book gifts and drinking hot chocolate on Christmas Eve. Fun with a capital “F,” right?!
I do this myself every Christmas Eve morning before the chaos begins.
If you, too, would like to partake in Jolabokaflod this year but don’t know what to gift, request, or choose to read, here are ten little sparks of ideas to get your juices flowing. Let’s combine the joy of giving with the love of reading this Christmas Eve!
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What is Jolabokaflod?
Jolabokaflod Books to Gift and Read This Christmas Eve
Your Favorite Christmas Book
So much of the fun of Christmas involves the annual indulgence in your favorite festive media.
I recommend the Christmas book that shaped me, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, a beautifully illustrated children’s story of a boy who travels to the North Pole to learn the power of believing in the spirit of Christmas. Between the nostalgic story and the stunning imagery, it’s a magical holiday experience.
A Christmas Short Story or Novella
Christmas Eve is a busy day, so brevity may be a key component in your choice. Here, my top pick is A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote. It’s a holiday masterpiece that exquisitely captures the bittersweet nature of Christmas. It tears your heart apart and puts it back together in a very literary way.
A Children’s Christmas Book
Many partake in Jolabokaflod with children, so why not combine a children’s Christmas book with Jolabokaflod?! There’s simply no better book to recommend here than the popular classic The Night Before Christmas. The title says it all.
A Book About Christmas Traditions
This idea springs from the fact that Jolabokaflod is a Christmas tradition.
In John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas, a festive couple abandon their long-standing Christmas traditions, only to be persuaded otherwise by their neighbors and family. This brief, fun read was also adapted to the film Christmas with the Kranks, so you can read and watch if you choose!
A Christmas Mystery
Author Peter Swanson said he envisioned the reader indulging in his holiday thriller, The Christmas Guest, with a warm beverage late on Christmas Eve, and I wholeheartedly agree. It’s short, unputdownable, festive, and eerie — all at the same time.
A Christmas Romance
Christmas romance novels are arguably the most popular adult genre each December, so readers love to squeeze in every last one before Christmas. I most often recommend One Day in December by Josie Silver each year. It’s a bestselling Reese’s Book Club pick that almost always satisfies readers. The good news is that it’s not too festive, so you can continue working on it through the last week of December.
A book about New Year’s Eve/Day
Since Christmas is almost over on Jolabokaflod, it’s a good time to start thinking about the future.
I always recommend Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, as it takes place only on New Year’s Eve. In this historical fiction narrative, an 85-year-old woman walks around New York City in 1984 and reminisces about her life. It sets the mood exactly right. It’s great for fans of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, like Rory Gilmore, of course!
A Book About Your Resolution(s)
Looking to kickstart a resolution in just a few days? Let a book motivate you, whether self-help or informational.
Here, Atomic Habits by James Clear is the easiest book to recommend because it’s so massively popular (having sold a whopping twenty million copies). Its easy-to-follow principles can apply to just about any New Year’s resolution, including a new reading habit!
A Book You’ve Been Meaning to Read
Our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge is closing the year out with this prompt because I want you to feel satisfied and accomplished this December. Whether or not you’re reading with our book club, what’s been lingering on your shelf?
I like to keep a short list of backlist “hopefuls” at my desk, which I change out every season. Then I select from it based on my mood.
A Book About Chocolate
This idea honors the “hot chocolate” part of Jolabokaflod (and our generous sponsor of this post!). Roald Dahl’s classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (on the Gilmore Girls reading list) comes to mind for a few reasons, including the fact that you can read it in one sitting and pair it with an adaptation.
P.S. - Thank you to today’s sponsor, John Kelly Chocolates, for making Jolabokaflod extra chocolatey and enabling me to keep this content free for everyone to read!
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I love this tradition and the way you’ve broken it down into approachable categories. Immediately craving hot chocolate and trying to decide which book to save for Christmas Eve.
I’m doing this with my son this year! I have a big basket of new books for him to read throughout the day + am at least hoping to squeeze it some extra reading time of my own, too.