Teach Your Children the Christmas Story with Star From Afar

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Christmas is just around the corner. With the upcoming Advent season comes a great opportunity for parents to teach their small children the Christmas story. Songs, books, Advent calendars, and more…the ways truly are endless. There’s no right or wrong way to teach the Christmas story. The important thing is that our children capture, even just the tiniest bit, the wonder of the Incarnation.

I heard about a wonderful product two years ago, called Star From Afar. Star From Afar is an interactive Nativity set that works much like a Christian alternative to Elf-on-the-Shelf. I mentioned it to my readers in my 2014 Christmas newsletter. So what a privilege it was to be contacted by the creator and given a free set to review for all – AND a set to giveaway to one blessed reader!

Star from Afar is more than just another Nativity set. It comes as a beautiful boxed set with a companion Christmas story book. You can also order the set in Spanish, or you can order the set with characters in a darker skin tone. There are also add-on stable animals and Scripture cards available for purchase.

The gist of the game is that each evening after the Children are in bed, the parents can hide the Christmas star. Each morning during Advent, the children (or child) wake up and search for the Star. When they find it, they can move the Wise Men to “follow the star.” On Christmas Eve, the star is moved to the manger scene, and on Christmas morning, the Wise Men reach Jesus.

This game teaches children the Christmas story, gives parents and children a chance to interact, and is just as much fun as Elf on the Shelf. (With a lot less work and a lot less creep-factor, am I right?)

However, there’s no requirement that the game must be played. Star from Afar functions just as well as a Nativity playset, with sturdy wooden play figures from the Christmas Story.

“Can it be eaten? Asking for a friend…” ~ Little Brother

Watch our Facebook Live Review here!

Star From Afar also comes with a companion wooden stable, which makes for a nice Nativity display. (I realize now that we assembled this completely upside-down! Oops!) We are keeping ours on our mantel – easily accessible, yet nice decoration as well.