Blogs

• 15Dec2010

  Give the Gift of Reading this Christmas

  Posted by Lizzie Poulton

  I have to start this post with an apology to my parents. Despite the expense, the hours of having to find hiding places safe from nosy children, the late nights spent wrapping and sneaking around, I don’t think I can remember a single Christmas present I received as a child. Sorry. I really appreciate that you bought them for me I just can’t really recall any specific toy I received.

  I do however have a treasured Christmas memory and that was the year my Dad read The Hobbit to me on the dark December evenings on the run up to Christmas, culminating with the final chapter on Christmas Eve.  I remember the room, the ritual, how much I cried when they stole Golum’s precious birthday present, I remember the time spent with my Dad that was ours alone.

  It is often said, and in my case is definitely true, that you remember experiences far more than you ever do objects. With Christmas so often reduced to the pursuit of possessions, it’s nice to focus on what really makes the event memorable: the food, the people, the stories you create and share and gifts that will last longer than just a day. 

  For me a book is an ideal Christmas present for all ages. A board book will be sturdy and enjoyable when little hands get bored of ripping up the wrapping paper, the Guinness Book of Records can entertain for hours, and most people will welcome the escape fiction can give when the family gets all a bit too much! Books can be a lovely tradition - our cat (now sadly deceased) still buys my Dad his copy of The Beano every year.

  Books will still be there well after the tinsel has been taken down and the last pine needle has been banished (yes even that long!), they won’t get crushed underfoot (or hurt as much as that small plastic toy if you do tread on it!), they don’t come with any fiddly parts that need assembling, and (unless you have an e-reader) you won’t need batteries, you can’t crack the screen and they can generally be salvaged if the sherry gets spilt.

  Not only will the book itself be around to be enjoyed after all of the chocolates have been eaten, but stories and experiences can stay with you your entire life. And I wouldn’t be able to call myself a National Literacy Trust employee if I didn’t mention the myriad of research that shows the benefits to children of book ownership, reading for pleasure and seeing family members enjoying and sharing stories. I hope this year you give and receive books, and enjoy making your own stories and creating experiences that you and your family will remember for years to come. 

  Sadly, approximately one in four children in the UK do not have books of their own to read this festive season, or at anytime throughout the year. But this Christmas, you can help. Buy the Gift of Reading for yourself or the book-lover in your life and help the National Literacy Trust give disadvantaged children books of their own to keep. For more information see www.literacytrust.org.uk/christmas

Return to blogs