Artza: Bring the Holy Land Home for the Holidays

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Artza.

The land of the Bible is filled with iconic seas, vast deserts, lush hillsides, and cities both ancient and modern. Israel continues to capture the imaginations of people throughout the world, and millions of Christians visit every year to glimpse the Holy Land, walk where Jesus and His disciples walked, and put the Old Testament accounts into proper context. Not able to travel? You don’t need to be discouraged. Bring the Holy Land home for the holidays with the Artza subscription box. 

Artza is a one-of-a-kind subscription box experience that follows in the footsteps of Jesus. Each box is carefully curated around a location from the life of Jesus: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Galilee to name a few. Learn and explore the Holy Land through handpicked, high quality items crafted by local artisans and businesses. In each box, you will discover something for the soul, for the body, to inspire, to learn, to taste, and to share.

Today I am sharing with you the Artza box for Winter 2020: Bethlehem. Come as we dive deep into is contents, perfectly selected for this time of year by the team at Artza.

The Bethlehem Box

The current box offered by Artza is the Bethlehem box.

I was excited when a little piece of Bethlehem, packaged gorgeously in an orange box, arrived on our doorstep last week. Unboxing its contents was a whole family experience, and I would like to thank my husband for assistance with the photography in this post. (You will notice that after he started helping, the photography improved!)

The first thing we found when we opened the lid with a large card labeled Bethlehem and a welcome letter from the Artza team. Throughout this experience, I appreciated the abundance of information and context that went into the box. There is a card that lists each item, four cards that highlight the stories behind the artisans and businesses that contributed, two beautiful postcards featuring iconic locations in Bethlehem, and a traditional recipe. 

 The delicious food 

Near the top of the box we found the bar of Holy Cacao’s dark chocolate and peppermint and, to my husband’s delight, Fenster’s toffee. We had to restrain ourselves long enough to snap a few photos, before we ate a few nibbles. The Holy Cacao chocolate was heavenly! The dark chocolate had a rich, but not bitter, flavor with the perfect hint of peppermint. My husband enjoyed Fenster’s toffee so much that he snuck a second piece.

Also included was a small jar of Halva Almond Butter by Rusty’s Nut Butter. I accidentally split some of the nut butter while arranging the display so I enjoyed a little on a rice cake. It was very delicious. I love that Artza included the cookie recipe was for Halva Almond Swirl Cookies, providing us with the opportunity to use Rusty’s nut butter to make a traditional Israeli dessert.

The crafty items

Some of our family’s favorite items from the box are the beautiful nativity ornaments carved from local olive wood. I particularly love how Artza highlights some of the artisans and entrepreneurs with the information cards. They share a bit about the artisan, their business, and their unique story.

Also in this box we found a gorgeous, hand-painted decorative plate. The colors are quite rich and vibrant, and it is of very nice quality. It looks amazing on a picture stand in our dining room.

I look forward to using the Table Talk cards at our next family gathering. These snowflake-shaped cards perch on drinking glasses and have conversation starters on them. It would be a great way to bring more meaningful conversation and discussions to a family meal, and a fun way to laugh, share, reminisce, and make new memories.

Perhaps my husband’s favorite item (and my brother-in-law agreed) is the Bethlehem candle. It has a nice modern aesthetic and the scent is an earthy, comforting aroma. My brother-in-law, who is from Rwanda and has traveled quite a bit in that part of the world, was very impressed. My sister and I are both a bit sensitive to scents — in that most factory-produced candles cause us raging headaches — both fell in love with this candle and its calming aroma.

Friday evening, our family used it as the first candle in our new tradition of lighting Advent candles. For the four Sabbaths leading up to Christmas, we are gathering at the dining room table together to read a Scripture, light a candle (symbolizing hope, faith, joy, and peace), and saying a prayer. On Christmas Eve, we will light a fifth candle symbolizing love (John 3:16).

Premium box extras

Each quarter, there are two versions of the themed box: the standard box and the premium. The premium box contains 2-3 additional items not available in the standard box. In the Bethlehem box, the premium items were a set of six colorful coasters and 20 beautiful black and white photos.

When it comes to experiencing Israel, I feel like the photo collection really helped to create an entire experience. These beautiful black and whites were taken by Rudi Weissenstein in the early years of Israel as its own country. Through his lens, we can see a glimpse into what life was like in the lands of the Bible in a way those of us in the Western Hemisphere don’t usually get to see.

Artza’s subscription

Artza is a subscription box service. Each box ships quarterly and is beautifully themed to allow subscribers to follow in the footsteps of Jesus through Israel. The Bethlehem box is perfectly timed to line up with Christmas and would be an ideal gift for a family.

For an annual subscription, the standard box costs $299.99 and the premium box is $379.99. But for a limited time, if you purchase an annual subscription, you will receive the Nazereth box free — that is five boxes for the price of four!

If the annual subscription is too costly for you, you might want to consider a one-time purchase of a box. A standard box costs $74.99 and a premium box is $94.99.

With the promo code thanks20, you can get 20% off until Monday, November 30th!

Missed out on the Cyber Monday sale? Artza is offering, exclusively for A Heavenly Home readers, 15% off your purchase when you use the promo code JACQUELYN15 at checkout!

I know the cost of the box is steep for many of us, but think of it this way. You are not just purchasing a couple of cool items. You are investing in an truly one-of-a-kind experience and, simultaneously, helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, and artisans whose businesses may have been negatively impacted by current world events and circumstances.

My thoughts on Artza

This year has been extremely challenging for many of us, and receiving Artza’s Bethlehem box was a beautiful experience. I was excited to receive it, explore its contents, and learn more about Bethlehem and the businesses that contributed to the box.

I was so excited that I could not keep it to myself. I had to share the box with my in-laws and my sister, too. I love that inside the box, Artza has carefully curated items to inspire, to learn, to taste, to share.

In fact, later today my mother-in-law is coming over to help my boys and I make holiday cookies and we will be making a batch of the Halva almond swirl cookies with the Rusty’s Nut Butter and the recipe provided in the box! (I will share the results in a new post next week.)

Many of us cannot afford to travel to Israel and take a Holy Land tour. Even if we could, traveling now and in the foreseeable future has its own unique challenges due to the global pandemic. It is almost as if Artza was created for such a time as this. We can now experience a small taste of the holy land from the comfort of our own home.

Conclusion

Artza is a one-of-a-kind subscription box that brings the land of the Bible alive in a unique and exciting way. Inside is a beautiful blend of ancient and modern that provides a glimpse into the culture of Israel.

I was very honored to have received the Bethlehem box from Artza and had the opportunity to share it with my family and you, too.

This holiday, if you are searching for a gift that has meaning and purpose for your loved ones, consider a gift that will keep giving long after it is first opened. Consider a gift that allows you to travel and explore without having to leave your home. Consider gifting the Bethlehem box to your family or loved ones.

Visit Artza today!

And don’t forget to use the promo code JACQUELYN15 at checkout to save 15% off!