Last year I found a very reasonably priced Little People set for little Abe. It came with everything imaginable except for a shepherd. It lights up. It plays Away in a Manger. It's adorable, but no shepherd. Last year I was slightly bothered by there being no shepherd but we let Joseph double as both dad and shepherd depending on the scene. If the "shepherds" were visiting the baby then Joseph happened to be out doing something like fetching fresh water for Mary to drink.
This year I looked online and found a separate set that includes a little hill with a well in it, a shepherd and more sheep. It's adorable but also over $20. That's pretty close to what I paid for the entire nativity set. Little Abe saw the photo of it online while I was looking at it and said that I must get it so that he could try and dump the shepherd down the well. Either way, to see if the shepherd would fit down the well or to have a shepherd to visit the baby I wasn't going to spend upwards of $20 for a nativity set shepherd.
Last year for Christmas my dad gave little Abe a Little People zoo set. The zoo keeper, or safari guide (it could easily be either) is now a shepherd stand in. I think it's lovely that he came to the stable equipped with binoculars. I'm certain he was able to spot the place, under the star where the new baby was sleeping from much farther off then the actual shepherds did. I'm not entirely sure how to explain the lizard on his hat but shepherds spend a great deal of time out of doors so I'm sure he's friends with all kinds of nature and creatures galore.
How many nativity sets do you have? I'd never thought of having more then one but I'm certainly going to be keeping a look out for extra special ones after having read Frugally Challenged's posts this year.
I LOVE IT - now that is thinking outside of the box and who is to say he can't have 2 jobs in this economy.....shepherd & zookeeper?? :)
ReplyDeleteI only have 1 tiny one with Mary, Joseph, & Jesus a friend gave me YEARS ago...honestly, I'm afraid with 4 cats the poor inhabitants would be batted all over the house.
Haha, "in this economy..." That is thinking :) You are right on the money with that one.
DeleteIt's neat to hear about other people's decorations. I've really enjoyed the posts at Trundling through life showing the different ones she's collected. And then I can TOTALLY relate to you about the cats. You should see our tiny little tree... completely because of the cat (we'll have a bigger one next year).
We have 4 sets....2 ceramic-the one my mom made and the one I made, a store bought set that was given to me after I directed the Christmas pageant for my son & daughter's elementary school and the one I crocheted when I was a teenager. Only one set makes it out to decorate for the Holidays each year as 3 of them are quite large.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Michal!
Wow! That sounds like an amazing collection. You have three homemade nativity sets; spectacular.
DeleteMerry Christmas Sluggy :)
Frugally Challenged is deeply envious of your very stylish shepherd. Possibly the lizard has been brought to Bethlehem as a gift for Jesus.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot imagine how much I love that idea. It has to be a gift for Jesus. I mean, what young boy doesn't like lizards? (well, except my husband when he was little) The perfect addition to the story! As usual for you I must add :) Awesome!
DeleteI have never owned a nativity set.
ReplyDeleteThe one we have, apart from this one, my mother in law gave to us shortly after we were married. I really like having one up at Christmas.
DeleteNo one gave me one and we could not afford one. I think I had a paper one when the children were young. At any rate, I do remember our talking about the scene and how the angels, shepherds and wise men were not at the birth of Christ all at the same time. However, I was just teaching them, not knocking the story and scene we celebrate.
Delete