Nativity Set

I came up with an idea from my grand kids - kind of a pre-Christmas gift. It's not a new idea, I've seen it on-line before, but I've never done it. I found these cute little nativity sets for only $4. I am packaging up each piece in a numbered envelope (1-10, there are only ten pieces to the set) and mailing them to the kids' moms. Then for ten days the kids will be given one envelope to open. There will be a nativity piece and a sheet of paper that tells the Christmas story - involving that piece. My hope is that they will think about the meaning of Christmas as well as the anticipation of Santa. (Senility gives one a rosy-kind of glow regarding one's grandchildren.... )

It's a VERY small little set - really cute. This is what the figures look like:

I hope it works out the way I hope. I thought it would be a little like an advent thing. I always had an Advent calendar when I was going up and loved it. My mom used to send them to my kids when they were little. It's a tradition I'd like to keep.

I found a neat project that I hope I can accomplish for next year. It's a wooden advent tree that has attachment points for little ornaments. Each ornament has a card that goes with it tells the meaning behind it. They pick a card, and read the message, then hang the matching ornament. There are twenty-four symbols represented. I'd like to have one for each family. I have a friend that does woodwork, so it is possible.