A Christmas Tradition: Jolabokaflod

Photo by Studio Hinman.

For the last few years my family has celebrated the Icelandic tradition of giving each other a book on Christmas Eve. Jólabókaflóðið (pronounced like “yola-bow-ka-fload”) translates to “Christmas book flood.” We spend the evening by the Christmas tree with tea or cocoa reading our books. We’re all big readers in our family, but even if yours is not, there’s something so pleasurable about holding a book in your hand. Our library tends to lean toward classics, but I’ve also gifted coloring books (for adults and kids alike), puzzle books, and of course, the latest in fiction or non-fiction. Here’s a list of some of our favorite books!

NON-FICTION

• Made for Living: Collected Interiors for All Sorts of Styles by Amber Lewis

• Down to Earth: Laid-back Interiors for Modern Living by Lauren Liess

• Wonderland by Annie Leibovitz

• Q&A a Day: A 5-Year Journal

• LEUCHTTURM1917 - Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook

FICTION & POETRY

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

• Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

• The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles

• A Collection of Poems by Robert Frost

• Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway

FOR THE LITTLE ONES

• Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinskis

• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

• The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

• Journey by Aaron Becker

• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

• A Madeline Treasury by Ludwig Bemelmans

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

• Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer, Ella Morton, and Dylan Thuras

• Winnie the Pooh Collection by A.A. Milne

• Where the Side Walk Ends & Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

Are you a big reader or is this something you want to become in 2023? While I do believe a home should be curated to prevent it from being cluttered, I do think you just can’t have too many books!

You can follow along on Instagram and Facebook to see what books I will be gifting this year!

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