How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith

It's a bit random to be sharing this now the festive period is over but it's never too early to grab something awesome and put it aside for this year's Christmas!

An advent story told in twenty-four-and-a-half chapters! 

When a mouse named Winston finds a lost letter addressed to Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, he sets off an unforgettable journey to personally deliver the letter to Santa! 

How Winston Delivered Christmas is a heart-warming story, organized in twenty-four and a half chapters, to share during the countdown to Christmas. Starting on December 1st, children can read a chapter a day, and each chapter is followed with a fun and festive holiday activity to complete. 

This illustrated advent story tells of the adventures of an adorable mouse and how a good deed can lead to a very happy ending.

I saw this book mentioned on another blog last November (can't remember whose now, sorry!) and knew I had to grab it for it's an advent book, folks!
You read a short chapter every day on the run up to Christmas with an extra chapter for Christmas day.

It tells the story of Winston who is a brave little mouse just minding his own business when he finds a lost letter to Santa and sets out on a mission to make sure it gets to him so a little boy isn't without a present on Christmas. He makes various friends along the way who help with his journey and it's all very sweet, festive and lovely.

I dutifully read a chapter each day with the little dude and we shared the job of reading aloud.
Reading it together guaranteed that we carved out a little bit of time every day, at such a busy time of year, to just sit together and enjoy some calm.

The chapters weren't too long, only about 6 pages a day and some of that was taken up by the beautiful illustrations. The vocabulary used was easy for the little dude who is eight years old (and an advanced reader) but little ones will need support to make their way through it.

The activities at the end of each chapter were fun arts and crafts activities which helped keep him occupied and channelled the festive excitement into tasks.

My favourite part was sitting by the tree - before present opening - on Christmas morning with the little dude and reading the final chapter. No one else had come down yet and it felt like we were in our own little bubble and it was special.
The little dude obviously felt so too as he's decreed we'll be reading it on an annual basis!

If you have kids in your life who love stories then I can't recommend this charming little tale highly enough. It's a perfect compliment (or replacement!) for the chocolate advent calendar and will no doubt help generate some perfect moments and memories to cherish.