The Christmas Book

I picked this up for my mom who's big on Christmas history, and the visual celebration of how the holiday spread across cultures really surprised me. It's a hefty, gorgeous book that works as well on the coffee table as it does for a slow December read.

I bought this as a gift but ended up keeping it for myself, the photos are gorgeous and the pages on how Christmas spread around the world taught me a few things I didn't know. It's a hefty book, but that just makes it feel like something you'll pull out every December.

The photos of Christmas traditions from around the world are the best part—I didn't expect such a global view in a holiday book. My only gripe is that some of the text about the religious origins feels a bit dense to read aloud. Still, it's earned a permanent spot on our coffee table each December.