Kurt Adler J3767 Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar With 24 Magnetic Piece

We have used this calendar for the past 5 years with our 4 children. They absolutely love it. We arranged the figures to go along with a story adapted from a nativity calendar that Noel Piper wrote. I will see if I can post it here. Some of the larger figures have to go in the larger doors, so we had to rearrange the story a bit to fit that. We give a Hershey kiss with each nightly reading. This year, 2018, is the first time while my 3 year old was playing with it that I had the long toothpick like rod come out of the side on the bottom. It's NOT a toy and shouldn't be manipulated excessively (he was turning it all over, which made the rod slide out). I quickly replaced it and put it out of reach. I'm going to price watch this calendar and try to get one for each child as a gift when they have their own families. It is their FAVORITE Christmas tradition!Nativity Calendar StoryStarted: 2013, adapted from Noel Piper, words in bold correspond with each daily item in calendar doors.Dec. 1st Jesus is the greatest treasure of all. This is the story of how he came to us. Long ago God Made a promise about a little town named Bethlehem. He said “O Bethlehem…from you will come forth for me one who will be ruler in Israel.” Jesus is the King God promised to send. One time a long time ago in Bethlehem, it was night time at the inn. It was so dark you could see a STAR in the sky.Dec. 2nd There was an INNKEEPER who ran the inn. The inn was completely full- there were no more rooms for people to stay.Dec 3rd Next to the inn was a place called a stable. In the stable there was a manger filled with hay, for the animalsto eat. There were animals like a COW.Dec 4th There was even another COW.Dec 5th Maybe there was even a DONKEYDec 6th One day the animals had a big surprise. A woman and man came to stay in the stable. That was because the emperor commanded everyone to go to their hometowns and sign up to pay taxes. Since the inn was filled with people, there was no place for the man and woman to stay. The man’s name was JOSEPH.Dec 7th The woman’s name was MARY, and she was glad to rest in the stable with the animals because she was going to have a baby very soon. Before they traveled to Bethlehem an angel of God talked to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, “This baby is from God. You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. This baby was the King God has promised.”Dec 8th Out in the fields near Bethlehem it was a very dark night. There were many STARS in the sky.Dec 9th Many many STARSDec 10th There were SHEEP in the fields.Dec 11th Many many SHEEPDec 12th And more SHEEPDec 13th Even more SHEEPDec 14th There was a SHEPHERD there to take care of all of his sheep.Dec 15th In the sky there was a very special STAR.Dec 16th Far away a WISE MAN saw the special star and said “This is the sign that a special King has been born. I must find him and worship him. I will bring him a royal gift of MYRRH.”Dec 17th So he got his CAMEL ready to travel.Dec 18th He brought along another CAMEL…..Dec 19th because another WISE MAN wanted to go too. He had the royal gift of gold.Dec 20th And he brought along another WISE MAN who had a gift of rich perfume called Frankincense for the King.Dec 21st When he unpacked all his baggage on his CAMEL, all the wise men set out on their long, long journey.Dec 22nd One night, an ANGEL of the Lord appeared to the shepherds. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were filled with fear. But the angel said, “Fear not. I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”DEC. 23 Suddenly, there was a multitude of ANGELs, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”DEC. 24 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the BABY JESUS lying in the manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. When Jesus grew up, he died and rose from the dead to save us from our sins. He is our greatest Treasure!

The "Kurt Adler Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar with 24 Magnetic Figures" is a charming way to count down the days of Advent. From the folk art appearance of the individual characters and animals to the alternating navy blue and sienna gold-numbered doors on the compartments that hold each individual piece, this Advent calendar will enliven and add to your Christmas décor.The compartments border the Nativity background on which you position the individual magnetic pieces. Centered on the scene is the stable where Christ was born; a grassy area fills most of the lower portion of the background. The display area is about 10 ¼" X 12 ¾" and does become somewhat crowded when all 24 figures are placed on it. It would have been easier to place figures if the display area had been slightly larger. The approximately 1 ½" deep frame of the "Kurt Adler Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar with 24 Magnetic Figures" creates a stable enough base that you can display it on a table or shelf.The "Kurt Adler Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar with 24 Magnetic Figures" is finished nicely. Paint is evenly applied and there are no drips or bubbles marring the smooth surface.If you are searching for an Advent calendar that depicts the true meaning of Christmas and can be displayed as a wall decoration or as one that can be placed on a shelf or table, you should consider the "Kurt Adler Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar with 24 Magnetic Figures". I think your family will enjoy it as much as mine does.

Product arrived quickly, appears to be well made - only problem is there’s no magnets included anywhere in the box. I contacted the vendor via Amazon link around 4 this afternoon. They close at 5. I assume someone will respond on Monday. Stay tuned…I want change my review to five stars. If not, I’ll be returning a cute advent magnetic box that I have no other use for.

This advent calendar is sure to stay in my family for many years to come! It was just what I was looking for, and it was the only one I could find that included the real reason for Christmas in its design. The boxes each hold the magnets with room to spare for a verse or a note with an activity to do that day - maybe even a small candy. Yes, it does get a little crowded with all the magnets on the board, but that is part of the fun! I'd say the only thing I didn't like was two of the color choices. Mary's pink clothes don't really go with anything and the stars were more yellow than I'd like. If I still take issue with it over time, I may just paint over them myself. My daughter is less than a year old, so I like that I can hang it on the wall out of her reach right now. In future years I could prop it up on the floor so she could play with the manger scene. Overall, I would definitely recommend it!