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15 Best Christmas Books for Adults of All-Time 2024

Get in the holiday spirit with the best Christmas books for adults. Explore a variety of genres and recommendations that feel festive.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The best Christmas books for adults are carefully curated from my reading of dozens , ranging from classics to romance, humor, family drama, and beyond. Though you're grown, you'll feel the magic of the season straight through the Christmas Eve Jolabokaflod tradition of reading. 

List of the Best Christmas Books for Adults

TOP PICKS

A Christmas Carol :    Best classic

One Day in December :    Most popular contemporary fiction

Winter Street :    Best series

1. Always in December by Emily Stone
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3. A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
4. The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman
5. Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
6. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
7. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
8. In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
9. Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
10. One Day in December by Josie Silver
11. Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
12. Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak
13. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
14. The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
15. Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

My Reviews of Festive Holiday Reading for Adults

Always in December by Emily Stone

• Genre: contemporary romance

• Recommended For: a tearjerker

• My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Plot: In Always in December, each year, Josie mails a letter to the parents she lost one Christmas years ago, saying: "Missing you, always."

This year, a bicycle collision with a handsome stranger named Max knocks her tradition off course and changes her life. Max also has reasons to avoid Christmas, so they spend the holiday together.

Max disappears without saying goodbye, but fate continues to bring them together over the next year until Christmas returns.

Review: Emily Stone has made a name for herself by writing sad Christmas books about grief, and this is arguably her most popular one. It's a tearjerker — in a good way.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

• Genre: classic

• Recommended For: holiday readers of all ages

• My Rating: ★★★★★

Plot: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is the most popular Christmas story of all time. First published in 1843, this timeless Christmas short story follows Ebenezer Scrooge's redemption after encountering three spirits: the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Its message is about the spirit of Christmas.

Review: Its brevity, readability, and beautiful prose make it a classic that's well worth the read, no matter how many adaptations you've seen, heard, or read.

Reading Tip: Look for the audio version narrated by the incomparable actor Tim Curry. It's exquisitely performed.

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

• Genre: historical fiction, literary fiction

• Recommended For: nostalgia

• My Rating: ★★★★★

Plot: A Christmas Memory is a good Christmas story for adults. It's about a young boy in rural Alabama, looking back with nostalgia about his elderly friend.

They save their pennies to make 30 fruitcakes when "fruitcake weather" arrives. They share them with only the most deserving persons, including the one they send to the White House each year, wondering if the President serves it.

Together, they share more holiday cheer as the old friend comes to find their time together to have a deeper meaning.

Review: It's one of the most beautifully written stories I've ever read. This brief novella is great to read during a busy month, and it's so utterly nostalgic.

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

• Genre: contemporary fiction

• Recommended For: fans of Friends

• My Rating: ★★★★★

Plot: In The Christmas Orphans Club, Hannah and Finn became college friends over one Christmas they spent together on campus. This began a holiday tradition, and along the way, they picked up two more Christmas orphans, Theo and Priya.

Over the course of a decade, they spend Christmas in New York together as friends, but impending major life changes threaten the continuation of their annual festivities.

Alternating between the perspectives of Hannah and Finn, it's mostly about friendship and found family. Still, it's a very layered story that's also about love (including LGBTQIA+ romance), biological family drama, and growing up.

Review: It's exceptionally refreshing, incorporating oodles of pop culture references and utterly unique and comical details into a novel, unlike any other holiday novel I've read. It reminded me of a Christmas episode of Friends or Will & Grace . It would make a fun Christmas book club book, too.

Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

• Genre: contemporary fiction

• Recommended For: busy women

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: In Christmas Shopaholic, Becky returns to the charming village of Letherby to work with her best friend. Tasked with hosting Christmas, Becky becomes overwhelmed by the holiday frenzy and the chaos of pleasing everyone.

Review: This quick and delightful read features a popular book character. (Note, though, that you do not "need" to read any other Shopaholic books first.)

It reminded me of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation because it's about how everything goes humorously wrong in the preparation for Christmas.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

• Genre: mystery

• Recommended For: a whodunnit

• My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Plot: In Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Agatha Christie's famed investigator is tasked with a Christmas Eve murder at a family reunion in which everyone seems to have a reason to hate the deceased man.

Review: What's a holiday without a good old-fashioned murder ? It reads exactly as you would expect a classic Christie mystery to read.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

• On the Gilmore Girls reading list

• Genre: non fiction humor

• Recommended For: a good laugh

• My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Plot: Holidays on Ice is a festive collection of tales featuring the irreverent style of humor that is the trademark of Sedaris, including the diaries of a Macy's elf (my favorite), being a child locked out in a snowstorm, the nonsensical Christmas traditions around the world, and more!

