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Virtual Festival of Nativities


gardenmom5
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We've had a local Festival of the Nativities the last 10 years or so - but of course, not this year.  I've always enjoyed the diversity.  Some very expensive, and some from humble places using what was available.  Some very large, and some miniscule.  Some of my favorites were from Africa - craftsmen using whatever materials they could find, even pop cans.  Wire and beads, etc.   They'd also do a "children's room" - with child friendly nativities (re: not breakable, meant for kids to play with).  knitted/crocheted, carved, etc.

I have two (and until the cat stops jumping on everything,  . . .. )  I also have a playmobil set (with lots of animals) I bought for dudeling when he was four, and as I finish up projects, I hope to put it out.)

 

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Here's the one I bought when DD was a baby. It was one of the first things I ordered after she was born on Thanksgiving. Some of the characters from the Little People Noah's ark have crept in, and I need to find where Joseph has gone to. (We still have a large Little People collection-I use tutoring as an excuse, but really I just don't want to give them up). 

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1 hour ago, Dmmetler said:

Here's the one I bought when DD was a baby. It was one of the first things I ordered after she was born on Thanksgiving. Some of the characters from the Little People Noah's ark have crept in, and I need to find where Joseph has gone to. (We still have a large Little People collection-I use tutoring as an excuse, but really I just don't want to give them up). 

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I want to get a set for my grandsons (2 and newborn) - but I ended up doing a nativity advent calendar this year.  I thought it would work better for the toddler.  Something for him to do everyday.

Eta: next year, I'll get them the FP one.

Edited by gardenmom5
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My friend was in Rome last Christmas and she viewed many amazing Nativity scenes. Here is just one example I found on-line. I would have had no idea about these beautiful displays if she hadn't showed me her photos. I believe that there is music as well.

 

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Edited by wintermom
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Okay, y'all asked for it.... 😉 

So, in the photo with the gold Christmas tree, the one on the left is a small ceramic one that my neighbor brought back for me from San Antonio, TX. The one on the right (and seen in the next picture) is a mini cabinet style one that we got at the "Hippie Fair" (craft market) in Brazil where we lived (In Campinas, SP). 

In the 2nd photo, the one in front was a gift from my sister, and is olive wood from Jerusalem. 

The 3rd photo is one of my favorites and I keep it out all year, b/c it's too fragile to put away and I love the bright colors. I bought that one in a little shop in Paraty, RJ, Brazil; it's clay/pottery, unfired, and the little doves are held on by wires (as are the little flowers).  The two tiny ones in front are polymer clay and were bought in a little restaurant/shop in S. Dakota, somewhere near Mt Rushmore, on a trip there several years ago.  The one behind it was a gift from my dad/stepmom last year.

The 4th pic is a close-up of my pewter one from Cozumel, and the 5th pic shows that one and the rest in their display; normally these are all on my dining table, but this year the dining room is half office, and there's no space, so we cleared off this shelf in the living room, added this little wooden box thing, and poof, room for them. 

Next are two wooden "puzzle" ones -- the Christmas tree with nativity is by an Italian-born artist who lived in Brazil when we were there, and traveled the country selling his art at local craft fairs; he made that and a "world tree" that I have which I love, and this one is my other favorite besides the bright one with the doves.  The other one there is Mary & Joseph on their way to Bethlehem, and DH picked that one up on his first work trip to Buenos Aires, as a gift to me. 

Next is a blown glass one that I got in another small town in Brazil; I forget the name of the town, but we went there to shop for sweaters (what it's known for) and found this glass shop as well. 

Last is a side view of my pottery one from Cozumel, which I could not resist due to the hammock. Just too cute. I don't have that one up yet this year to get a better/face on photo of it, but there's also a cow and a little angel, and it's adorable. It's going to go on the table, but the boys are still using the table for final exams, so I have to wait until they're done with school. 

 

Anyway.....those are mine 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity to show them off ❤️ 

 

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Here are ours: 

1- made in Peru.  Bought at a shrine.

2-handmade by my son in his religious Ed class 💕

3- homemade by one of my kids 🙂

4- won in a raffle.  Made in Eastern Europe.  Drawing a blank on the country.

5- my very first nativity after I moved out.  Bought from an Avon catalog from a coworker 😳

6- our Little People nativity

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59 minutes ago, TheReader said:

@matrips, I love yours!! That one from Peru is stunning!  And the one made of popsicle sticks, I have one quite similar made by my son that hangs on our tree.....his Mary is upside down on it, LOL!!!  

but also had to comment, as I have the same exact blue/pink angel bells, dating back to my childhood. so fun! 

I love the homemade ornaments.   The imperfections are what make them so precious. 💕. My teens hate them! I have to rescue them every year 😂.  
 

my son bought the Peru one with his own money when he was 11.  He likes buying what he considers keepsakes when we are on vacation. 

The blue and pink angels were my grandmother’s.  They are easily 50 years old!  I love putting out her old ornaments.

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15 minutes ago, wintermom said:

This is my tiny nativity that fits into its own little box. Getting all the pieces back into the box in their right places is half the fun! 

 

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I did the same thing - I took a picture of my Kirkland nativity set in the box, so I would know where various pieces went when it was time to put it away.

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3 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I did the same thing - I took a picture of my Kirkland nativity set in the box, so I would know where various pieces went when it was time to put it away.

