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Christmas

The best £1.99 I've ever spent

(70 Posts)
paddyann54 Tue 07-Dec-21 23:29:47

47 Christmasses ago I worked in a lovely gift shop over the holidays .I bought a nativity set of small plastic( I know its the devils work) figures . Mary and Joseph a tiny Jesus in a manger, three wise men ,a shepherd and two sheep,an ox and an ass and a lovely wee blue angel.The set cost me £1.99 once my staff discount was applied.
Every child that has been in my home at Christmas has played with them endlessly and the wee wooden stable my FIL made to house them.My son even used to take the angel to school in his pocket
.Today our youngest GC who is 2 decided they were the best toys in the house and she went home with the angel in her pocket like her Dad used to do.Hopefully she'll bring it back but it gave me something to smile at in a very difficult couple of weeks.It really was the best value for £1.99 I ever had .
Who else had a great buy thats lasted that long?

Mummer Fri 10-Dec-21 17:22:46

Anniebach

My darling daughter put a pig in the our crib , a priest who was a friend came to bless the crib and very kindly explained there
wouldn’t have been a pig there.

She said , yes there would, Noah saved them.

Typical know it all priest! Your darling girl was right, how lovely and made me smile xx

LadyO Fri 10-Dec-21 12:13:02

Thisismyname1953 Witzend and Lauren59 thank you SO much, fellow dog lovers. This was a very nice thread indeed. I am more of a lurker than a poster but I do read many threads. Thank you to all those who faithfully post every day. So interesting.

LadyO Fri 10-Dec-21 12:05:28

Zennomore

@LadyO - Your post brought a tear to my eye, beautiful memory of your faithful boy ?

Thank you… he was the perfect family dog…

storynanny Fri 10-Dec-21 10:06:15

Auntyflo, the angel in my set often had baby Jesus stuffed up her dress….

Auntieflo Fri 10-Dec-21 09:39:34

storynanny, my nativity figures are very similar to yours. The bodies are made from yogurt drink bottles, and so are all the same size. They have now been glued into a shoe box, so they don't keep escaping! The angel at the back was supposed to be keeping an eye on them.

Marydoll Fri 10-Dec-21 00:44:16

Thanks to you too paddyann, for starting the thread, no sniping, no dissention, just shared happy memories.

Lauren59 Fri 10-Dec-21 00:34:44

Witzend

LadyO

We have a squeaky Christmas pudding that comes out every year, I think it cost 50p back in 1996. It was the last present I ever gave to my beloved 13-year old golden retriever, it was wrapped under our Christmas tree, but sadly after 2 strokes we had to call out the vet to put him to sleep.
We lit the log fire and cuddled him until the vet arrived and my twin daughters aged 11 unwrapped his present and squeaked it. He was very deaf but the tip of his tail just wagged slightly, bless him. I get that squeaky Christmas pudding out every year and put it on the mantelpiece…?

Aaah, ? ?, what a lovely post. x

Golden Retrievers are very special. I dread the day that my boy is gone.

paddyann54 Fri 10-Dec-21 00:25:03

Thanks for all your lovely stories ,its been a joy and a wee bit tearful too.

storynanny Thu 09-Dec-21 23:24:58

I made my knitted nativity about 35 years ago when my two eldest were little. I think it was in the Woman’s Own.
The shenanigans the cast of the Nativity have got up to over the years! I never knew where they would be, what they would be doing from day to day. The lamb liked sleeping in the crib and the shepherds liked swinging from the tree branches by their crooks. The little grandchildren enjoy seeing it now and the little lamb is a favourite!

Anniebach Thu 09-Dec-21 21:35:48

Yes crazyH very much so

crazyH Thu 09-Dec-21 20:57:36

4allweknow, Anniebach - heartbreaking ?

2mason16 Thu 09-Dec-21 20:47:13

We have a lovely wooden nativity set. So special to us as we bought it in Bethlehem many year's ago. I'll pass it onto a grandchild who shows interest when we're older.

4allweknow Thu 09-Dec-21 17:52:09

When my daughter was two, 1973 a neighbour asked if I would like to go to her daughter's school Xmas fare. My DD was excited when she spotted a Santa mobile. Basically cardboard covered in red and white glued on paper. Bought for 10p. Still have it and is hung from the ceiling every Xmas. Even more special since loosing DD two years ago.

