Christmas Stories for Kids: Free Read-Alouds, Carols, Poems & Legends
Nothing says the holidays like a story by the tree. Here are free Christmas stories for kids — childrens Christmas stories, classics and cosy read-alouds — plus Christmas legends, the classic Night Before Christmas poem, carols and a few jokes.
Browse the Christmas collection →
Free Christmas stories to read online
All free to read online this season, no sign-up:
- Ten Little Snowflakes — our free original early reader
- A Kidnapped Santa Claus — by L. Frank Baum
- The Night Before Christmas & Other Stories
- A Christmas Carol — the Dickens classic
- Best Christmas read-alouds — our top picks
Browse the whole free collection: Browse the Christmas collection.
Christmas folklore & fun facts
Many Christmas traditions are far older than you might think. Evergreen boughs were brought indoors in midwinter long ago as a sign that life goes on through the cold. The modern image of Santa Claus grew from Saint Nicholas, a real 4th-century bishop famous for secret gift-giving, blended over centuries with folk figures like Father Christmas. The Christmas tree as we know it spread from Germany in the 1800s, and the beloved poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1823) gave us the eight flying reindeer and a jolly, chimney-diving Santa.
A Christmas poem to share
The most famous Christmas poem of all — free to read and recite:
’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…
Find more in our free printable Christmas poems (full Night Before Christmas).
Christmas jokes for kids
- What do you call Santa when he stops moving? — Santa Pause!
- What do elves learn at school? — The elf-abet!
- Why does Santa go down the chimney? — Because it soots him!
Grab the full set: printable Christmas jokes.
🎄 Turn Christmas into a reading season
The free Pagine app makes a reading habit easy — log each story, set a goal, and kids earn streaks, badges and certificates. A free reading tracker and e-reader in one, with 14,000+ books.
Get the free Pagine app →More free Christmas printables
- Christmas carols & songs
- Christmas poems (incl. Night Before Christmas)
- Christmas jokes for kids
- Christmas writing prompts
- Christmas reading list (by age)
FAQ
Where can I find free Christmas stories for kids? On Pagine — free childrens Christmas stories, classics and read-alouds to read online, plus printable carols, poems, jokes and a reading list.
What are good Christmas read-alouds? Short, warm stories like A Kidnapped Santa Claus and our original Ten Little Snowflakes, or a chapter a night of A Christmas Carol. See our Christmas read-alouds page.