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We already have threads about Christmas trees and Christmas mantels so I thought we might also have one about nativity scenes. Please post your nativity scene if you have one.

Here's mine which is really too large for this small sideboard so there is no space for anything else. I often put it on my large sideboard but wanted a change this year. I'd love to use straw at the base of the stable but my cats would eat it so I've used faux cedar.

This is a studio 56 DH saw I liked and went back to get it for me some time back.
Picture taken with a flash

small pottery nativity in the center of the mantel

This is a smaller manger set under a cloche.
When I take it out again, I will have to photograph it better. Lamp overhead.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Ruth,

I have at least one nativity set in every room, sometimes more than one.

This is on top of my entertainment center and I made it in ceramics in 1975. Next to it is a large Bi*ble I found at a TS this summer surrounded by silk poinsettias, and open to the Christmas story.

Merry Christmas,
Candy

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Christmas Candy,

This is in the MBR on top of the armoire.

This is in my living room and is in a water globe and has a music box in the base that turns a scene of Bethlehem when it plays.

This one is actually a large picture I bought on sale at Hob. Lob. last year and had a very touching poem on the back.

This one is all painted gold and was given to me by my youngest DD and I use it in my dining room where the theme is gold for one of the original gifts.

This is a small one in one of my bathrooms and I love the detail in it. I placed it on top of some books and the one under it seemed particularly appropriate.

This one is in my guest room and is resin and contained within the building when being stored.

There are many more including a Play Mobil one in the DGK's room for them to play with when they stay here, but I don't want to entirely monopolize the thread.

Merry CHRISTmas,
Candy

Christmas Candy,
You have quite a collection!

All so nice and you set them up with such care.
That large picture of Santa. I have never seen this idea before. Santa contmeplating and looking at the nativity with such reverence. Touching scene!

Nice to have all the gold together and have a Nativity scene in the center of the decor.

The Nativity you have in a bathroom is nice with the palm tree as mine has.

I also have not seen one like your last picture with opening sides and then set up. That is special too.

Nice displays, thank you so much for sharing!

This was my grandmother's -- some pieces are broken (because it was a favorite "toy" at Christmas visits!)

Martha

This one is in my entry. My late Grandmother made this about 38 years ago. It's ceramic. I love all the ones ya'll have posted and I too, love the picture of Santa with the Nativity.

Here's a little china one I used to have, it got broken a couple of years ago.

One my sister gave me.

Here's one I got at Good Will a couple of years ago for, I think, a dollar.

Love all these-thanks for starting this thread. and the response. They are all so lovely. I shall post my small collection of nativitys. I have since taking the photo added more candles, and cards on the shutters. Still tweeking it, and if anyone has any ideas about displaying them will appreciate it. May find more at after Christmas sales for next year. I just gotta have some kind of collection going.

So pretty homebody4! I love how you have this area decorated. Love looking at everyone's pretties!

This nativity belonged to my aunt. Since the only surface in my living room large enough to hold it is a drop down desk, I had to create a backdrop (similar to a stage backdrop.) Took this pic last year but these folks haven't aged so I guess it is OK to use the photo.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: busyjo,

I have enjoyed seeing all your nativity scenes. They are one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

I posted about mine last year, but here goes again.

Our nativity scene includes a plastic toy cow. When my youngest boy was little he insisted the scene needed a cow, and so his older brother placed his own toy cow in the scene so that his little brother would be happy.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

Our scene also includes some crazy eyed sheep. One day I had my children with me in a toy store and they found some plastic sheep and got all excited as they insisted that our scene needed more sheep. I was a little leery about the wild eyed look these sheep had, but gave in because the sheep were inexpensive and the children were so adamant that they were perfect for the shepherds.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

Our nativity scene.

(One of my pictures is waiting approval for a tr.ig.ger word. It is of the baby in the manger. If it doesn't come through I'll repost it tomorrow.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

My forum manners are rusty. I should have told all of the posters how much I loved seeing their nativities and thanked them for their efforts. I had come back many times and so enjoyed each of them. I hadn't posted in a long while but decided to try.

cocok, I am so glad you posted yours for several reasons. I love that you keep the plastic animals that your children chose to add. Most would have stopped displaying them when the children were old enough to understand the "decorating" process. Leaving them validates that you value their opinion and respected that they wanted to contribute to the sacred display. Leaving them is a great parenting choice.
Second, I need to thank you. It was your displaying yours in the bookcase with the curtain that inspired me. I didn't have fabric to make a curtain but did have foam core and blue paint. Like so many other choices in my home decor, a member here was my inspiration. I sincerely thank you.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: busyjo,

Thanks for your kind words busyjo. The things my children added to the nativity over the years are my favorite parts, so I would never change them, even though they are a bit quirky. So much for sophistication!

And I love your night sky backdrop. It really adds a sense of place to your scene. Beautiful!

I decided to repost my last picture so it won't be too far down the thread and disconnected with the rest of my pictures. I can't imagine why it was pulled, except that I used the name of the baby in the manger. Is that a no no?

Anyway,

The baby in our nativity is wrapped in toilet paper swad.dling. When my youngest daughter was little she decided that the baby was cold. She got herself a piece of toilet paper and very carefully folded and crafted a swad.dling for the baby. I came upon the scene with her talking to the baby, saying, "there you go baby J****, now you will be nice and warm."

Every year, when I am packing things up, I carefully wrap tissue around the baby and his swadd.ling to preserve it.