The kids are constantly taking it out, putting it back and setting it up in new ways. It's always in transition. Kind of like the Little People set in 'living puzzle' form. 😉

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2 minutes ago, wintermom said:

The kids are constantly taking it out, putting it back and setting it up in new ways. It's always in transition. Kind of like the Little People set in 'living puzzle' form. 😉

I have a playmobil nativity that's mean for kids to play with - except I dont' have any little kids around right now.

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On 12/7/2020 at 11:36 AM, MercyA said:

@Dmmetler, I love it!!! The sheep! The wisemen! So awesome. 💖

One of the neat things is that you can arrange almost anything like a Nativity set and it is instantly recognizable. DD used to come home from preschool and kindergarten and turn pretty much all her toys into “Activity sets”.  

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1 hour ago, wintermom said:

Is that a monolith and a tardis? Awesome! 😉

And Yoda always arrives with the wise men, far left.

Yoda in nativity scenes is one of those weird coincidences...ds the SW fan popped Yoda in ages ago and we all laughed at how perfectly he fit in with our set.  Now every year we see photos going around with specifically Yoda added.  We obviously weren't the only ones!

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These are my 2. I almost bought the Peanuts one to add to my collection. The top one is a cardboard nativity...DH's gramma and gramps have an identical one. I just loved how it looked. The bottom one I bought when I was in college working at the local Christian bookstore. I just loved the clean lines and minimal look. It is HUGE, however. We finally have a nice place to display it. DH built the entertainment center console, I made sure our TV would be mounted to the wall so the nativity could be displayed. The angel is probably 15 inches tall or so. 

 

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2 hours ago, LifeLovePassion said:

These are my 2. I almost bought the Peanuts one to add to my collection. The top one is a cardboard nativity...DH's gramma and gramps have an identical one. I just loved how it looked. The bottom one I bought when I was in college working at the local Christian bookstore. I just loved the clean lines and minimal look. It is HUGE, however. We finally have a nice place to display it. DH built the entertainment center console, I made sure our TV would be mounted to the wall so the nativity could be displayed. The angel is probably 15 inches tall or so. 

 

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I'm sorry your picture links aren't working.

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Our zoom service tonight featured photos of Nativity sets that church members sent in.  It was so wonderful seeing all the different sets!!

Here's a couple articles about two different nativity sets.  Both articles mention featuring contemporary things in the scene.  We've done that organically and it's neat to know that it's a long tradition!

https://www.artic.edu/articles/490/the-creches-cast-of-characters

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/12/16/vatican-nativity-pope-francis-astronaut-239526

Love this thread!  Hope to see more!

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On 12/11/2020 at 10:03 AM, wintermom said:

This is my tiny nativity that fits into its own little box. Getting all the pieces back into the box in their right places is half the fun! 

 

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This is really adorable.  Do you know where I could find one like it?

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2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I think I found it at a Christian book store in Canada a few years ago. 

If it's still out and it's no trouble, would you be able to see if there are any maker's markings on the figures or box? 

I think many of us are charmed by it. 🙂 

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11 hours ago, MercyA said:

If it's still out and it's no trouble, would you be able to see if there are any maker's markings on the figures or box? 

I think many of us are charmed by it. 🙂 

I'll have a look. It did have a little sticker on the box, but the surface of the box is fuzzy and the sticker fell off a couple years ago. I'll see what I can do. 😉

ETA: There are no markings at all on the box or any pieces. I think the sticker may have just been a 'Made in China' thing. Sorry 'bout that. 

I love the knitted nativity from Peru!! 

Edited by wintermom
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19 hours ago, Ditto said:

This is really adorable.  Do you know where I could find one like it?

 

2 hours ago, wintermom said:

I'll have a look. It did have a little sticker on the box, but the surface of the box is fuzzy and the sticker fell off a couple years ago. I'll see what I can do. 😉

ETA: There are no markings at all on the box or any pieces. I think the sticker may have just been a 'Made in China' thing. Sorry 'bout that. 

So, it was made by a company called Giftco. There is one on eBay, but it's missing one camel and possibly the display box (which of course is half the fun)! Just in case anyone wants to keep looking for one. 

I am loving all these sets!!! 

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4 hours ago, MercyA said:

 

So, it was made by a company called Giftco. There is one on eBay, but it's missing one camel and possibly the display box (which of course is half the fun)! Just in case anyone wants to keep looking for one. 

I am loving all these sets!!! 

Good searching, you! Did you notice that the photo has one of the wise men in Joseph's place? Unless his gift was a shepherd's hook. 😉

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I don't have any personal pictures of it, because dd thinks they missed upacking a box of Cmas decorations, but prior to last Christmas, I sent a nativity set of blocks to my then 15 month old gdd.  I wanted to see and approve them before they went to her, so they came to grandma's house first. They were stunning, really, really beautiful colors and very nicely finished.  Dd says they were a huge hit, and seemed a bit sad when she realized she *really* was missing an unpacked box of Christmas stuff.  (She has an infant and an active toddler, so it's not surprising that she's barely hanging on.)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/212135086/full-nativity-block-set-with-gift-bag?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=nativity+blocks&ref=sr_gallery-1-19&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

For anyone who wants something less expensive and can DIY, the artist also sells the paper sets that you can decoupage onto blocks if you own blocks or can make them at home.  

Edited by Halftime Hope
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