December                         2025
“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”—Dr. Suess
↓Click below to see our full events guide↓
Featured Events
 5th Annual Giving Tree Village
Dec. 1st - 17th 
 
This holiday season, the Henderson County Public Library invites you to experience The Giving Tree: A Celebration of Community Kindness.
 
Join us as we showcase the creativity and compassion of five local nonprofit organizations, each decorating a festive tree that reflects their mission and impact in the Henderson community. Every tree tells a story of hope, service, and connection and you get to be part of the celebration!
 
Visitors are encouraged to stop by the library, admire the beautifully decorated trees, and vote for their favorite tree. The organization with the most votes will receive a monetary award, generously sponsored by Farmers Bank of Henderson.
 
Come celebrate the spirit of giving, learn more about the incredible work happening right here in our community, and be inspired by the many ways kindness grows in Henderson.
 
Voting Dates: December 1–17, 2025
Location: Henderson County Public Library – 2nd floor of the Preston Annex (Dick & Sheila Beaven Art Gallery) 
 
 
 
Master Gardeners: Poinsettias, Christmas Cactus, and Amaryllis
December 6th, 10 AM - 12 PM
 
 
Holiday Plants: Poinsettias, Christmas Cactus, and Amaryllis
 
Get into the festive spirit with Brenda Hester, presenting on behalf of the Master Gardeners! This program will explore the care and beauty of iconic holiday plants like poinsettias, Christmas cactus, and amaryllis.
 
Learn expert tips for selecting, maintaining, and enjoying these seasonal favorites to keep your home vibrant and festive throughout the holidays.
 
Celebrate the season with stunning holiday blooms!
 
 
Winter Reading 2025
Dec. 22nd - Feb. 22nd (Kick-off on Dec. 15th)
 
Join our Winter Reading Challenge for readers of all ages—no library card needed! Track your progress on Beanstack or with a paper reading log. This year’s theme is “Let the Winter Reading Begin!”
 
Kick things off on December 15, 2025, from 2:00–4:30 PM with a hot chocolate bar and cookies. Pre-registration is open now, and the challenge begins December 22, 2025.
 
Read 3 hours for bronze (1 ticket)
6 hours for silver (2 tickets)
9 hours for gold (3 tickets)
 
Tickets earn entries toward our grand prizes! The challenge runs through February 22, 2026.
 
 
Nomination Form for the 2026
Night of Excellence
(Form goes live December 8th)
 
Don't miss your opportunity to nominate members of your community for the 2026 Night of Excellence, celebrating the power of mentorship, starting December 8th.
 
 
Special Interest Groups
Plot Twist
December 4th, 6:00 PM
First Thursdays
 Beginner Tai Chi
December 11th, 6:00 PM
Second Thursdays
Write-Minded
December 15th, 6:00 PM
Third Mondays

Lethal Library
December 1st, 6:00 PM
First Mondays 
 
If you love true crime, have we got a program for you!  Join us at the HCPL every first Monday at 6pm to explore all things murder and mayhem!  We'll listen to podcasts, play crime-centric games, discuss true crime cases, watch movies, and more.  Each meeting will bring something different, so don't miss out! 
 
This program is for adults.  Materials viewed and discussed may contain violence, gore, and explicit content.
 
Registration is required to attend
Makerspace Spotlight
Makerspace

Don't forget the library's Makerspace can bring you ideas to life! Plus, our Makerspace librarian can help you see your project from beginning to end.
 
  
  • 3D Printer
  • Poster Printer
  • Vinyl Printer
  • Engraver
  • Cricut Maker 3
  • Sound Booth
New Releases This Month
Star of the Show [Deluxe Edition]: My Life on Stage by Dolly Parton
Star of the Show
by Dolly Parton
 
A stunning celebration of Dolly Parton’s iconic career as a performer, featuring entertaining personal stories alongside more than 500 photographs, including exclusive images and ephemera from her archive. In Star of the Show, the culminating book in Dolly Parton’s photographic trilogy—following Songteller (lyrics) and Behind the Seams (fashion)—the global superstar finally shares a definitive look at her career as one of the world’s most dazzling and beloved performers.
The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage
The Heir Apparent
by Rebecca Armitage
 
An irresistible modern fairy tale about a British princess who must decide between her duty to her family—or to her own heart. It’s New Year’s Day in Tasmania, and the life Lexi Villiers has carefully built is working out she’s in the second year of her medical residency, she lives on a beautiful farm with her two best friends Finn and Jack, and she’s about to finally become more-than-friendly with Jack—when a helicopter abruptly lands. Out steps her grandmother’s right-hand-man, with the tragic news that her father and older brother have been killed in a skiing accident. Lexi’s grandmother happens to be the Queen of England, and in addition to the shock and grief, Lexi must now accept the reality that she is suddenly next in line for the throne—a role she has publicly disavowed...
 
The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe: A True Crime Thriller by James Patterson
The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe
by James Patterson

Her rise, her triumph, her tragic loss— only James Patterson can tell the full story of America's tragedy. In the early hours of Sunday, August 5, 1962, Marilyn Monroe’s live-in housekeeper wakes with a sinking feeling. She knocks loudly at her employer’s locked bedroom door, and when there is no answer, she calls Monroe’s psychiatrist, Ralph Greenson. Greenson breaks into Monroe’s bedroom and finds a horrifying the thirty-six-year-old movie star lying naked, lifeless, face down on her bed, still clutching the telephone receiver. At 4:20 a.m., Greenson alerts the LAPD. It is established protocol for the chief medical examiner to conduct celebrity autopsies, but inexplicably, junior medical examiner Dr. Thomas Noguchi performs the procedure on the five-four, 118-pound actress. When you are a coroner, Noguchi believes, you start from the assumption that every body you examine might be a murder victim. In those final summer days, did Marilyn Monroe have more enemies than friends?
Tailored Realities by Brandon Sanderson
Tailored Realities
by Brandon Sanderson

Spanning the genres of fantasy and science fiction, this collection features stories from beyond the bounds of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere universe.
Along with the never-before-seen novella "Moment Zero," Tailored Realities will include "Snapshot," "Perfect State," "Defending Elysium" (a novella set within the world of Skyward), and five other stories that were originally published individually elsewhere-never before collected into one volume, and many never before available in print.

The collection will also include a stunning black and white illustration for each story.
Want more new releases for December? Click below!

Stack of Two Books
 
 
 
Coming in January!

Henderson County Public Library
101 S Main St., Henderson, Kentucky 42420
270-826-3712

https://www.hcpl.org/