The best £1.99 I've ever spent

I bought a knitted Nativity Set from Traidcraft catalogue. My son was paying a visit and his cocker spaniel made a beeline for the set and I shouted “The dog has the baby Jesus in his mouth.” There was then a chase me until the figure was removed from his mouth.The Nativity set was then placed in a higher place. That little set comes out every year. I think it cost about £10.

Lovely stories, the true meaning of Christmas.

We lived in Taiwan in the 90’s and there was a wonderful Christmas shop there that was open all year round. I actually bought some of our favourite decorations there - a rustic Father Christmas with a long beard, a reindeer which our then 4 year old daughter used as a Barbie horse and many other delights. We then lived in Germany for 4 years and our festive collection got bigger - nutcrackers and advent merry go rounds to mention but two. Memories come flooding back each December when the Christmas boxes are dragged out of the shed, such a lovely time of year. I love that our two adult children still remember their own creations and enjoy seeing them displayed on the tree!

I’m delighted to read my paper nativity scene evoked a happy memory for you allsortsofbags. It does the same for me every year. I can clearly remember as a very small child standing up on my tippy toes and gazing into it. We had a very small artificial tree which was positioned on the sideboard and the nativity sat underneath it. One year my Mum decided to lower one of the tree lights to sit inside the scene. She quickly realised that was a bad idea. Fortunately it survived but the tiny scorch mark is still visible on it.

Many years ago my late husband made a nativity scene from toilet roll middles, plastic golf balls, coloured tissues, and a shoe box. It lasted many years.

Grayling. Your post reminded me of a Christmas holiday spentin Spain thirty years ago and walking round the town to see all the Belens large and small in the town hall churches and shops.
And on 6th January all the excited children in the toy shops.

I used my knitted crib in my class at school for years. The children loved moving the figures about and that Mary could hold the Baby Jesus or put him in the crib.
As a follow on from the pizza maker cribs from Catalunia often include a crouched figure doing a p**. Goodness knows why!

Lovely stories and they brought back some lovely memories.

I was thinking about the paper Nativity we had when I was a child and then Grannynannywanny put up her picture and it looks just like the one I was thinking of.

Thank you so much, took me right back. It was my job to unwrap it and make sure everything was straight then Mum would put it on the mantlepiece. Happy memories.

I have a small pink angel, that I bought with my pocket money 52 years ago, she is on the tree every year. What I would like to say is the joy and happiness the comes across, from all of you, remembering your personal traditions. If the last couple of years have taught my family anything, it's the time you spend with each other and the memories you make that matter. Hope you all have a happy and memorable Christmas for all the right reasons

We have a family joke, that my daughter has a sticker with her name on it, stuck to the crib. She doesn't want her brothers to have it.

She also has stickers on a fair number of other coveted items.

@Witsend I just love your knitted Nativity set! And I love all these posts, too!

I bought some lovely crib figures in Madeira and my husband made a three-sided stable for them. Holes bored in the roof for tiny fairy lights illuminate the scene. The Baby Jesus lies, not in a manger, ahem, but a little wicker cot I found in a junk shop. Two out-of-proportion kneeling figures of children in peasant costume adore the baby. My unbelieving children and grandchildren love it, as do I, but who shall I bequeath it to?

I have a lovely wooden Nativity set that my youngest daughter bought for me, her 1st Christmas away at university. She was 51 yesterday. It still comes of every year.

Beautiful post, love the stories, thanks for sharing x

I love that Holy Pizza Maker!

Lovely stories here. The wooden crib I had here, which had always been in my life since childhood, vanished mysteriously some years ago now. We still have most of the plaster figures, and a few plastic ones. So now I arrange them in front of a fold out Christmas nativity card. Despite my best intentions I've never made a replacement. Funny how decorations just seem to vanish between one year and the next!

I have loved reading all your posts, wonderful stories!

My parents bought a dozen plastic rattly Father Christmases on sleighs for my brother's first Christmas when he was 9 months old. Only one remains, and it comes out every year and adorns our tree. Both my DDs and GC know the story about it and love seeing it each year and hanging it in pride of place at the front. My brother is now 71 years old!

When my 42 year old son was 9, and his 38 year old sister was 6, they made a paper reindeer one Saturday morning. He comes out every year, and stands among the Christmas cards. We all love him.

Bought!

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As promised, the €1 crib, bout in an Everything €1 shop in Prague.
Plus a picture of the Holy pizza maker.

Our crib came home from Spain many years ago and brings back many memories of our time living there. Every town/village in Spain has a public crib called a "Belen" built usually in a public hall which can take a couple of weeks at least to build. Our local one was in the Town Hall on a specially constructed table the size of a room and was magnificent! Christmas Day was a day for church and a family meal. Santa didn't have much significance back then - children looked forward to the evening of 5 January when there was street parades with decorated floats and bands with sweets being thrown at the children lining the street before they went home. 6 January was a holiday with presents being exchanged then. I feel quite selfish that I haven't passed our crib on to my DGS but did give him one for home and my Spanish one will be his one day - just not yet! Apologies for digressing from the original post but it has brought back so many memories.

What lovely heartwarming stories and such beautiful nativity scenes.

Lovely story, paddyann ?

I don’t have a large Nativity , but some years ago on a trip to Madeira I bought the tiniest one carved inside a walnut shell. I love it.

My darling daughter put a pig in the our crib , a priest who was a friend came to bless the crib and very kindly explained there
wouldn’t have been a pig there.

She said , yes there would, Noah saved them.

Lovely stories.

My lovely father in law made in (the eighties) several Christmas churches complete with minister and choir (carved out of dolly pegs)
The church it's self was made from bits and pieces and then painted complete with snow, ours also has a snowman ⛄

The inside of the churches are lit, so when the doors are open, all the hand carved pews and pulpit can be seen .

As with yours Paddyanne my children, grandchildren and any visiting children love to play with the wee carved people.
My daughter and and son have inherited their own churches from family members who have passed on.

My grandson's will point to their church and say proudly to visitors 'our great grandfather made this all by himself'