Our Nativities Tell God's Story - These are our favorites...

I bought this at a restaurant in Florida, as I like to collect angels.

This small ornament of alabaster hangs on my tree each year.  It is small...about 2” square.  I was with a friend when it was purchased at a 10,000 Villages store.  These stores provide an outlet that supports fair market prices for artisans around the globe.  I appreciate that the artist could get so much intricate carved detail in a small nativity.

This nativity was needlepoint stitched by Anna's great-grandmother in the 1970s. Mary and Joseph are currently waiting for Jesus' birth. Anna likes that the Wise Men travel around the house until Epiphany and always seem to be lost. 

My nativity is so meaningful to me and my family because it's our first one as a family. We started with Mary, Jesus, and Joseph several years ago and we have been able to add pieces each year. Missing the Angel but hopefully next year it will be complete!

Noah received the nativity above for his first Christmas at just 2 months old. When Sarah was born, she of course needed a Christmas set to call her own, too, which is where the winter wonderland came into the picture. Over the years, the two sets have always been set up and played with together (continuing to this day), an odd mishmash of the baby Jesus sledding with the kids, the shepherd skating on the ice, and the wise men riding in a carriage with a snowman. Yet it seems to be the perfect way to remember that Christmas really is about this odd mix of God living with us.  

Over the years, we have collected several Nativity sets but this one is most special to me.  We received it on our first Christmas together, 50 years ago.  My brother built the stable and my parents gave us the "people".  But what makes it the "best" is the memories of our children, each when they were little, taking baby Jesus out of the manger and into their bed to talk and "warm him up".  What a comforting memory.

Another favorite of mine.

This was Merle's favorite. He really liked the nativity figurines. Merle didn't do much shopping, but he picked these out himself and bought them. Maybe he knew they would fit nicely in this creche he had made. It is always displayed.  

Mary is so rarely depicted as actually pregnant.  Robbin likes having some that are more than just Mary doting on the baby in the manger.  This one juxtaposes both together.

​This is part of our Bethlehem town. We set it up for advent and leave it up till after Jan 6 to give the wise men time to get there. It reminds us that Jesus came to a busy world, one crowded with people and plans and hopes and dreams.  It reminds us that, however simply it all began, the story continues to grow in scope and meaning.  And like a good, never-ending story, it will continue and become more complex, more meaningful, and always more lovely.  
Continued with the next scene...

Our scene began with a stable, Mary and Joseph, the baby, an angel or two. Wise men needed to follow, and shepherds in the fields.  Shepherds needed sheep, and another angel or so to become a heavenly host. There should be an inn, and of course an innkeeper and his wife. The town began to grow around the inn. Shops opened, travelers came to stay. There should be more sheep, animals, a cat or two to stare hungrily at the fish monger. The Magi stand ready to begin their journey through the wilderness. Now most years we look to add another figure to the set, though it seldom stops at one more.

This is my table for all of my Nativity sets with the one I bought
in Alaska on a cruise.

I’ve had this ornament since I was a child, and in the past, I always made a point to put it on the tree first. I’m not so diligent about this anymore but always think about it’s constancy when it does come out of the box.

Our submission isn't a nativity set  so to speak, it is Weihnachtspyramid or better known in the U.S. as Christmas Pyramid.   We received this as a wedding gift 33 years ago from good friends of ours from Germany.   Every Christmas season, it is placed as the centerpiece on our dining room table.

We purchased this olive wood nativity set in Nablus (Nazareth) in 1981.

I purchased this nativity from local artisans on a trip to Haiti in 2004. At the time, I was working as a grant writer and communications support person for a nonprofit organization called International Child Care, which runs a children’s hospital and community medical programs for families in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was an unforgettable experience to travel to a place that is so materially poor but culturally and spiritually rich. I was deeply changed by the time I spent on the island and this nativity reminds me of the people I met there. 

My favorite. The creche in this nativity was made by Merle many years ago. The nativity figures are Willow Tree from Hallmark. It is always the first one to be displayed. 

This nativity was a gift for me from my sister Renee.  It was machine embroidered by her. Many hours of precise stitching to create this wall hanging nativity!

Mary is so rarely depicted as actually pregnant.  Robbin likes having some that are more than just Mary doting on the baby in the manger. 

Mary is so rarely depicted as actually pregnant.  Robbin likes having some that are more than just Mary doting on the baby in the manger. 

From Barb: Christmas always was near when my father set up his Christmas scene on the big wooden desk that sat in the front room window.  I loved seeing the town come to life with carolers and skaters on the mirror pond, the church lit from within and the houses decorated with pillowy cotton snow.  So I wanted my own Christmas scene as I grew older, but I wanted it to be more of a manger scene and less the New England village so far removed from our California home.  I began to collect manger figures, though through the years, many got broken and lost.  One year, some years back, John and I decided to go all out and, while we were buying figures to send to my parents for their Christmas decorating, we bought a lovely set for ourselves.  Continued with the next scene...