Features:

  • Kurt Adler Nativity Advent calendar
  • Includes 24 magnetic pieces - total of 25 pieces in the set
  • Perfect for remembering the true meaning of Christmas
  • Magnetic pieces are stored in the 24 numbered doors
  • Measures 16.75 inches
Love this

This is so cute and durable! My grand daughters: 4 and 6 are enjoying the story along with opening the doors placing the figures on the background scene. So nice to have the little magnets to secure the figures! The scene is crowded but I rearranged the figures a bit, and it looks nice and less crowded. But in the era when Jesus was born that stable WAS crowded! There wasn’t just one donkey, and one cow there on that miraculous night. There were many animals all crowded together, sharing that stable along with Mary, Joseph, and then Baby Jesus.

Just what I wanted

I bought this to use this Christmas season so haven't actually used it but just taking it out if the box and looking at it I am very happy with it. It is made of good quality material. I have been searching for a good advent calendar and thought of making my own but saw this one and really like the idea of having a character every day to add to the nativity as well as putting a scripture and little treat inside too I look forward to using it for years to come. Plus I liked another reviewers idea of having my girls alternate days with my brown eyes girl opening the brown doors and my blue eyes girl opening the blue door so there is no arguing. We'll see how it holds up to a 1 and 3 year old.

Meaningful tradition for the past 5 years (our adapted story below)

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 Story Started: 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 animals to eat. There were animals like a COW. Dec 4th There was even another COW. Dec 5th Maybe there was even a DONKEY Dec 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 STARS Dec 10th There were SHEEP in the fields. Dec 11th Many many SHEEP Dec 12th And more SHEEP Dec 13th Even more SHEEP Dec 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!

Really Great Calender!!!

I searched high and low for the right advent calender. I wanted one that had the 24 day countdown with figures but also had a space to put a small treat or toy everyday. This is the only one I found that had both concepts in one. We coordinate the daily treat (a Hershey's Kiss) with The Elf On The Shelf. The Elf shows up every morning and puts the chocolate kiss in the small door of the day. Of all the things I have ever bought for my kids this is by far one of the most played with. My daughter is 3 years old and goes to the calender to re-arrange the scene at least 5 times every day.(I mounted it on the wall at her height) It also has helped her learn the numbers as we count them everyday to find the figure inside the door. The quality is good but I am not sure how durable it will be based on the fact that it is played with more than I anticipated. Time will tell but it seems well constructed based on the price. Overall I will say this is definitely worth every penny. FYI- I removed the mounting hinges off the back and actually opened 2 of the little doors and used real screws to put it on the wall. I recommend you do the same if it is at a height where your kids can touch it. Trust me- it will be touched A LOT!!!

This is a beautiful well made advent calender

This is a beautiful well made advent calender. My 21 month old and my 6 year old love it. We just bought it with 6 days to xmas and i dont know why i didnt think of getting one years ago. The art work/paint is lovely, the doors fit all the pieces with maybe just enough room for a very tiny candy or two...like gummy bear size.

The True Meaning of Christmas

I have not opened this one as of yet... I had bought one for my granddaughter 2 years ago and she loved it and still loves it. I now bought 2 more, one for each of my grandsons. It is well made and it helps the children learn the real meaning of Christmas. My granddaughter loves having the whole Nativity scene come together. I would highly recommend this over the commercialized Advent calendars. Can't wait to give these to the boys come Advent this year!

Love the fact we can use this every year

We have never had a nativity/advent calendar ever before but I've always wanted one... the thought of having one that could become a tradition in our family made it even more exciting.... We aren't religious, but it is a nice way to teach the girls about the story behind Christmas - and of course, they loved the idea of Baby Jesus. The magnet pieces hold very well (there is a plastic covering that is on the scene to protect it during shipping, I think maybe some people who say magnets don't stick have failed to remove this!) and we were also able to put not only the stars and sheep etc... into the drawers but also Hershey kisses too! A big hit - the kids raced to open a day - and it was beautiful.

Advent and Nativity Scene in One!

If you have kids (or grandkids), this is a MUST! It is made very well and the coloring is rich. The painted scene is simple, but very nice. This has a compartment and "piece" (shepherd, wise man, animal, stars, Mary, Joseph & baby Jesus, etc.) for each day. My 3yr and 4yr old get excited every morning to open that days compartment and decorate the magnetic board, building the nativity scene a little everyday with the piece for that day. We absolutely love it! Definitely a Christmas tradition for years to come!

Exceeds expectations

My children absolutely love using this calendar. It is beautiful, and perhaps more important, durable. It stands up to tiny hands, and the individual pieces are really well made. The magnets also fasten really securely to the backdrop, so there isn't an issue with pieces getting lost. The slightest quibble I have is that Joseph is too tall to go in the doors on the sides, so he has to go into the bottom row and ends up in the story earlier than we normally would put him in. But this is a small thing, and it is really wonderful to have a teaching tool that really engages the children. It also doubles as a wonderful Christmas decoration. The burgundy, navy, gold color scheme is really nice.

Even better than I thought!

This calendar is even prettier than I expected! It looks really well made and sturdy, and it is also larger than I had imagined. I love the idea of creating the whole nativity scene day by day instead of just having candy everyday. My 4 yrs old daughter can't barely wait to open up a window and find out what piece of the scene we are doing next! About the problem with pieces not fitting in the drawers, which some people are complaining about, I would have to say that ALL THE PIECES DO FIT in the drawers, but there are different drawer sizes and piece sizes. Larger pieces will fit into the larger drawers, smaller pieces into the medium and small drawers. On mine, I kind of tried to place all the characters as I think they appeared in the story, so I started with the normal stars and the stable animals, then the Star of Bethlehem, the wise men with their camels, the donkey, Joseph and Mary, the angels, and lastly, baby Jesus. It fitted just fine. I highly recommend this Advent Calendar!

Full Reviews