December 6, 2005 3:57 PM
Looking For a Nativity Set - Your Help Needed
Allie wrote:
Barbara, This is probably a little off topic, but you've been giving us so many wonderful Christmas ideas... do you have any idea of where I might find (online) a nice nativity set? (Besides the Fontanini figures, which is all I've found.) Something not too super-stylized, but a little different or ethnic or abstract would be ok. Maybe 5" figures or smaller, and affordable. I've really come up short in any of my searches, and thought you might be more cyber-savvy.Thanks,
Allie
Let's see - I have a Fontanni type I got on sale after Christmas 20 years ago. Last year they had a huge set at Costco at a price I couldn't pass up - I put it up on this extremely-difficult-to-get-to display shelf in my house - and decided to leave it up permanently so we can see it whenever we go up and down the stairs.
I put nativity set in the amazon search box on my left sidebar and came up with some good ones. I love the Willow Tree, but it's too expensive. Still, we can enjoy looking at it, can't we?
Wait a minute! Flash!! Just found a bargain!
List price 99.00 and amazon is selling it for 24.99. It looks great, I think - porcelain, so gotta be careful with it.
Also scroll down all the nativity sets there to see what you come up with. If you go over $25, shipping is free.\ if you rememer to click on Super Saver Shipping at the end of your order.
But the most surprising thing I came across, because I'd never seen them were children's nativity sets. Isn't that a great idea? So they can have one of their own to play with.
Fisher Price has one at Amazon:
Playmobil has one at Target:
But, hey, how about MommyLife readers? Any more ideas?
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Comments
we have the playmobil including the 3 kings and it is so fun, my "big kids" still set it up to play. It has a cooking pot over a fire, a cat, a basket of wood.
My mother has a set (40 years old) her best friend gave a piece a year and we have everybody except somehow we never got the 3rd king. She always set the kings over on the mantel and Jesus and family and shepherds on the piano, because of course the kings weren't there right away. It is a matte finish porcelain...now I want to know what. Hummel? Gorgeous. I treasure that beautiful set and all the memories with it. Thanks for the reminder.
Posted by: floorplan | December 6, 2005 5:25 PM
Barbara,
I do think I've been influenced by your blog. This year is the first year I knew our son was going to pay attention to the nativity set. He's mobile,and he's picking up every little thing and depositing it ten yards away. So I put the leaf in the kitchen table, put on the dark green Christmas tablecloth, and put the nativity set on the end, facing us as we eat. He wanders by once or twice a day, picks up a cow or some sheep, and drops it on the floor or brings it to the table to eat with. Eye level for him, as I remembering you recommending.
Posted by: Julana | December 6, 2005 7:40 PM
My 13 year old was dusting the mantle this week...and wiped out the entire Holy Family in one fell swoop. The shepherds and wisemen remained...but what good are they without a Messiah?
I was so proud...I didn't even get upset with him! He was so very sorry...and...at least he was dusting!
My secret is to always buy them post-Christmas...at 75% off...then I don't weep when they are broken.
I DO love the Fisher Price one, though. It is so great for Toddlers. I like to have one for the littles, and one that they can just look at, but not really play with. I used to have a cloth one that I made for the really little guys...but could never stay assembled. Drove me nuts! Mary never stood up properly, either...
Posted by: Holly | December 6, 2005 7:46 PM
I have a wooden one, designed for children that I found for $15. Sophie, at 17 ms. loves playing with it, though she sometimes gets confused and puts baby Jesus on top of the barn, where I placed the angel when I first acted out the story with her. She also loves to play "follow the leader" with the wise men. I love seeing her interact with the set. By the way, I am looking for a pretty advent wreath if anyone knows of a great deal.
Posted by: Carrie | December 6, 2005 8:45 PM
i just found the nativity I grew up with, on Ebay. Listed under "Goebel Hummel Nativity 12 piece and manger" for *gasp* $850.00!!! She began to collect it in the 1960s (tho we never got the black "moorish" king. I guess he was too exotic for a midwest farming store to even stock.) Barbara, Mom used to let us CAREFULLY arrange and re-arrange the figures. She believed, as you do, that children need to learn how to handle real things. I was allowed to dust it (Holly : ) and I truly learned some awe and reverence for God's word because of the way Mom gave it a place of honor, and instructed us in the correct details of the Christmas story.
