Present idea for my godson at advent

[MockSock]

I swore off this site because I always start, or get involved in, arguments. But this seems like a fairly harmless question and I would appreciate any ideas or advice.

So I am godfather to my nephew but I’m not able to see him very often and his parents are not religious. I will be seeing him next week, all being well, and since it will be the beginning of advent I wanted to give him a little something to show that Christmas isn’t just about elves on shelves and whatever.

Anyway, I don’t want to get him an Advent Calendar because his parents probably already got one and I don’t want them to think that I’m trying to push them out. I can’t get him a candle because he’s only 1 1/2 and its a bit dangerous. I’d ideally like to get him something other than a book because he can’t read yet and I don’t know whether mum would read it to him.

Does anyone know of anything else I could get a 1 1/2 year old at the beginning of advent?

 

[1ke]

I don’t want to get him an Advent Calendar because his parents probably already got one

Why don’t you ask them if they already got one? I wouldn’t assume.

If they haven’t, you can pick one out for him.

If they have, then bring another gift. They make children’s advent wreaths that are fabric. If you have your heart set on an advent gift, that would be a nice one.

 

[Mtatum1958]

Also, reconsider a book. There are many simple kid’s books that the parents can read to him. At 18 months, one that’s short with lots of pictures may be something he or she might like to hear over and over.

 

[TheLittleLady]

I would suggest the toddler books here

https://bookstore.magnificat.net/attribut/index?age=35

 

[His_helpmeet]

Maybe a Nativity set that he can play with? I have seen cloth, wooden, and plastic ones - friends of ours have a plastic VeggieTales one that they allow their grandchildren to play with. The one caveat about that one is it does play “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, but only if it is equipped with batteries. (I bring this up because toys that make noise can be adorable, but if you have to listen to them all day ad nauseam, then they aren’t so cute anymore.)

 

[MockSock]

I did in the end, got him a little picture book without too much writing.

 

[MamaJewel]

Maybe a Nativity set that he can play with?

yes!!!

Fisher-Price Little People Nativity Set
https://www.christianbook.com/fisher-price-little-people-nativity/pd/06262X

Fisher -Price also has an Advent Set., but it doesn’t have the stable.
https://www.fisher-price.com/en-us/product/little-people-nativity-advent-calendar-fpt07

I did in the end, got him a little picture book without too much writing.

That’s great!
Maybe you can get him a a child’s nativity set for Christmas.

 

[Mtatum1958]

I did in the end, got him a little picture book without too much writing.

Great. I remember “reading” (more like storytelling) from a simple Christmas story book. Over, and over, and over again!

 

[His_helpmeet]

That’s fantastic!

I agree that you may like to get him a Nativity set he can play with as a Christmas gift. When I was a child, I had my own Nativity set. It was made of porcelain, but I was allowed to keep it on my dresser during Christmas and play with it as I liked. Unfortunately it was lost when we had a sewer backup in our crawlspace and many of our things were ruined Each of us kids had our own Nativity set, although not all were in pieces that could be played with. Our mom did have two family sets that we were allowed to play with, too. As an adult, I made my stepdaughter a set out of plastic canvas and yarn.

I am a firm believer that children learn as much about the faith through play as through other means. Giving them a Nativity set they can play with allows them to play the Christmas story themselves and to learn and integrate the story into their own experience.