Ahh.. the smell of the holidays is in the air…all the stores are playing holiday music. Hopefully, the holiday spirit is taking hold at your library. What better way to infuse the library with holiday hoopla than with festive storytimes? There are many wonderful ideas out there for storytimes that reflect the season so here’s a few you might try:
Fall:
- Fall Madness from Sunflower Storytime blog – apples, trees, leaves, pumpkins, owls and Thanksgiving ideas.
- Fall themes from Perry Public Library include apples, down on the farm, autumn colors and Thanksgiving. Winter ideas also abound here.
- SurLaLune has great program ideas with tons of songs on leaves/fall.
Winter:
- Storytime Katie’s winter ideas include the great book, Bear Snores On (of course!), snowmen and snow days. Search her site while you’re there for many holiday themes (she’s very inclusive with her holiday storytimes so you’ll see Kwanza, Hannukah and other traditional stories all in one program). She also does a complete hibernation theme if you really love Bear Snores On and need to use it again before the year is out!
- Many great ideas on snow, snowflakes, penguins and plenty of winter crafts (I can’t get enough of the snowmen crafts!) available at Totally Tots: Winter. This site is very preschool focused so libraries may need to scale down, but the ideas are still very rich.
Christmas:
- Christmas Storytime from Sunflower Storytime blog – find a great template for a Rudolph flannel as well as great holiday songs and rhymes.
- Reindeer pokey anyone? Yup, hokey pokey for Rudolph! What fun! Try it and other ideas from the Public Library Program ideas wiki.
- Find a complete Christmas toddler storytime from HCPL kidsite. Lots of other submissions from librarians on Christmas themes if you browse their index here.
Hannukah:
- Flannel Friday’s holiday extravaganza includes Hanukkah with a flannel menorah and Christmas presents.
- Toddler and preschool complete storytime idea from HCPL kidsite. The Dreidel Song is so classic. This toy can always be incorporated into a quick demo or craft, especially at the preschool level.
Scarecrows:
- The State Library of Iowa has a scarecrow storytime program available here complete with language to share with parents.
- The Bestkidsbooksite has book and craft suggestions.
- Storytimecrafts.org preschool activities and crafts. They include a couple rhymes that deal with crows, the scarecrow’s nemesis!
Even if you don’t do themed storytimes, consider adding some of these seasonal elements with a change up in songs, rhymes or fingerplays that reflect the change in weather and mood. Many libraries do special evening Christmas storytimes for the whole family, some even invite Santa Claus or light a Christmas tree if that’s appropriate in your community.
Remember – keep calm, be merry and don’t eat the yellow snow! 
