The best £1.99 I've ever spent

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As promised, the €1 crib, bout in an Everything €1 shop in Prague.
Plus a picture of the Holy pizza maker.

Bought!

When my 42 year old son was 9, and his 38 year old sister was 6, they made a paper reindeer one Saturday morning. He comes out every year, and stands among the Christmas cards. We all love him.

I have loved reading all your posts, wonderful stories!

My parents bought a dozen plastic rattly Father Christmases on sleighs for my brother's first Christmas when he was 9 months old. Only one remains, and it comes out every year and adorns our tree. Both my DDs and GC know the story about it and love seeing it each year and hanging it in pride of place at the front. My brother is now 71 years old!

Lovely stories here. The wooden crib I had here, which had always been in my life since childhood, vanished mysteriously some years ago now. We still have most of the plaster figures, and a few plastic ones. So now I arrange them in front of a fold out Christmas nativity card. Despite my best intentions I've never made a replacement. Funny how decorations just seem to vanish between one year and the next!

I love that Holy Pizza Maker!

Beautiful post, love the stories, thanks for sharing x

I have a lovely wooden Nativity set that my youngest daughter bought for me, her 1st Christmas away at university. She was 51 yesterday. It still comes of every year.

I bought some lovely crib figures in Madeira and my husband made a three-sided stable for them. Holes bored in the roof for tiny fairy lights illuminate the scene. The Baby Jesus lies, not in a manger, ahem, but a little wicker cot I found in a junk shop. Two out-of-proportion kneeling figures of children in peasant costume adore the baby. My unbelieving children and grandchildren love it, as do I, but who shall I bequeath it to?

@Witsend I just love your knitted Nativity set! And I love all these posts, too!

We have a family joke, that my daughter has a sticker with her name on it, stuck to the crib. She doesn't want her brothers to have it.

She also has stickers on a fair number of other coveted items.

I have a small pink angel, that I bought with my pocket money 52 years ago, she is on the tree every year. What I would like to say is the joy and happiness the comes across, from all of you, remembering your personal traditions. If the last couple of years have taught my family anything, it's the time you spend with each other and the memories you make that matter. Hope you all have a happy and memorable Christmas for all the right reasons

Lovely stories and they brought back some lovely memories.

I was thinking about the paper Nativity we had when I was a child and then Grannynannywanny put up her picture and it looks just like the one I was thinking of.

Thank you so much, took me right back. It was my job to unwrap it and make sure everything was straight then Mum would put it on the mantlepiece. Happy memories.

I used my knitted crib in my class at school for years. The children loved moving the figures about and that Mary could hold the Baby Jesus or put him in the crib.
As a follow on from the pizza maker cribs from Catalunia often include a crouched figure doing a p**. Goodness knows why!

Many years ago my late husband made a nativity scene from toilet roll middles, plastic golf balls, coloured tissues, and a shoe box. It lasted many years.

Grayling. Your post reminded me of a Christmas holiday spentin Spain thirty years ago and walking round the town to see all the Belens large and small in the town hall churches and shops.
And on 6th January all the excited children in the toy shops.

I’m delighted to read my paper nativity scene evoked a happy memory for you allsortsofbags. It does the same for me every year. I can clearly remember as a very small child standing up on my tippy toes and gazing into it. We had a very small artificial tree which was positioned on the sideboard and the nativity sat underneath it. One year my Mum decided to lower one of the tree lights to sit inside the scene. She quickly realised that was a bad idea. Fortunately it survived but the tiny scorch mark is still visible on it.

We lived in Taiwan in the 90’s and there was a wonderful Christmas shop there that was open all year round. I actually bought some of our favourite decorations there - a rustic Father Christmas with a long beard, a reindeer which our then 4 year old daughter used as a Barbie horse and many other delights. We then lived in Germany for 4 years and our festive collection got bigger - nutcrackers and advent merry go rounds to mention but two. Memories come flooding back each December when the Christmas boxes are dragged out of the shed, such a lovely time of year. I love that our two adult children still remember their own creations and enjoy seeing them displayed on the tree!

Lovely stories, the true meaning of Christmas.

I bought a knitted Nativity Set from Traidcraft catalogue. My son was paying a visit and his cocker spaniel made a beeline for the set and I shouted “The dog has the baby Jesus in his mouth.” There was then a chase me until the figure was removed from his mouth.The Nativity set was then placed in a higher place. That little set comes out every year. I think it cost about £10.

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.

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!

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…?

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 (!!) but I managed to find one that almost matches so now have the full complement

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!

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