The Gift of Reading

Holiday traditions are extremely important for me, and I make sure every year, we continue those same traditions. I am talking about trips to see Santa, skating at the tree in Rockefeller Center, an evening to see George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, just to name a few. Each year, we add something new, while doing our best not to miss anything as the years pass.

Another tradition started two years ago was to get each child a personalized book from I See Me for Christmas. Reading is so important, so anything that makes the kids excited about it is welcomed. They loved their I See Me books so much, that I’ve started in introduce books for birthdays, and other special occasions too. The illustrations and stories make these books so special; and the dedication and photo of the child marked on the cover of each book truly makes each their own.

This year, Gemma received I See Me’s newest book of the season, My Christmas Sing-Along Book & Songs. The hardcover personalized book includes a CD featuring twelve classic children’s Christmas songs, each personalized with her name! The book was such a big hit that she even took it to her preschool the next day, where her whole class sang along to the tunes.

Siella has just started to read, so I went for the My Very Merry Christmas book. This board book features charming illustrations of a Goose, Chipmunk and other furry friends who deliver a note about Siella to Santa. At the end of this story, the animals circle the tree that they have adorned with her name spelled out on the ornaments.

Ryder received the My Magical Snowman book. The magic all starts when forest creatures come together to build a special snowman friend just for him. My absolute favorite part is when the Snowman tells Ryder that he is as “unique as a snowflake” and that his love is the magic that fills up his heart. The story in this book is truly heartwarming.

I was excited to see that if you purchased each book as a gift set, you receive a personalized coloring book based on the book you choose, along with a personalized ornament.

The ornaments were a huge hit with Ryder, Siella, and Gemma.

I couldn’t be happier that we are continuing this tradition with the littles. We’ve been reading our new books for the past week, and it’s been fun unearthing our I See Me books from the two years past. I hope to continue this tradition for as long as I can, and I hope by gifting these to our friends and family, they too will continue the gift of reading each year to their children.