Witzend Thu 09-Dec-21 17:19:06

LadyO

We have a squeaky Christmas pudding that comes out every year, I think it cost 50p back in 1996. It was the last present I ever gave to my beloved 13-year old golden retriever, it was wrapped under our Christmas tree, but sadly after 2 strokes we had to call out the vet to put him to sleep.
We lit the log fire and cuddled him until the vet arrived and my twin daughters aged 11 unwrapped his present and squeaked it. He was very deaf but the tip of his tail just wagged slightly, bless him. I get that squeaky Christmas pudding out every year and put it on the mantelpiece…?

Aaah, ? ?, what a lovely post. x

Thisismyname1953 Thu 09-Dec-21 16:56:51

@ladyO.your tale of your dog and his Christmas present made me cry . We have 2 dogs at the moment that we love very much ?

Chocolatelovinggran Thu 09-Dec-21 16:39:09

I bought a simple wooden nativity set when my youngest DD was a toddler ( now in her thirties). She was aggrieved that Baby Jesus was carved all in one with the crib so could not be removed .
One morning we woke to find baby and crib missing, replaced by a duplo baby in a playpen. No one knew how that happened ....Every year , these comes out sans infant (it's always Christmas Eve there) as a gentle reminder that now - responsible adults may once have been naughty children ?

Soroptimum Thu 09-Dec-21 16:07:00

One Christmas, our RE teacher was arranging the nativity figures around the school’s real Christmas tree, when one of the pupils said “I didn’t know one of the angels was called Gloria”. confused (The angel had a sash on with Gloria on it)

Hedgehog2908 Thu 09-Dec-21 15:33:47

Our local pet shop had a lovely China nativity set in the window. I wanted one for my young son so I asked the lady who owned the shop where she got it. She insisted that I take it home with me and boxed it up. She refused to take no for an answer and wouldn't take payment. She explained that her adult son had recently died tragically and she would love to pass it on to someone who would love it. I get it out every year (my son is an adult now) and think kindly of her. The 2 tiny goldfish I bought from her are now 17 years old and huge.

GreyKnitter Thu 09-Dec-21 14:57:28

That’s a real magic of Christmas story and has brought a tear to my eye. Def the best £1.99 spent. Little did you know when you bought it how much pleasure it would bring over the years.

Zennomore Thu 09-Dec-21 14:44:38

@LadyO - Your post brought a tear to my eye, beautiful memory of your faithful boy ?

grandtanteJE65 Thu 09-Dec-21 14:25:00

Placed DH's nativity scene in the window facing the street yesterday, so here it is photographed from the back.

He isn't totally satisfied with it, and will start rebuilding it after Twelfth Night!

grandmac Thu 09-Dec-21 14:16:13

I have a plaster Nativity set bought for me as a Christmas present by an aunt 70 years ago. It comes out every year, has survived international travel and being handled by 3 children and 6 grandchildren. For some reason it came with only 2 kings (confused!!) but I managed to find one that almost matches so now have the full complement

LadyO Thu 09-Dec-21 13:07:35

We have a squeaky Christmas pudding that comes out every year, I think it cost 50p back in 1996. It was the last present I ever gave to my beloved 13-year old golden retriever, it was wrapped under our Christmas tree, but sadly after 2 strokes we had to call out the vet to put him to sleep.
We lit the log fire and cuddled him until the vet arrived and my twin daughters aged 11 unwrapped his present and squeaked it. He was very deaf but the tip of his tail just wagged slightly, bless him. I get that squeaky Christmas pudding out every year and put it on the mantelpiece…?

love0c Thu 09-Dec-21 13:03:30

I have a little musical nativity that my dad bought me from Woolworths about 56 years ago. It plays Silent Night and is the most beautiful sound tone I have ever heard from a wind up. My grandchildren love to listen to it. But I always do the winding up!

Growing0ldDisgracefully Thu 09-Dec-21 12:28:16

I think one of the most ingenious, and inexpensive, nativity scenes I have ever seen was one made many years ago by a friend of mine (sadly no longer with us), she made for her first married Xmas, when she and her husband had little money left after paying the mortgage for any Xmas trimmings. She fashioned really well made small figures from foil and coloured foil sweet wrappers. A very creative lady and I was very impressed with the results!

I inherited my parents' crib and figures (again plastic figures but not going to landfill in my lifetime) and the wooden crib my Dad made for them. Unfortunately the crib has fallen apart so is awaiting reconstruction (3D puzzle anyone?) before I can use it again.