I love holiday themed books for all seasons, especially Christmas. Every genre has at least a few books with a holiday theme. I have not done a top ten list in awhile, so I thought I’d post a list of my top ten things I look for in a holiday read.

10. New Traditions- I love reading about traditions I’m unfamiliar with, whether it’s historical, from a different culture or one that’s just made up by the author

9. Crazy relatives

8. Blizzard- A winter storm is the perfect setting to force characters together

7. Reunion- estranged family members are reunited through the magic of Christmas

6. The perfect gift- a character is given the perfect gift that shows the giver really knows them and cares

5. Christmas magic- Santa, reindeer, elves are real

4. Guardian angels (my favorite are Debbie Macomber’s Shirley, Goodness and Mercy)

3. A Scrooge/Grinch character who learns the meaning of Christmas

2. Christmas baking- bonus if recipes are included (Jenny Colgan books are my favorite)

1. Holiday romance- Forget about Valentine’s Day, nothing beats a Christmas romance.

What do you look for in a Christmas movie?