We’d love for you and your family to come join us for holiday fun at the Library! Browse our shelves, enjoy a holiday concert, fine-tune your holiday cooking skills, and more. You can even meet an actual reindeer!
Looking for the Perfect Book Gift?
IndyPL Staff have selected their favorite reads of 2023. Select a category to browse lists of gift suggestions, each with an annotation to let you know what is special about the book. Gift giving made easy!
Adults
- Best of Fiction
- Best of Nonfiction
- Best of Biographies and Memoirs
- Best of DVDs
- Best of Romance
- Best of Sci-Fi and Fantasy
- Best of Suspense, Mystery, and Horror
Kids & Teens
- Best of Picture Books
- Best of Fiction and Graphic Novels for Kids
- Best of Nonfiction for Kids
- Best of Teen
Need some holiday entertainment at home?
For screentime holiday fun browse our collection of holiday movies! You can check out DVDs or stream movies straight to your device with your IndyPL library card. Here are some staff recommendations to get you started looking for your next winter movie night feature. If you have never used one of our streaming services before, learn how to stream movies with your IndyPL library card.
- Christmas Horror Films
- Non-Christmas Christmas Movies…Or Are They?
- Alternative Christmas Movies
- Smile for Pete’s Sake! – Offbeat Holiday Movies
- Not Your Typical Holiday Watching Guide
- Christmas Crime – not your typical holiday watch list
- The Horror of the Holidays – not your typical holiday watch list
Do you need to keep a house full of kids entertained for an afternoon? We’ve got streaming movies for kids too. Choose some to share with guests and some to watch during your child’s own downtime. Get started exploring our streaming movies for kids.
Shore up your “to read book stack” with one of these recommendations
For Adults:
- Mysteries Set at Christmas, Part 1
- Mysteries Set at Christmas, Part 2
- Holiday Rom-Com Reads
- Retail Didn’t Crush My Holiday Spirit
- Celebrate Hanukkah!
- Christmas Decorations!
- Celebrations of Yule – The Winter Solstice
- Romance…On Ice!
For Kids:
- If You Liked…the Nightmare Before Christmas
- A Multitude of Multicultural Christmas Books for Kids
- Favorite, Classic & New Christmas Stories for Kids
- 8 Nights of Bedtime Stories for Hanukkah
- Books for Kids to Celebrate Kwanzaa and Nguzo Saba
Join us for a Holiday Concert, Meet a Reindeer, and More!
- Event: Ballet Storytime at Eagle
- Date & Time: Wednesday, November 06, 10:30am
- Location: Eagle Branch
- Description: Children 3-6 are invited to join members of Ballet INitiative for a story and a short ballet experience. This program features their upcoming production of The Nutcracker with a Twist!
- No Registration Required.
- Event: Culinary Book Club – Cookbooks About Holiday Cooking or Baking
- Date & Time: Saturday, November 09, 2:30pm
- Location: Lawrence Branch
- Description: Join us as we have a discussion of our discoveries reading and creating a recipe or two from holiday cooking or baking cookbooks.
- Register Here
- Event: Nutrition Education Class
- Date & Time: Tuesday, November 12, 12:00pm
- Location: Haughville Branch
- Description: Food is a big part of many holiday traditions and celebrations, and often brings people together. And that’s the way it should be! But often during the holiday season, we are less mindful about the health habits that keep us energized and at our best.
- Register Here
- Event: Out of the Darkness and into the Circle of Lights
- Date & Time: Tuesday, November 12, 6:30pm
- Location: Online
- Description: Join us online via Zoom to explore the challenges surrounding early efforts to light the Monument and the Circle of Lights’ origins and significance as a cultural icon in Indianapolis.
- Register Here
Change up your holiday cooking.
Would you like to to mix up your usual rotation of tried-and true holiday recipes? Join us for an upcoming cooking class or explore our collection of recipe books, e-books, and e-magazines. We can get you started exploring our recipe book collection. Get holiday cooking tips and culinary reading recommendations!
Get help with new technology gifts.
Do you need help learning how to use new technology gifts or apps? Bring your tablet or smartphone for assistance downloading and streaming using our services, including OverDrive, Hoopla, and Libby. See the schedule.
Holiday Fun for Kids Online – You Choose the Time Holiday Storytime!
Use the 5 skills of early learning – reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing to learn about Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah. Enjoy several online video read alouds, songs, activities & more!