2018-19 Nativity Display

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We displayed 870 sets this year, down from 925 from last year because we took some out of the display to make it less crowded. 

There are more than 200 nativity sets/ornaments on the tree. We also put angels, stars, and crosses on the tree. 

It's been a long time since I worked on this blog

      It has been a long time since I worked on this blog. I reviewed it today to see what I have to do to bring it up to date. For the most part I add pictures in existing categories. In reviewing this blog I see that there are new categories to be added as well as lots of pictures to be added to existing one. I hope you will enjoy looking at my blog. It is by no means complete.
      I began the blog when we were living in Costa Rica for three months working as Mission Nannys. In the past few years we have been taking some of our nativities off of display and putting out some new ones. In 2017 we displayed 924 and this year's display (2018) we have 870 (more than 200 are on the tree).
     We begin putting up our display the beginning of November and have had it completed by Thanksgiving. We leave it up until the end of January hoping that many people will come to see it.
     I enter the Anne Arundel County Fair each year with at least three ceramic nativities (two in "Ceramics" and one in "Christmas") and one plastic canvas needlepoint nativity. Jack once entered a silk flower floral arrangement in "Christmas"). I have not paid too much attention to the "Christmas" categories and have always had to enter in "Table decoration below 12"). My entry this year got disqualified because the judge thought the imprinted  mold marking of 1999 meant it was not made in the 2018 entry year. This was actually a blessing because the lady in charge of Christmas is adding Nativity as a category. (The past two years haven't had any other nativities in the entire fair.). My goal in entering the fair is to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas.
   

Traditional one piece nativities

The nativities in this post have the traditional figures all in one piece. These are nativities that have not been documented because of special characteristics. I have included music boxes  because you wouldn't know it was a music box without turning it over.

I think we bought this at an after Christmas sale

Not sure how we acquired this one

Very large and very heavy nativity. While I was buying the five piece nativity cookie jar set (shown under "Nativities with a purpose" at the Christian Book Ship in Annapolis, I was talking about our nativity collection. This was sometime in the 90s. The owner gave this one to me because it had come in broken (one figure had broken off the base). He said it had come in broken and he had gotten his money back for it. I glued the broken figure back on and I cannot remember which one it was.

A gift from Kathy. I especially love the color of Joseph's clothes.

Short and squatty heavy resin nativity

Nativity fountan. The fountain no longer works.

A pair of nativities that came from Walgreens

Music box nativity

This music box nativity responds to motion, including changes in light. A light comes on behind the window in the back and the music comes on. We usually don't turn it on because it is so sensitive..

Very heavy music box nativity

A gift from Holly

Traditional nativities with separate figures

When most people think of a nativity, they are thinking of a stable with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, kings and animals. I really enjoy finding unique nativities. So far I have concentrated on categorizing nativities in many different ways. In this blog I want to showcase what people would think of as traditional.- the ones with a stable and separate figures.

The only nativity we have with a wire stable

Found this at Walmart. 

An interesting fiber optic nativity. Some of the pieces are glued down and others are loose

This nativity was our first nativity. The figures are resin. We bought this nativity soon after we moved into our house when our daughters were young. I have used the figures to decorate Birthday Cakes for Jesus when we were doing Chirldrens Church and later in Awana. It did not come with a stable, so the stable we use with it has changed over the years as we acquire stables at yard sales.

This is a very heavy smaller nativity.

We bought these figures separately at the dollar store. We did not realize that Joseph's hands were broken off. So we call this the broken hand nativity. We found the stable at another time (probably in a yard sale).  Although from the dollar store, the details on the figures is wonderful

This colorful nativity came with the base rather than a stable 

Bought this nativity at Giant Food Store

Small nativity that came with this simple stable

Floral arrangements