Toy Review: Little People Christmas

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of sturdy pieces; music and light

Cons: Where are the shepherds?  White characters

The Bottom Line: 

Cute nativity

Big pieces for little kids

Fun light and music




Cute First Nativity Set

My niece is just over a year old, and we are looking forward to seeing how she reacts to Christmas this year.  One thing she got for this Christmas is Fisher-Price's A Little People Christmas.  If you are looking for a great nativity set for your little ones to play with, this is one to consider.

There are lots of big pieces in this set.  It starts off with the stable, a big rectangular building with straw roof.  While the back of the nativity is solid, when you are looking through the front, you can see the stars in the night sky, including the one that shown down on the manger.  There are two pieces that hook on to the sides of the stable, making a slightly larger enclosure.  They are interchangeable and snap into place quite solidly.  Aside from the figures in plastic bags, this was the only thing that needed to be put together.

Then there are the figures, and you get lots of them.  Naturally, there are Mary and Joseph.  Jesus is firmly attached to a small manger.  The three wise men are present.  You get two donkeys, a little lamb, a cow, and a camel.  Plus, there's a bigger manger (with removable hay) and a cart that will attached to the bigger animals so they can drag it around.  Finally, there's an angel.

You'll notice the one thing that is missing - shepherds.  Joseph could double as a shepherd, but it's not quite the same.

There is a light and sound component as well.  When you have installed three AA batteries (not included) in the back compartment, you can press the button on the top of the stable to hear "a soothing song" (one verse of "Away in a Manger") and see the star on the front of the stable light up.  Any of the figures can easily fit on the button on the top since they all have holes just the right size in them, but my niece likes to take the figure off first and press the button by hand.

And boy does she like to play the music.  She'll turn it on and dance around to it.  It's very cute to watch.  My brother and sister-in-law might not be liking it by Christmas, but so far we all think it is cute.  There is a switch in the back to turn the music and light off, however, my niece figured that out right away.

Since this is a Little People set, all the figures and accessories are quite large in size.  Obviously, my niece doesn't quite grasp what it is yet, and several pieces (usually the lamb or camel) go into her mouth almost immediately.  So far she loves the music aspect the best.

The rest of us like it because it is cute.  The figures are pleasant to look at with their rosy cheeks.  It's solid, so it will withstand being played with by anyone over the age of one (which is the recommended age on the box).  Yes, the stable is based on the romanticized, American version of the Biblical story and not the way things really were.  Since most nativity scenes are like that, I don't mind in the least.  It would have been nice if they hadn't used very white people for the characters since that also isn't realistic, but it's the only real complaint

While the story aspect of the set doesn't really register with my niece yet, I'm sure she'll get that in the next few years as she grows up and starts to understand who all the figures are.

It seems that Fisher-Price updates this set regularly.  They say right on the box that contents might appear different from those pictured.  Sure enough, the contents of the cart are slightly different.  Who knows how it will change in the future.  Maybe we'll even get the missing shepherd.

Nativity sets are an important part of many Christmas celebrations.  If you are looking for one for your kids, I don't see how you can go wrong with A Little People Christmas.