O Come, Let Us Adore Him: The Nativity

If we want a Christ-centered Christmas, we need the Nativity and the true Christmas story to be the center of our home. 

I have several Nativity scenes, including a couple from Honduras, Peru, and one that was a wedding gift from my great-aunt who painted, glazed, and fired it in the kiln herself.  That's it pictured below.

Just know that if you have the Nativity out, something like this is going to happen:

 

 

My husband noticed it one night at dinner.  He asked if I did it.  ????  Then we asked our 3 year old, Isabelle, what the banana was doing at the Nativity scene.  Her answer?  He needs to see Baby Jesus. 

 

Ah yes, it all makes perfect sense now.

Nativity Scenes for the Kids

I love the idea of collecting Nativity scenes to decorate our home, but I also feel that it's really important to have Nativity scenes that the kids can experience and play with, in the same way that my children have their own Bibles long before they can read.

Last year, I asked my sister to buy a Little People Nativity set for my daughter's birthday, which we celebrated in early December.  Isabelle loved it and both she and Andrew are still having a blast acting out the Christmas story with Little People.  Since it stays in the attic during the rest of the year, it feels like a new toy and retains some of its newness.

I've seen some pretty adorable pictures on Facebook of friends' children putting Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus in some odd places, like riding on a train.  My daughter had everyone loaded up on a Little People Airplane recently!  She also likes to get all of her toys involved in adoring Baby Jesus, including Strawberry Shortcake and the gang.  Or a banana.

Be the Nativity

Last week, I made some costumes for the kids to actually be the characters in the Nativity.  I picked up some neutral colored fabric remnants from the scrap bin at Hobby Lobby, so I cut those to form headpieces.  I was looking for cording to act as belts, but ended up finding some neat multi-colored fat yarn in neutral colors to act as belts.  I also made "tunics" out of flannel fabric by simply cutting wide strips with a hole for their heads to go through--no sewing involved whatsoever.  All they need to do is put on a tunic, tie on a belt, and put fabric around their heads to be Mary, Joseph, or anyone else in the Bible.  Maybe next year we can add crowns or angel wings to our collection.

 We keep the costumes in a basket along with a baby doll for Baby Jesus.  Isabelle loved getting to dress up as Mary, though we had a little bit of drama when little brother didn't want to dress up as Joseph.  I played the game with her and let her knock on my bedroom door to ask for a place to stay, and I turned her away, telling her that there was no room at the inn.  We had fun playing together and will continue acting out the story over the Christmas season.

How do you keep the Nativity at the Center of your home during the Christmas season?