The Giving Manger Format: Hardback

Experience the true meaning of Christmas this year with The Giving Manger—a faith-based interactive family tradition that encourages acts of kindness, focuses on the joy of giving, and honors the real reason for Christmas: Jesus' birth.

Each Giving Manger Box Set contains a hardcover picture book, a wooden manger, a bundle of straw, and a sturdy Baby Jesus figure—everything your family needs to start the tradition in your own home.

How It Works


The included picture book, The Giving Manger, will help your family understand the tradition and get children excited about participating. Once you have read the story, place the empty manger in a prominent spot in your home. In the days leading up to Christmas, family members can place a piece of straw in the manger each time they perform a kind deed or act of service. Filling the manger will become a fun, interactive project for your family, prompting even young children to look for ways to love and serve others.

As your family works together to fill the manger with straw, your hearts and home will fill with the joy and contentment that comes not from wish lists and getting, but from giving and loving others. On Christmas Day, your family can place the Baby Jesus in the manger—now full of the straw that represents the acts of love and service done in honor of Jesus' birth.

Each Box Set Includes:

• The Giving Manger Picture Book: a heartwarming story with beautiful cut-paper illustrations that presents the tradition and will get kids excited about participating
• Wooden Manger: to be placed in a visible spot in the home, waiting to be filled
• Bundle of Straw: pieces of straw to be placed in the manger after each act of service
• Baby Jesus: to be placed in the manger on Christmas day

Each item in the box is built to last so your family can keep the tradition going year after year.

Note: The Giving Manger is intended for display use.

Allison Hottinger and Lisa Kalberer are sisters who are passionate about giving back. As they began to raise their own families, they realized that the true meaning of Christmas and the spirit of giving was getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the season. They put pen to paper, wood to the saw, and clay in their hands to create the book, manger, and Baby Jesus that make up The Giving Manger--a complete tradition to help families focus on the real meaning of Christmas. They hope that The Giving Manger can spread kindness and promote service as families come together and shift the focus of Christmas from getting to giving. Allison lives in Ladera Ranch, California, and Lisa lives in Austin, Texas.