Christmas poems for kids: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas and 10 short poems

A clatter on the lawn sends the narrator to the window. Outside, a tiny sleigh and eight reindeer are heading for the roof. Santa is almost here.

Christmas poems for kids can be a two-line greeting, a funny nursery rhyme, a story about Santa, or a Christian reading about Jesus. Eleven complete poems follow, including “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” with ages and ideas for reading together or preparing a recital.

Jump to: choose a poem · the full Night Before Christmas · 10 short poems · by age · reading and reciting

Which Christmas poems can kids read or recite?

Start with “Christmas is coming” for a first recital, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” for Christmas Eve, or Rossetti for a Christian reading. Each link opens the complete poem on this page, and the ages tell you when a child can enjoy it with you.

Poem	Author	Ages	Read free
A Visit from St. Nicholas	Traditionally Moore; disputed	6+	Full text
Christmas is coming	Anonymous	4–7	Full text
Little Jack Horner	Anonymous	4–6	Full text
Christmas comes but once a year	Anonymous	4–6	Full text
A Christmas Carol (In the Bleak Midwinter)	Christina Rossetti	7–9	Full text
Christmastide (Love came down at Christmas)	Christina Rossetti	7–9	Full text
Christmas Eve	Christina Rossetti	8–10	Full text
A Carol (He came all so still)	Anonymous	7–9	Full text
A Christmas Carol (The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap)	G. K. Chesterton	8–10	Full text
A Child’s Song of Christmas	Marjorie L. C. Pickthall	7–9	Full text
Christmas Bells	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	10–12	Full text

What is the full text of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas?

“A Visit from St. Nicholas” is the poem known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Allow about five minutes to share it as one of your Christmas Eve traditions.

A Visit from St. Nicholas

Traditionally credited to Clement Clarke Moore · first published anonymously in 1823 · 56 lines.

’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;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

The poem first appeared anonymously in a New York newspaper in 1823. Moore claimed it years later, and Henry Livingston Jr.’s family has long said he wrote it; the Poetry Foundation’s biography of Livingston tells that side of the story.

A kerchief is a head covering; the sash is the window frame; coursers means swift horses, used here for reindeer. Santa still smokes a pipe in this 1823 text, which may be worth a word with younger listeners.

Your child can join in with “dash away” and Santa’s reindeer names. This edition says Donder; most versions today say Donner.

What are some short Christmas poems for kids?

These ten poems range from two to thirty-five lines. The first three are nursery rhymes; the others are Christian readings. For a secular classroom, try “Little Jack Horner” or “Christmas comes but once a year.”

1. “Christmas is coming”

Anonymous · ages 4–7 to share.

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat,
Please to put a penny in an old man’s hat;
If you haven’t got a penny a ha’penny will do,
If you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you.

Four lines make a manageable first recital. A ha’penny means half a penny. Let your child supply the rhyming words; the ending offers a blessing even when someone has nothing to give.

2. “Little Jack Horner”

Anonymous · ages 4–6 to share.

Little Jack Horner
Sat in the corner,
Eating of Christmas pie:
He put in his thumb,
And pulled out a plum,
And said, “What a good boy am I!”

Give Jack’s final boast a wonderfully pleased voice. Your child can mime his thumb pulling something from the Christmas pie.

3. “Christmas comes but once a year”

Anonymous · ages 4–6 to share.

Christmas comes but once a year,
And when it comes it brings good cheer.

One reader can say the first line and a group can answer with the second. The whole rhyme also fits inside a card.

4. “A Christmas Carol” (“In the Bleak Midwinter”)

Christina Rossetti · ages 7–9 to share.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Rossetti moves from a frozen landscape to a mother’s kiss and a gift. Read the last stanza as real questions. The snow is an English winter carried to Bethlehem; ask your child if they spot it.

5. “Christmastide” (“Love came down at Christmas”)

Christina Rossetti · ages 7–9 to share.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

Listen for “Love.” Explain “Love Incarnate” as the Christian belief that divine love takes human form in Jesus; then share the stanzas.

6. “Christmas Eve”

Christina Rossetti · ages 8–10 to share.

Christmas hath a darkness
Brighter than the blazing noon,
Christmas hath a chillness
Warmer than the heat of June,
Christmas hath a beauty
Lovelier than the world can show:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Earth, strike up your music,
Birds that sing and bells that ring;
Heaven hath answering music
For all Angels soon to sing:
Earth, put on your whitest
Bridal robe of spotless snow:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Darkness becomes bright; chill becomes warm. Ask which opposites your child noticed. Let the voice rise when the music begins.

7. “A Carol” (“He came all so still”)

Anonymous · ages 7–9 to share.

He came all so still
Where His mother was,
As dew in April
That falleth on the grass.

He came all so still
Where His mother lay,
As dew in April
That falleth on the spray.

He came all so still
To His mother’s bower,
As dew in April
That falleth on the flower.

Mother and maiden
Was never none but she!
Well might such a lady
God’s mother be.

The first three stanzas repeat a gentle arrival. “Spray” means a small branch here; “bower” means a private room. Read slowly.

8. “A Christmas Carol” (“The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap”)

G. K. Chesterton · ages 8–10 to share.

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

Let a second reader take the parentheses. Leave space before the final image: flowers looking up and stars looking down.

9. “A Child’s Song of Christmas”

Marjorie L. C. Pickthall · ages 7–9 to share.

My counterpane is soft as silk,
My blankets white as creamy milk.
The hay was soft to Him, I know,
Our little Lord of long ago.

Above the roofs the pigeons fly
In silver wheels across the sky.
The stable-doves they cooed to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.

Bright shines the sun across the drifts,
And bright upon my Christmas gifts.
They brought Him incense, myrrh, and gold,
Our little Lord who lived of old.

Oh, soft and clear our mother sings
Of Christmas joys and Christmas things.
God’s holy angels sang to them,
Mary and Christ in Bethlehem.

Our hearts they hold all Christmas dear,
And earth seems sweet and heaven seems near,
Oh, heaven was in His sight, I know,
That little Child of long ago.

Blankets, birds, gifts, and a mother’s song connect a child’s home with Bethlehem. A “counterpane” is a bedspread. Which image would your child draw?

10. “Christmas Bells”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow · ages 10–12 to share.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

The middle stanzas describe war breaking into homes. Read together before choosing this for a recital, following the speaker from despair to hope.

The National Park Service’s Longfellow museum dates the composition of “Christmas Bells” to 1864, with its first publication in February 1865 in Our Young Folks. The full poem includes both stanzas about the Civil War that carol versions often leave out.

Which Christmas poem should you choose by age?

Ages 4–6: start with the two-line “Christmas comes but once a year”, leaving the rhyme for your child to finish. Try Jack’s pie when they want a scene to act out.

Ages 7–9: “Christmas is coming” gives a seven-year-old four lines to recite. For church, try “Christmastide” after explaining its words about love. Pickthall offers familiar blankets and birds to picture while practicing.

Ages 10–12: share “Christmas Bells” when there is time to talk about war and peace. For a longer recital, divide the Santa poem’s stanzas between readers or learn it whole.

For bedtime, the quiet repetition of “He came all so still” suits families who enjoy Christian poetry. Whatever the age, the poem your child keeps asking for is the right one.

How can kids read Christmas poems aloud or recite them?

Read the poem together before practicing. Explain unfamiliar words, and let your child choose a line they enjoy saying. In the Santa poem, start with the reindeer names; in Rossetti, listen for “Love.”

1. Picture the action. Jack’s thumb gives your child a gesture to remember if the words slip away.
2. Follow the sentence. Punctuation tells you where to breathe; a thought may continue into the next line.
3. Learn a stanza at a time. Read together, then let your child try while you keep the page. Prompt with an opening word when needed.
4. Share the speaking parts. Give Chesterton’s parentheses to a second reader, or bring a group in on Longfellow’s wish for peace.

Before a school recital, practice speaking toward the back of the room and looking up when a thought ends. Keep a reading copy nearby. One small gesture is enough; let your child choose it.

On another December night, a book advent calendar gives a favorite story its own turn.

Can you print these Christmas poems or use them in cards?

These historical texts can be copied and printed in the United States. Keep the title, author, line breaks, and stanzas. Label a selection from a longer poem “excerpt.” Modern recordings, illustrations, and musical arrangements have their own rights.

For a card, choose the two-line rhyme. After reading, the Christmas activity pages offer something else for the table, while a letter to Santa gives gift ideas a place to go.

Sources

All eleven poems are in the public domain in the United States. The three nursery rhymes follow The Real Mother Goose (1916); “Christmastide” and “Christmas Eve,” Rossetti’s Verses (1894); “He came all so still,” Chesterton, Pickthall and Longfellow, The Home Book of Verse.

• Moore, Clement Clarke (traditional attribution). The text on this page follows this edition. A Visit from St. Nicholas. Houghton Mifflin, 1912; illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith. Gutenberg 17135.
• Poetry Foundation. “Major Henry Livingston, Jr.”. Authorship discussion.
• Anonymous. The Real Mother Goose. Rand McNally, 1916; illustrations by Blanche Fisher Wright. Gutenberg 10607.
• Rossetti, Christina. “A Christmas Carol”. 1872. Text and publication credit, Poetry Foundation.
• Rossetti, Christina. Verses. E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1894. Gutenberg 77809.
• Stevenson, Burton Egbert, editor. The Home Book of Verse, volume 1. Gutenberg 2619; digital edition 2001, updated August 2026.
• National Park Service. “Christmas Bells”. Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters, December 17, 2020.

Sources checked October 16, 2026.