Posted by: floorplan | December 6, 2005 9:27 PM
Here is a source for nativities from around the world: http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/catalog/product.list.php?cart_category_id=39.
They are "fair trade", which means that they help out craftsmen in struggling countries by fairly compensating them for these items. All are handcrafted, and I find it fascinating to see how artisans in the various countries depict the holy family.
Posted by: Lisa | December 6, 2005 10:58 PM
Wow, thanks for those... I'll look further through your Amazon link.
I grew up with what I think was a standard inexpensive resin set - which I LOVED, but some other sibling must have requested it when my dad moved and remarried late in life. My father-in-law brought over a set from his storage recently and I was overjoyed to see it was exactly the same, but... no Mary, shepherds or wise men (lots of animals)!!! There was actually a sticker inside of Joseph (they are hollow) that said 29 cents in very vintage type. The new Fontanini ones match pretty well, so I could buy a fill-in for Mary, but the 5" Marys all have really funny pin-point eyes.
I love the idea of a wooden set... maybe buying one piece or so a year is the way to go, if they are sold that way.
Thanks for everyone's input!
Posted by: Allie | December 7, 2005 12:32 AM
I am so laughing. I love the Willow Creek wall plaques. I started collecting them a few years ago. I take my girls to the Clev. Clinic and they have quite a collection in their gift shop. It eases the pain!
I display a porcelin one that is big enough to see and with detailed faces , but the kids have the little people one which is precious. I heard my 5 year old telling Zoe the story of Chrismtas as she showed her where the pieces went. The angel plays a musical tune too. They really enjoy it.
Suzanne
Posted by: suzanne | December 7, 2005 1:15 AM
What's wrong with the Fontanini set? We have one and I love it. The figures are really nicely done and are unbreakable. I have used it to teach Sunday school for many years from preschool to fifth graders and it has been part of our family Christmas for over twenty years. You can usually find the figures inexpensively on E-Bay (maybe not this time of year though).
Posted by: Lois | December 7, 2005 9:55 AM
Thanks for all the great input here.
Holly, I have to smile at your patting yourself on the back for being a good mommy by not getting mad. We all need to do that when we get it right!
Lois, I don't think there's anything wrong with the Fontanini set - it's gorgeous and perhaps the benchmark by which other nativities are measured. But it's out of the price range for some. And Ebay sure doesn't have the bargains it used to!
Posted by: barbaracurtis | December 7, 2005 10:52 AM
I like this product from Family Life which comes with family devotions.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4328209
My daughter also has a wooden set which she can play with. Then we have two other sets which stay up high and out of reach of little hands!
Posted by: mrs-blackberry | December 7, 2005 5:00 PM
Lois, I like the older Fontanini pieces, but the current (5") ones, which I've seen in a shop... the Mary has these little pinprick pupils that look really freaky... I've thought about getting one and "fixing" the eyes with some acrylic paint, but I'd like to avoid that if possible, ha!
Posted by: Allie | December 8, 2005 10:28 AM
When my son broke the ceramic nativity last year, we made our own figures with salt dough--sort of in the Willow Creek style. We gathered "nature things" to glue to the creche and set the whole thing up on the patio buffet table. I think the hands-on aspect made a greater impression on him than playing with a store-bought set.
Posted by: Meredith | December 9, 2005 10:44 AM
Lest someone start looking for Willow Creek figurines, try Willow Tree and you'll find what is being discussed. Willow Creek is a church. :D
Posted by: mrs.s. | December 9, 2005 3:47 PM
I purchased the Willow Tree Nativity - 6 Piece Nativity Set as a gift for my daughter:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00164M9XA?ie=UTF8&tag=smallbeginnings&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00164M9XA
My daughter really loved this gift and will enjoy using the decoration for many years! It's the most anticipated piece of decorating for our home in each Christmas.
Posted by: Martha | November 1, 2010 3:56 AM
