The Christmas Star From Afar by Natalie Ard

When you order Star from Afar, you will receive a very sturdy box that stores the Star from Afar book and nativity set. On the first day of advent, you will open the box with your kids. You start by reading the Star from Afar book. The story goes through the wise men’s journey to Bethlehem in a simple rhyming form. It also explains to the children how they will be finding the star each morning and they will help the wise men journey to Jesus. The next step is to have the children help you set up the nativity scene. Then, the fun begins! You get to start hiding the star each day! When your kiddos wake up, they go on a hunt for the star and move the wise men to the star when they find it! On Christmas morning, the star will be above the stable where baby Jesus lays.

At the beginning of the book, there is a note to parents. It is sure to note that parents need to let children know THEY will be moving the star each day. It is up to the parents to decide how creative they get. The star in our house just moves around, but I’ve seen some pretty creative ideas on social media where stars get decorated or camouflaged throughout houses making the hunt for the star a little more challenging or silly.

To call this a devotional is really a stretch, it is more of a daily Advent tradition with one scripture verse to read a day from December 1st-25th. It only takes about five minutes (depending) to have the children find the star and read the verse of the day.

Ages: 1-10 years old

For the past few years, Elf on the Shelf has been all over every retail store and flooding our social media pages. If you’re looking for a daily activity similar to that notorious elf that can get your kids excited BUT also point them towards the birth of Jesus, then you would love Star from Afar.

My family has used the Star from Afar for 2 Advent seasons. We love the simplicity of it, and it has been a great way to start our mornings. It is a helpful tool to remind ourselves to be consistently in our Bibles every morning.

My one hesitation with Star from Afar is that on page 15 of the book, it says that when the wise men reached the star, they saw the special baby boy in Mary’s arms. It is not Biblically accurate with the age of Jesus at the time of the wise men’s arrival. This is minor in my opinion, and we are sure to discuss this with our kids each time we read it and again on Christmas morning when they’re moving the wise men to the stable.

Since the book only provides one verse of Scripture to read each day, our family supplements another advent reading plan each day.

This review is written by contributor, Tricia. To read more about Tricia, click HERE.

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