December evenings are busy, and a full novel can feel like too much. Short stories fit into bedtime, a classroom morning meeting or a car journey to see family. Here are the free Christmas short stories we would choose, roughly from shortest and gentlest to longest and most thoughtful.
Five-minute Christmas read-alouds (ages 3–7)
- A Visit from St. Nicholas: the rhyming poem about Santa’s visit.
- The Little Gingerbread Man: a chase story with a repeated chant kids join in with.
- “The Elves and the Shoemaker” from Grimms’ Fairy Tales: tiny helpers, a grateful shoemaker and a gift of new clothes.
- Pagine Originals: Ten Little Ornaments and Red and Green.
Ten-minute stories (ages 6–10)
- Is There a Santa Claus?: the 1897 “Yes, Virginia” letter, which takes about three minutes and leaves everyone thinking.
- “The Fir Tree” from Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1844): a little tree that can’t wait to grow up.
- “The Selfish Giant” from The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde (1888): a giant whose garden stays in winter until he learns to share.
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Bittersweet classics for ages 8 and up
- “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen (1845): very short and very sad. Talk about it afterwards and about how to help people who are cold at Christmas.
- “The Snow Queen” (1844): a longer fairy tale in seven parts. Read one part a night.
- “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry (1905): a young couple, two sacrifices and a twist ending, ideal for ages 10+.
Short Christmas reads for classrooms
Teachers can pair a short story with a free Christmas reading comprehension sheet or writing prompts. For maths and science time, try Pagine Originals such as Multiplication Under the Tree (Grade 3), Energy in Christmas Lights (Grade 4) and States of Matter: Hot Cocoa (Grade 3).
Read these Christmas short stories free in Pagine, on the web or in the app.