Advent is right around the corner and there’s no better way to prepare our hearts for Christmas than to give! The Giving Manger, from WorthyKids, provides a perfect family Advent tradition that helps teach acts of kindness with Christ at the center!
What is The Giving Manger?
The Giving Manger, written by Allison Hottinger and illustrated by Emily King, is an interactive hardback storybook for Christmas advent that comes with a wooden manger, a bushel of straw, and a wooden baby Jesus. It goes on to tell a story of two children, Anne and Ben, and their parents, who want to prepare for Christmas by doing acts of kindness.
Their father goes on to carve a manger and when someone does a good act of kindness or act of service, a piece of straw is placed into the manger and on Christmas morning baby Jesus is placed into it. This concept comes from Matthew 25:40 b “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
The book also includes Manger Moments which gives several ideas for acts of service and Manger Memories which is a place to record your acts of service.
How We Use The Giving Manger
We’ve been using The Giving Manger since 2021 and it is such a wonderful addition to our Christmas decor and our Advent preparations. This set is perfect for my kids and I love watching their little eyes light up when we set it up year after year! It is a great way to teach service, selflessness, and joyful giving to your children.
How Much Is The Giving Manger?
The Giving Manger is typically $40, however, they usually run sales around Black Friday so check it often!
My Thoughts On The Giving Manger
I absolutely love it and I am so impressed by its quality! It is made well enough to last for years and years. I also really love the unique and creative paper illustrations which I think really help bring it to life even more. Everything about it feels handcrafted…so great!
I also love how beautifully it points to Christ by sharing how Christmas is not about receiving gifts under the tree, but it’s about THE perfect Gift, the Son of God being born as a man and coming to this world to redeem us from sin. That is what Christmas is all about. Not about gifts, not about Santa. About Jesus!
All in all, I highly recommend it for families, especially those with young children.
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This is the kind of interactive project we would love to do with our family!
The Giving Manger looks amazing!! Thank you for posting it!
I love this!
What a great way to teach about Christmas and the reason we have to celebrate it.
@tisonlyme143
This is such a great idea! My family would love it.
What a beautiful family tradition to have for Christmas! I love that it’s about the real meaning of Christmas and encourages us to teach and serve the community together as a family like Jesus did! We would love to do this and share with others this great tradition.
Time well spent
What a fun way to celebrate Jesus birth!
My daughter would enjoy this!
This seems like a really simple but effective way to celebrate advent.
What a great way to keep Christ as the focus!
We have never participated in advent. This encourages me to start now!
It’s a cute idea! We encourage kind acts between our kids constantly, but it really feels like a struggle these days!
I like giving my grandchildren gifts that increase their understanding of their faith in Jesus. This is a excellent tool to engage their imaginations.
i would love to have this. thank you
I love this!
I am always on the lookout for projects that encourage giving and kindness in my son. This looks to be a winner!
I LOVE the idea of this. Thank you so much for the giveaway. I would love to do this with my kids.
I had not heard of The Giving Manger. I like how you get an actual wooden manger with a baby Jesus and straw. It would look wonderful under the tree and the book would be great to read and start discussions on the real meaning of Christmas. I feel like Christmas has just turned into a way for kids to get toys, like Halloween is a way for kids to get candy.
This is lovely! It would be a perfect gift for my cousin & her young family!