Review: It's great for some quick comedic relief during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

• Instant New York Times bestseller

• Genre: romantic comedy, magical realism

• Recommended For: spicy romance readers

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: In a Holidaze is a popular Christmas romance book that starts after one Christmas in which everything goes wrong for Maelyn at her family's traditional "Christmas with friends" at a Utah cabin. She leaves wishing for happiness, but then she's involved in a car crash.

Maelyn then relives her Christmas vacation in her "dazed" state, attempting to fix everything that went wrong the first time. This creates a love triangle and some steaminess in a story about the power of holiday wishes.

Review: This has been a bestselling hit and a reader favorite for several years. It blends magic and love during the holiday season just right.

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

• Genre: historical fiction romance

• Recommended For: historical fiction readers

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: As the Great War begins, Evie hopes it will end by Christmas. Her brother and his friend leave for battle. The group plans to meet for a holiday in Paris, but the War drags on.

Last Christmas in Paris is told almost entirely through letters and telegrams, with sprinkles of Christmas throughout. It also evokes themes of family, love, belief, and hope, which are the spirit of Christmas.

Review: It made me emotional and kept me engaged in the fate of the characters and how World War I forever changed their lives.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

• #1 New York Times bestseller
• Reese Witherspoon book club pick

• Genre: contemporary romance

• Recommended For: a popular pick

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: In One Day in December, a British woman sees the man of her dreams and is shocked to learn he's her best friend's new boyfriend. Over the next ten years, this unlikely love triangle is teased out.

Review: This bestseller remains the most popular book on this list. It's the perfect mix of Love Actually, Bridget Jones, and Serendipity — a no-brainer!

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

• Genre: contemporary romance

• Recommended For: a diverse read following Black middle-aged protagonists

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: In Royal Holiday, Vivian accompanies her daughter on a work trip to style a royal duchess in England, where she meets the handsome private secretary of the Queen.

As Christmas approaches, their flirty friendship turns into a mistletoe kiss and a fling to ring in the New Year. As the clock ticks away on the year and the "holiday," will this fling turn into something even more?

Review: This book is a pure delight and a longtime favorite. Who wouldn't want to celebrate Christmas like a royal with a handsome suitor?! The Black middle-aged protagonists also offer the reader different perspectives in this genre.

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

• Genre: family drama

• Recommended For: an underrated gem, fans of The Family Stone

• My Rating: ★★★★★

Plot: Seven Days of Us explores what it would be like to be quarantined with your family over the Christmas holiday. This 2016 setting focuses on Haag, the deadly Liberian disease that the Birch's daughter treated as a doctor.

She and her parents have deep secrets that will be revealed, and her sister copes with a flailing engagement. A surprise visitor also shakes things up.

Review: This book is just about perfect- both as a Christmas book and a family drama. It captures everything that can make you feel both happy and sad during the holidays. While it mostly reminded me of the movie The Family Stone , fans of Love Actually will also love the British humor and heart.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

• #1 New York Times bestseller

• Genre: comedic fiction

• Recommended For: fans of John Grisham and Christmas with the Kranks

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: Skipping Christmas is the book upon which the movie Christmas With the Kranks is based.

Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip everything Christmas one year. Come December 25, they're setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But skipping Christmas isn't easy in their town or family, and their plan comes to a humorous head.

Review: Grisham delivers a well-written, comedic book that's become a holiday classic. The movie is also great!

The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Jenny Bayliss

• Genre: contemporary romance

• Recommended For: fans of Gilmore Girls

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: In The Twelve Dates of Christmas, Kate's friend signs her up for holiday dates with twelve different men, which makes for twelve quirky experiences. In the process, she evaluates her feelings about her old friend.

Review: This small town romance book is perfect for fans of Gilmore Girls . Kate is like Lorelai- a thirtysomething designer and part-time baker at her old friend's cafe (who is very much like Luke Danes) in a small British town reminiscent of Stars Hollow.

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

• National bestseller

• Genre: beach read, family drama

• Recommended For: a series of Christmas books

• My Rating: ★★★★☆

Plot: Kelley Quinn owns the Nantucket Winter Street Inn and is the proud father of four grown children whose personal lives are a mess. The oldest, Patrick, is a hedge fund manager dealing with a white-collar crime. Bartender Kevin has a secret relationship with the Inn's housekeeper. Teacher Ava can't get her dream boyfriend to commit. Lastly, Bart, the youngest and the only child of Kelley's second marriage to Mitzi, is fighting overseas in the Marines.

Christmas approaches, and Kelley walks in on Mitzi kissing the Inn's Santa Claus, bringing all the families' drama to a head. It becomes up to Kelley's first wife, famous news anchor Margaret Quinn, to attempt to save Christmas.

Review: Winter Street offers everything readers could want in a Christmas novel by author Elin Hilderbrand — family drama, a Nantucket setting, and holiday spirit.

The three remaining books in the Winter series are Winter Stroll, Winter Storms, and Winter Solstice, and they follow the family over each subsequent Christmas. It's great for a long-term indulgence.