Thursday, December 31, 2015

Olive wood nativities

Most olive wood nativities from the Holy Land are made in Jordan. Various people have given us these nativities.We have found a few of them in yard sales.  Most of them are similar but yet different. 


Tag attached to a nativity that came in a special bag.





The back and roof are also rough bark.
All of our olive wood ornaments have been given to us by friends.


Nativities featuring angels

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This angel was given to us by Bob and Paula. She is 14" tall and is done in the style of Jim Shore.

Jim Shore angel- a gift from kathy
The angel actually bounces when touched. 
Snow globe with a guardian angel

Nativities that feature Bibles

It is very fitting that a nativity would include a Bible since Jesus is The Word and The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"..

This makes Carole think of the children's chorus: "I stand alone on the Word of God: the B I B L E"

A very heavy ornament given by Pastor Dave

Ceramic made by Carole

This nativity has a music box that is motion sensitive. It is so sensitive that the slightest change in light would make it go off. We finally had to remove the batteries as it was driving us crazy.
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Hinged nativities


The following small hinged nativities all open up to reveal a nativity scene inside. All of the small ones are from dollar stores. At one time dollar stores would have a new set of similar but different nativities each year. These were the first dollar store nativities in our collection. They are about 3" high.



This one was found in a yard sale several years later. Below are the backs of the hinged nativities.




This nativity closes up to look like a big blue egg. It is much larger than the hinged nativities show above coming in at 7" high.

Hinged wooden nativity painted by Kathy
This picturer and the two that follow are of ceramic hinged nativities. They are like little storage boxes with the nativity on top, 


This is our oddball hinged nativity that we found in a yard sale.
San Francisco Music Box Company. Much more valuable than the dollar store ones above.

Very unique nativities

We are drawn to nativities that have unusual settings and designs.
This is music box. When you wind it up the outer ring goes around the center. The matchbox nativity below has the same type of movement. The music box was a gift from my Secret Pal. The matchbox was given to me by Pastor Dave. Another friend, Jayne, who also collects nativity gave me a duplicate matchbox the same year. She took hers back and gave me another nativity in exchange for it. She had not bought a matchbox nativity for herself.


We purchased this in an after Christmas sale.The praying hands always remind me of Jack's step mother, Daisy Purves, who collected praying hands.

A resin pinecone is the setting for this nativity that we purchased on an anniversary trip to Lancaster, PA.

A gift from Ben and Diane

Although the shape makes you think of a tree it is actually more like a mountain. Found in a yard sale.

Jingle bell ornament

The reminds me of the Judas tree. The individual pieces sit on "pads". Purchased at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC

Although it is resin, this appears to be carned out of a tree trunk

What makes this unusual is the size of the animals in comparison to the people. Gift from Pastor Dave.

The modernistic design and the tiny heads make this resin nativity unusual.

Stained glass nativities

We display our stained glass on he bookshelf under the TV

Purchased this on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Made by Appalachian artisans.

Smallest stained glass nativity. Gift from Frank Abbey at Sacred Heart Home. One of the earliest pieces of our collection.

First nativity night light. Now used in the master bathroom.

Acrylic so it is not real stained glass but displayed with them

Stained glass from Williamsburg, a gift from Peggy