Tony Silva

Nativity Set
Tales of Glory

$24.99 from http://www.One2Believe.com

The Birth of the King Navity play set from Tales of Glory is one of many alternative toys offered by One2Believe. The set features 17 pieces, including a small stable. Like most Nativity scenes, the stable is more like a silhouette than an actual “building”. The stable is made from molded plastic while the pieces appear to be a harder “rubberized” type of plastic.

The pieces are as close to what one would expect for characters from the Middle East depicted by animated artwork produced in China. A child-friendly appearance and not an authentic art piece is what Tales of Glory is after, and for good reason. Just as these figures can be a good alternative to the scary looking action figures on the market these days, they are also keyed to specific stories. Their appearance is not unlike the animated video programs that tell the same storys.

In this case the story of the birth of Jesus has special significance this time of year. We usually bring out our Christmas decorations over the Thanksgiving weekend and gradually decorate our home right up until Christmas Eve. The Nativity scenes have always been a special attraction to the little ones, and if you don’t want to have to say “don’t touch”, this set is one to consider. Our younger boys helped me rescue the characters from the packaging and recreate the Nativity story on our living room floor. We discovered that the pieces do not always reliably stand up. Joseph will stand on any hard flat surface as long as it is not jarred. The angels have wide bases and no feet, so this was not a problem for them. While the wise men, or Magi (called King 1, 2 and 3 in the product description) have feet, they seemed stable enough to stand on carpet or other soft surfaces.

Some readers may be concerned about any toy coming from China, both for safety and for reasons of conscience. The box is clearly labeled for children ages 3 and up. In spite of the warnings of possible choking hazard from the toys themselves, parents should be aware of the stiff retaining wires that hold them in place in the packaging. Toss those and keep a close eye on the star that adorns the stable and you should be OK. Others in our group of reviewers reported that the star comes off and it doesn't always stay on when you put it back. Ours is still intact after a month of active use. We are not equipped to review products for led paint concerns, so I’ll leave that for others to debate.

The set comes with a little finger booklet that has questions you can ask your child and a very simplified version of the Nativity story. The questions are of a general theological nature, not strictly about the birth of Christ.

It might be fun to tell the story as the little ones move the characters about. See if everyone can get the right characters into the story at the right time. Tim obsessed about the fact that the angel was not coming down from the sky, and so he moved the whole set to an empty shelf, strung “invisible” fishing line from the shelf above and suspended the angel just over the stable. That’s one example of the creativity kids demonstrate when playing with this type of toy. Since we have all boys, I can attest to the fact that story figures are not always used to tell their story. The Magi can become warriors, the shepherds super heroes and Mary can become the Princess Bride.

One2Believe offers several lines of alternative toys, including all of the Tales of Glory line. You can add characters like Samson and Jonah to your collection. If you’re just starting out in your battle for the toy box, consider starting with any of these. Speaking of the battle for the toy box, be sure to check out the resources on the One2Believe Website for an explanation of the philosophy behind their toys and a cool downloadable "Battle for the Toy Box" poster.

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