40 Best Christmas Book Quotes for a Literary Holiday

Explore all the best Christmas book quotes for the most literary time of the year for book lovers.

You’ll hear the greatest Christmas quotations from the most famous writers and the most classic Christmas books. These beautiful lines span a range of themes from heartwarming to philosophical and even funny. You’ll hear opening lines of books that also happen to be some of the best Christmas literary quotes, as well as sayings about holiday magic from some of your favorite children’s books.

I compiled this unique list of the best Christmas book quotes from my own vast personal reading of holiday books, old and new, throughout my lifetime as an avid reader and book blogger. Each December, I devour as many seasonal books as possible. Here, I have curated the best Christmas book quotes from the most iconic holiday reads of all time.

Most Popular Christmas Book Quotes

“God bless us, every one!” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” –  How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

“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[.]” – Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.” – The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!” – Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

More of the Best Christmas Book Quotes

“‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.” – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“‘Oh my,’ she exclaims, her breath smoking the windowpane, ‘it’s fruitcake weather!'” – A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

“[B]y the time they all went to bed on Christmas Eve the house was barely recognizable. The tarnished chandeliers were no longer hung with cobwebs but with garlands of holly and gold and silver streamers; magical snow glittered in heaps over the threadbare carpets; a great Christmas tree, obtained by Mundungus and decorated with live fairies, blocked Sirius’s family tree from view; and even the stuffed elf heads on the hall wall wore Father Christmas hats and beards.” – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

“Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls, and the suits of armor had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them.” – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” – These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.” – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement.” – The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

“Christmas, and the end of the year, is definitely a time when people try their hardest to begin afresh, a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“Snow was swirling against the icy windows once more; Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already single-handedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees for the Great Hall; garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors.” – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

“That was a very happy breakfast, though they didn’t get any of it. And when they went away, leaving comfort behind, I think there were not in all the city four merrier people than the hungry little girls who gave away their breakfasts and contented themselves with bread and milk on Christmas morning.” – Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

“The dance, like most dances after supper, was a merry one; some of the older folks joined in it, and the squire himself figured down several couple with a partner, with whom he affirmed he had danced at every Christmas for nearly half a century.” – Old Christmas by Washington Irving

“On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

“There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning He was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a Rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, He had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when He sat wedged in the top of the Boy’s stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.” – The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

“A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world!” – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

“One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

“Christmas it seems to me is a necessary festival; we require a season when we can regret all the flaws in our human relationships: it is the feast of failure, sad but consoling.” – Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene

“At Christmas every body invites their friends about them, and people think little of even the worst weather. I was snowed up at a friend’s house once for a week. Nothing could be pleasanter.” – Emma by Jane Austen

“The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling.” – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

“But I did know that nobody ever asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Had any adult with the power to fulfill my desires taken me seriously and asked me what I wanted, they would have known that I did not want to have anything to own, or to possess any object. I wanted, rather, to feel something on Christmas Day.” – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

“Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot Butterbeer. ‘Happy Christmas!’ he said happily, raising his tankard. Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.” – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

“Like kids who only ever get socks for Christmas, but still believe with all their hearts in Santa.” – The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

“The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood.” – The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

“Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce — and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn’t just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral’s hat and several live, white mice. Up on the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard’s hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.” – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

“[B]e present and celebrate the holiday instead of wishing it was over. After all, one is given only a certain number of Christmases in one’s life.” – Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

“On a busy day twenty-two thousand people come to visit Santa, and I was told that it is an elf’s lot to remain merry in the face of torment and adversity. I promised to keep that in mind.” – Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

“‘Mistletoe,’ said Luna dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries placed almost over Harry’s head. He jumped out from under it. ‘Good thinking,’ said Luna seriously. ‘It’s often infested with nargles.'” – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

“[T]he holidays began in late October and steadily gathered momentum until the big bang, a ten-hour marathon on Christmas Day with four meals and a packed house.” – Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

“Always winter but never Christmas.” – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

“Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days, that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home!” – The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

“The magi, as you know, were wise men–wonderfully wise men–who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.” – The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

“Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.”  – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

“Christmas should be a time of hope and love and, most appealing of all at this very moment, sleep.” – One Day in December by Josie Silver

“Fine old Christmas, with the snowy hair and ruddy face, had done his duty that year in the noblest fashion, and had set off his rich gifts of warmth and color with all the heightening contrast of frost and snow.” – The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

“Two weeks before the end of term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air.” – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling