Get into the holiday spirit this year by using free library resources! You will be shocked at all the ways you can enjoy the Christmas season while supporting your local library.
Supporting your local library is a great way to support your community and also save money. Libraries are extremely important. They help give people access to books, the internet, and other valuable resources.
Libraries also provide so many amazing opportunities for celebrating Christmas. These resources are often overlooked, even though they are free and available in most communities.
Celebrate Christmas Using Free Library Resources
Every library is a little bit different and provides different things to its community, so while these are some common resources, be sure to also check with your library to see if they have even more to offer.
Check Out Christmas Books
The most obvious way to utilize the library for Christmas is by checking out Christmas books. You will find some great Christmas books at your local library.
If you need ideas of ones to look for, check out our list of Hallmark Christmas books and Christmas books for kids. The whole family can get into the Christmas spirit by checking out some Christmas books.
Free Audiobooks from Libby
If you prefer audiobooks, many libraries still carry CD audiobooks, or you can download the Libby app and add your library card to start checking out audiobooks for free on your phone.
There are always some amazing Christmas titles available. There are also kids’ books available. This is one of my favorite options because I’m dyslexic and prefer audiobooks. It’s so nice to be able to check out books and support my library without even leaving my home.
Borrow Christmas Movies
Most libraries also have movies for you to check out and will likely have some Christmas movies for you to enjoy. If they don’t have the ones you are looking for, libraries can do interlibrary loans to get you more great titles to check out.
You can often find movies this way that are harder to find on streaming services, and if you start using your library more, you may find you can even cancel some of your streaming services and save some money.
Stream Christmas Movies
Don’t have a DVD player? Many libraries offer streaming through the site Hoopla! Hoopla connects to your library card like Libby and offers movies, TV shows, ebooks, audiobooks, and more.
Hoopla even has Hallmark+, so you can watch Hallmark Christmas movies while supporting your local library.
Attend Christmas Events and Classes
Libraries also often host events and classes. Around the holidays, they may have Christmas readings, movies, and even fun classes. It’s a great way to enjoy some free Christmas fun and support your library and community.
You could even consider hosting one of these events to really get into the Christmas spirit!
Check Out Christmas Cookbooks
When checking out Christmas books, don’t forget to look for Christmas cookbooks. You can find a lot of great Christmas recipes online; you will even find Christmas recipes on this site, but cookbooks are still special.
I love checking out cookbooks from the library. It’s a fun way to find new recipes to try out. If you find a cookbook you really love, then you can go ahead and buy a copy, but with being able to check them out first, you can find a cookbook you are sure you will use a lot.
Attend Library Book Sales
Many libraries have book sales throughout the year to sell old books and other items to raise money for new ones. They also often take donations from the community of things to sell.
You can usually find great books, cookbooks, DVDs, and more. This is a great way to get Christmas books, Christmas movies, and Christmas cookbooks that you will use over and over while supporting your library.
Now that we have talked about some of the great ways to utilize your local library during the holiday season, it’s important to also talk about supporting your library.
If you are taking part in Giving Tuesday, a donation to your library is a great option. You can also request donations in your name for gifts or give donations in people’s honor. My husband was a public school teacher, and he loved it when people donated to educational causes in his name for Christmas gifts.
And one last way to support libraries is to check out the American Library Association’s campaign Show Up for Our Libraries and follow the actions they share. Let’s keep libraries available for everyone to enjoy and celebrate!
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