Move Over Elf On The Shelf: Make Room for ‘Finding Jesus’

HP mom’s Scripture-based Advent product focuses on Christmas story

Preparing for the holidays can be complicated, but Highland Park mom Lillian Richey says that making Christmas meaningful doesn’t have to be.

Richey has created “Finding Jesus,” an interactive game that invites families to find God’s Word and connect with Christ daily through a soft, plush Jesus doll and the Scriptures contained in his pocket.

The Scriptures are written on puzzle pieces that, when assembled, create a tabletop worthy picture. Every piece contains one or two verses of the Nativity. At the puzzle’s completion, families will have read the entire story of Jesus’ birth.

Richey, who has three kids of her own, explained that she created “Finding Jesus” with moms and the hectic holiday season in mind. Parents can play hide and seek with Jesus or keep him in one place and simply replace the puzzle pieces if that works better for their family.

“Kids are going every which way. You’re going every which way,” Richey said. “This is designed to be simple enough to do it each day, without it feeling overwhelming.”

The puzzle won’t get lost in busy households — as they are found, pieces are sandwiched between the clear top and bottom of the box to create a standing frame, an idea that came to Richey when she was cleaning up one of her own puzzles.

“Finding Jesus” has also come together for Richey one piece at a time. Product development is new to the stay-at-home mom, who attributes the project’s creation to a combination of “God and Google.”

“I am just a mom. I felt like the Lord kind of put this on my heart, and so I’m doing it,” she said. “I don’t know how to work Instagram. I don’t know how to make a website. This is all brand new.”

The idea for “Finding Jesus” came to Richey during a Bible Study in December 2023, when discussion turned to the difficulty of squeezing in talks about the season’s meaning between the holiday hoopla of parties and presents.

Another mother shared that her toddler had started carrying around the porcelain baby Jesus from the family Nativity scene and leaving it in different places, causing her to ask “where’s Jesus?” That revelation prompted another question for Richey: “Isn’t that what we should be doing, is finding Jesus? Seek him first?” 

When Richey started developing “Finding Jesus” in February, she depended on the Lord to guide her steps. Shortly after Richey prayed for an artist, she learned about Lauren Cox, who designed the product’s watercolor illustrations. Friends and family have given Richey ideas and assistance as “Finding Jesus” came together.

The production process may have been slow, but Richey’s sales haven’t. “Finding Jesus” became available for pre-orders on Sept. 17, and by mid-October she had sold more than 1,000 and reached almost every state.

“My hope for this project is that people will come into a personal relationship with Jesus,” she said. “That they will not see him as a far distant God, but that they will know that he deeply cares for them, and that they would make him their Lord and Savior.”