When our children were very young my wife came up with the idea to make the Nativity set an active living part of the Christmas season to involve the kids and help them understand the Christmas story.
We would set the manger in a destination spot with just the cow and the star from our set. Then we would put Joseph, Mary and the donkey across the room and do the same with the three kings and the shepherds and sheep, each having their own starting point. Then through the advent season we would read the scriptures that tells the story of what happened to each group and why they traveled. Then each day we would have the children move each of the grouping closer and closer toward the manger so that they all end at the manger scene by Christmas day. Christmas eve when the kids were asleep we put the baby Jesus in the manger.
The children loved it and could not wait to move the pieces each day. It was fun watching Mary and Joseph cross the hutch then the book shelf to the piano then into the manger scene. The shepherds crossed two window sills and a coffee table to the scene. while the three kings traveled from the edge of a desk over the stereo on to a side table then a speaker to the scene last. As we turned to scripture to be accurate with the interactive nativity experience we learned a great deal too. It is something we do every year and now that two of our children have grown out of that faze we still keep the tradition. We thought you may like the story.
Brian & Marlies Henderson
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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This is a wicked cool tradition. We did a similar thing at Easter. I wish we had done this when my kids were little, but I'm going to pass it along to people with small children. Thanx for sharing it!
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