(If the moderators post my first version of this I'll delete one or the other.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cocok,

cocok, I love the little personal touches your children put on your Nativity! Like you, I would never be able to "undo" them. That makes yours even so much more special!

Thank you GypsyDancer52. Lots of memories in that nativity.

Anyone else have a nativity to share? It is so much fun to see everyone's collections.

Gypsie Dancer,
Oh how nice to have your grandmother's ceramic pieces, that is special to have in your home.

homebody,
Nice miniature sets under the small tree. I love the shutters as a backdrop!

busyjo,
That set fits into the disk nicely! And having pieces from family is so special this time of year.

cocok,
Oh how cute you still have that cow! And the boys wanted sheep too, oh how cute! What a great idea for a Christmas card too, with the story included! I am sure everyone knows it by now, but those traditions span the time between the Holidays to link us all the way back to our first with the children remembering. The swaddling TP wrap is precious!
I think they are sophisticated! There is no more pure sophistication than children's true emotions and vision, can't improve on that!
Brought a tear to my eyes, such a special story!

Had this under the tree but the boys kept knocking pieces over. I usually get a new piece each year & keep it up all year in my curio.

Don't blame you for leaving ouy all the time. I would too.

I have really enjoyed seeing all the different sets and the stories behind them.

Thank you all for posting these. I have enjoyed them so much!!!! I also enjoy the personal touches/stories!

mmtsh,
beautiful pieces, I like them on the stone and against brick, the texture adds so much! The modern pieces are beautiful!

Thanks everyone for posting. This is a lovely thread.

MMTSH, is that part of the Willow Tree Collection?

yes, willow tree...minus the palm trees my sister found in wal-mart many years ago.

Thank you Mary Ruth and yes, I cherish my Grandmthers ceramic Nativity she made with my life! I have really enjoyed seeing all of these beautiful Nativities.

Beautiful Nativities. I love the stories being told about them. Here is mine. I've misplaced one of the 3 Kings. Still hunting for him.

Georgia Peach, Maybe he will look up and find his own way back to the baby J. Your nativity is lovely too.
Merry Christmas to everyone!

Mine is a Fontanini set. I bought the Holy Family when my first child was a baby, and added a figure or two a year for awhile. I stopped when we ran out of room!

All of these are beautiful! Thank you for sharing! I didn't realize there were so many different styles. Here is mine. The last word on the tile is presence.

Thanks to everyone for posting their pics and it's so interesting to read the stories.

GypsyDancer,
I laughed because I remembered plunging to grab my grandmother's teapot when my GD reached for it. Instinctively I protected it! LOL

Georgia Peach,
That 3rd king is probably wrapped in cotton somewhere in a box taking a snooze! Hope you find him!

azu,
Beautiful set! I love the detail and the soft colors.

daciaB,
What a nice navitiy set and I like the tile. I love the tiger oak that the set is sitting on, really adds a nice texture to the 'floor'.

Yes, Lucky, so nice to hear the history and stories behind our traditional family heirlooms and treasures!

Adding a pic I came across to the thread.

Jim

Sheetmoss, that is quite a collection. Thanks for sharing it.

HI sheetmoss GREAT to see you posting here!
WOW that is some fantastic storage, and full of nativity sets! Beautiful nativity sets!
Thanks for sharing photo!

Thanks for that pic, Jim! Just glad I didn't see it a few years ago when I was still 'collecting'! LOL One nativity will have to be enough for me, trying my best to edit now, not collect.

Late reply re Nativity Scenes, but there are 2 that stand out in my memory.Both are from my childhood. One is of the Nativity set that my Aunt Elizibeth had. Hers was the entire viliage of Bethlahem. It was huge and when set up covered a whole wall in her apartment. She had the houses of the village, all the different people of the village, the background of the set up were the mountians that surrounded the village, a whole caravan that accompanied the 3 kings,including their slaves. The stable was in the fore frount of the scense and was surrounded by angles playing harps. Most of the peices came from Europe(sp?).((She worked for a dentist with a very rich clientel and they would bring back the figures from Europe for her. When she died, her neice donated the whole thing to a Church in Washington DC.Just as an aside, she also had the most beautifull Christmass tree filled with all the wonderfull hand blown oriniment,againe most from Europe, with a "skating rink"(a glass mirror) under the tree with all kinds of different figures skating around. Whenever we would visit her at Christmass my mother would hold her breath for fear that one of us 5 kids would break something!LOL
The other one that I remember is the one that my mother had. It was really very simple, just the usual figures. But she would set it across the back of the living room where there as a set of french windows. Mom would drape the window with " angel hair"( you know that spun glass stuff that was white and sheer) and then hang an angel in each square. It was really pretty, as it looked like the angels were floating in the clouds above the stable.
I have a Nativity Scene that has all Humel figures that I bought for my daughter. But she will not take it as she has 2 cats and is afraid that they may try to explor it and knock a peice off and break it.
Since I no longer set up a tree and am seldom home for the holiday, I no longer even set it up.
Mary

For those interested,I ordered this today--they tend to sell out fast, it's supposed to be used with a Nativity Scene, but I think it can be used w/any vignette.

http://www.qvc.com/webapp/wcs/...y=http:CatalogSearch

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sheetmoss,

msmarymac, enjoyed reading your memories of nativity sets.

Jim, that will be a wonderful backdrop.

Even though someone may not run out to buy this one, it sure gives attention to the idea that a backdrop really makes a difference with displaying Nativity sets!

Thanks for the creative idea!