Shelves, Elves and Walking Wise Men
First let me say this is not a “hating on the Elf on the
Shelf” post. There is a blog post I read recently that I think explains why we don't do it and if you would like to read that visit this blog.
This post is about a new Christmas tradition I am putting
into place in our home. I think the Elf on the Shelf is a really cute idea
but I also think that between elves, Santa, presents, marketing and debt that
you not only have to be incredibly deliberate for the real purpose of Christmas
to be the focus but you have to be consistent. every. day. So, as I was trimming my home
for Christmas and getting out my 2nd nativity (don’t judge, I may
even have a third) I thought of a fun way to involve my 3 year old in the story
of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
I prepped our dining room table for the Nativity and put
down the moss/straw stuff I use every year for the floor of the stable and put
the donkey and the cow in place. Then I asked my daughter what she thought the
shepherds were doing the month before Jesus was born and she said tending
sheep. So, since they were near Bethlehem I put the shepherd and his sheep just
a little ways away from the stable sitting on the dining room table.
Then I talked to her about the three Wise Men. I told her
they were traveling from super far away to visit Jesus (yes, I know they
probably got there when He was two but we will go with the creative license
that has them included in the nativity scene). So we decided the bookshelf by
the front door is the farthest place in our house where the Wise Men could
begin their journey.
Next came Mary and Joseph. We talked about how they had to
leave where they lived and go to Bethlehem because King Herod demanded
it. Since they weren’t traveling the same distance as the
As we were talking about the King Herod I saw the 3
Nutcracker soldiers in my Christmas décor. Seeing a chance to share even more
of the story I pulled them out and borrowed one of her play castles and I setup
Herod’s castle since the Wise Men will go to it on their way to worship Jesus.
Next we had to place the Angel that would be part of the
Heavenly hosts that would announce the birth of the Savior. We chose the china
cabinet because it was high up and would overlook “Bethlehem”. When I put the
Angel up there it was next to a decorative cross and my daughter asked if the
cross was up in Heaven too. I explained in many ways it was because when Jesus
decided to come to Earth to save us He already knew He would have to die on the
cross for our sins. (Sidenote: I am thinking about letting her color a picture
of Jesus and putting it up in Heaven for right now too since that is where He
was before He came to the Earth.)
Then she asked about Baby Jesus.
I explained that He wasn’t born yet and that Mary and Joseph
would be traveling to Bethlehem and that right when they got there that Mary
would give birth to Jesus. I said we would have to look for Him on Christmas
morning and join the Angels, Wise men and shepherds celebrating that He was
born. She got so excited and my heart leapt at the fact that on Christmas
morning we would run into the dining room to find Jesus!
I did start to wonder if she was just mimicking my
excitement or if she was really getting the idea but much to my surprise when I
went into her room later in the afternoon she had taken her Fisher Price Nativity
scene and put the different little people around her room. The she explained to
me what they were doing and why she chose that spot for them, oh and that
Aladdin is an honorary Wise Man.
I love that everyday we are going to move each part of the
Christmas story closer to the stable. I feel like this gives our Christmas a
grounding because each day we draw closer to the day Jesus coming to Earth we
will be talking about it as a family.
I would love to hear any other Christmas traditions you have
that help point the season back to Jesus! Please leave them in the comments and
I will share them on my blog!
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| Here is my table... it looks so funny without the full Nativity but I even love that because I get a chance to share with people about what we are doing! |
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