Seasons > Christmas > Decorations for the home > Nativity sets
This wooden nativity set was given to me when my children were small. This was the set they were allowed to play with. They enjoyed helping the wise men "follow" the star till Christmas morning. Here is how it worked: I bought a star-shaped night light at the dollar store, and plugged it in somewhere in the house. Then I stood the wise men near the night light star. During the days leading up to Christmas, who ever found the star plugged in with the wise men nearby, would unplug it and move it to another plug for the next person to find.
Seasons > Christmas > Decorations for the home > Nativity sets
Nativity sets come in all shapes and sizes. Many of them are too expensive to even think about buying. If you do finally break down and get a beautiful set, it’s probably not something you want your children playing with for fear of breaking or losing pieces. But children love touching and holding and acting out the Christmas story. So here is a set you can make out of wood, or cardboard. You could make a large wooden set to stand up outside your church, too.
Here is another way to make a Nativity set for your children to play with--use wooden clothespins to make Mary and Joseph, the wisemen, shepherds, and angels. Use popsicle sticks to make the manger and stable (sold in craft stores, dollar stores, and some hundred yen stores.) The baby Jesus is a wooden bead with a face drawn in it, and wrapped in a tiny piece of felt. My daughter loved this set so much that she took it with her when she headed off to college--I had to ask her to take a picture of it for the website! For more ways to make nativity sets, check out the Sunday school crafts.
If you keep your eyes out, you can occasionally find cute little ceramic sets. Since they are breakable, they are not suitable for children to play with, but they are inexpensive. They can be displayed in the kitchen, bathroom, or outdoors without worrying if they get wet, since they are ceramic. These were purchased at Keiyo D2 for around 200 yen.
If you want a really nice set, and don’t mind investing a pretty sum to get it, These Willowtree figurines might be just what you are looking for. (Sadly, these are not mine--they are my daughter’s, and she took them with her when she got married.) However, this set has gotten the most compliments when people visited my home, so a lot of people think it’s nice.
This small set, is not quite as exorbitant. The two good things about it: it is wooden, so children can play with it, and all the pieces fit inside, so the stable forms it’s own storage box, and since it is small, doesn’t take up much storage space. It is also quite flat, so it can be hung on a wall if you have limited table top space. (See an example of this on the bathrooms page.)
In Japan, one of the best sources for nativity sets is Word of Life Press Ministries. They have sold this particular set in the past. I don’t know if they will sell it again this year or not--you might find a different set you like better! So check it out on their website, or at local Christian book stores:
This is not a nativity set, but it is a way to display nativity ornaments that were purchased at a hundred yen store. The one on the left is the baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph, and the one on the right is the wisemen. They have been hung on stands, and grouped with gold balls (representing the gold that the wisemen gave Jesus) along with some wooden camels. Even without the camels, it would make a nice arrangement, and everything else can be purchased at hundred yen stores!
This is a huge set--what is unusual about it is that it includes a whole village of houses to go along with the figures which are actually quite small--the figures are only a couple of inches tall. It is hard to find a place to display the whole thing. Perhaps this year I will break it up into 3 smaller vignettes. I usually add hanging angels above the sheep and shepherds, which I bought separately because the set did not include angels. I included the photos here just so you can get an idea of the kinds of sets that are available.
This set (shown on the top shelf) is the smallest set I have ever seen with individual pieces. Our Sunday school gave one to every child for a Christmas present one year. They were ordered from Oriental Trading Company.
www.orientaltradingcompany.com
A branch of the same company, Terry’s Village has a large assortment of very reasonably priced Christmas decorations and Nativity sets.
As you have probably guessed by now, I have a nativity set in every room in my home. That is what Christmas is all about! Can you guess what I don’t have a single decoration or picture of in my home? There are NO Santas. I feel that “Santa” has stolen Christmas in Japan. All the children are taught that Christmas is the day Santa brings them one present. It is only the children who go to church who know Christmas is really celebrating the birth of Jesus--the Savior of the world.
Link to Amazon that sells Willowtree figurines:
http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Tree-26005-Nativity-Set/dp/B00164M9XA
Link to Willowtree site:
