A Christmas Story Starring Your Child: Books, Ideas and a Recipe
Make a story like this with your child as the hero
Tell a child a Christmas story and they listen. Tell them one where they are the one who saves Christmas Eve, and they ask for it again the next night, and the night after that. You don’t need to be a writer for a Christmas story starring your child: a few details from their own life are enough to turn a simple plot into their story.
This guide has three parts. First, Christmas picture books that are worth reading together in December. Then a six-line recipe for a Christmas story for kids, with your child as the hero, that you can tell tonight without a book. And last, how to turn that story into a printed, illustrated book in time to unwrap.
Christmas Picture Books to Read Together
A home-made story works best next to the books children already love. These Christmas picture books have been read aloud by families for years, and each one does something different.
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore: the poem many families read on Christmas Eve itself. There are dozens of illustrated editions, so pick the pictures you like best.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs: a story told in pictures only. Even the youngest can “read” it to you, and older children add their own words.
The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg: real letters and cards to take out of their envelopes, page by page.
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: a night train to the North Pole, for slightly older children who like a bit of mystery.
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman: a gentle rhyming story about staying awake for Christmas, good for toddlers.
Notice what these books share: one small problem, a kind or brave act, and a warm ending at home. That is also the shape of the story you are about to make up.
A Christmas Story Recipe in Six Lines
Fill in these six lines and you have a story. Say them out loud, add a little detail to each, and you have a bedtime story of five minutes or so.
The hero: your child’s name and age, and one thing they love. A dinosaur, their red wellies, the cat.
The place: somewhere they know. Your street in the snow, Grandma’s kitchen, the view from their bedroom window.
The Christmas problem: something small that has to be put right before morning. A reindeer has lost its bell, the tree in the square won’t light up, a present has lost its name tag.
The kind or brave step: what your child does about it. They share, they help, they find the way, they go out into the dark garden with a lantern.
Who helps: a brother or sister, the dog, Grandpa, a robin on the fence.
The ending: how your family ends Christmas Eve. Hot chocolate, a carrot left out for the reindeer, stockings at the foot of the bed.
Tell it once the way you wrote it. The next night, leave out a line and let your child fill it in: most children enjoy deciding what the reindeer was called or who came to help.
A Worked Example: Mia and the Christmas Lights
Here are the six lines filled in for a girl called Mia, who is three and loves reindeer.
The hero: Mia, and Pip, her little reindeer in a red scarf.
The place: a small village on a snowy Christmas Eve.
The Christmas problem: the little fir tree in the village square is dark.
The kind step: Mia gives Pip the glow of her lantern, then sets the lantern beside the fir: “A light for you, too.”
Who helps: Pip, whose antlers start to shimmer, and Nell the robin.
The ending: back home, Mia hangs a paper star over the door, where everyone can see it.
This is a real example from Photo9’s story writer. We gave it only Mia’s name, her age, that she loves a little reindeer, and that we wanted a Christmas story. It wrote the fourteen pages and drew every picture. Mia isn’t a real child: we drew her as a sample.
From Story to Printed Book: a Personalised Christmas Book
A story told aloud is lovely. A book is something they can hold, look at alone and keep. With Photo9 you can turn your story into a personalised Christmas book in which your child is drawn as the hero from one photo.
Add one clear photo of your child. We draw them as a storybook character, for free, before you decide anything. The photo is used only to draw your book, deleted as soon as the book is drawn, and never used to train AI or shared.
Pick a Christmas story, or write your own. Use one of the ready stories below, or type your six lines in your own words.
Tell us what they love and who will read it. The words are written for the reader’s age, from toddlers to confident readers.
Choose a look and a layout. 3D animation, watercolour or classic storybook; words on a page of their own, or one big picture across both pages.
Read it, change anything, then order. Every word can be edited before printing, and you can add your own dedication on the first page.
The finished book is a square hardcover of 30 pages with 14 full-page illustrations, printed in your region. Up to three companions can join the story, like a big sister, Grandpa or the family dog, each drawn from their own photo.
Ready Christmas Stories to Start From
If you would rather not write anything, start from one of these. Each one is written around your child: their name, their age and what they love.
The little reindeer who lost its bell: a Christmas Eve search through the snow, so a small reindeer can fly again.
Christmas Eve at the elves’ workshop: a secret visit to help the elves finish the last presents in time.
The snow-globe village: one shake of the snow globe, and they step inside a tiny Christmas village.
Baking star cookies with Grandma: flour, a warm oven and a batch of cookies that turn out a little magical.
Christmas magic: leave it to us, with snow, lights and the joy of giving.
Each link opens the book maker with that story already chosen. Nothing is printed until you order.
A Christmas Present from Grandparents
A book with a grandchild as the hero is a Christmas present from grandparents that doesn’t end up at the back of the toy box, and it works just as well from far away.
Ask for one photo. A clear, front-facing photo in daylight gives the best drawing.
Put yourselves in the story. Add Grandma or Grandpa as a companion from your own photo, or use the baking-with-Grandma story.
Write the dedication. A few lines on the first page in your own words are often the part parents keep reading out years later.
Send it straight to them. Use the grandchild’s address at checkout, so the book arrives at their home.
For the grown-ups of the family, a calendar with a year of the grandchildren’s photos is the other classic: these photo calendar ideas for grandparents help you choose the photos and the dates.
A Book for the Christmas Eve Box
In many families a Christmas Eve box is opened on the evening of the 24th: new pyjamas, hot chocolate, maybe a film, and a book to read in bed. A story where your child is the hero is a natural fit for that box. It is read once that night, and then again on many nights in December the year after.
If you made up a story with the recipe above, the Christmas Eve box is also a good moment to give the printed version. They will recognise the reindeer, the robin or the dark garden from the nights you told it.
Getting It in Time for Christmas
Most orders arrive within a week. The delivery date is shown at checkout before you pay, so you can check that it arrives before Christmas, or before Christmas Eve if it is going into the box. Drawing the hero and writing the story take a few minutes, so the time to plan for is delivery. In the busy weeks of December, ordering early is the safest choice.
Looking for something for the rest of the family too? These personalised Christmas photo gifts go from wall art to mugs and bottles.
Christmas is only one of the moments a story like this can be about. If your child loves dinosaurs, a dinosaur story starring them works the same way, and our personalised children's books cover bedtime, birthdays, a new baby and a first day at school too.
Questions Parents Ask
Do I need more than one photo?
No. One clear photo is all it takes: we draw your child as the hero from it, and every page is painted from that drawing, so they look the same throughout the book.
Can brothers, sisters or the dog be in the same book?
Yes. Add up to three companions, each from their own photo, and they join the Christmas adventure.
Can I use my own story idea?
Yes. Type a few lines about your family’s Christmas, like the walk to see the lights or the cookies you bake every year, and the story is written around them. You can change every word before it is printed.
What age is it for?
Any age. You choose who will read it, from toddlers to older children and even grown-ups, and the words are written for them.
