Countdown to Christmas...10 days to go!

Our Nativity Scene

We have a big box of wooden figures and animals that the children have all loved to play with in different ways. 

The last few years we have realised that we have the basic makings of a nativity scene and now it has become one of our Christmas rituals to arrange the wooden figures in their places. Each year it varies slightly. We have had a crisis this year because we could not find the figure that represents Mary but this evening she was found (in the dolls buggy!) and returned to her rightful place at the manger.

The fun we have arranging the animals and re-telling the Christmas story is a memory I will treasure for years to come. The image below shows this year's nativity complete with the guiding star (stuck to the radiator!) 

The figures are mostly Ostheimer and each one is a work of art. They are hand shaped and simply painted which encourages children to play imaginatively and the figures become instruments of an exciting world in which there are no limits. Magical!

Countdown to Christmas....12 days to go!

What a performance!

We have had a lovely day today. Our youngest was in her school's Christmas production entitled 'The Hopeless Camel'. I don't know what it is about children singing but it melts my heart every time!

For me this is definitely one of the defining moments of Christmas. The build up, the rehearsals, the costumes, the excitement. So much work goes into organising the children and putting on the performance. It is all worth it when you see the pleasure it brings to both the children participating and their families and friends watching. 

If your children have not started school yet you can look forward with eager anticipation to these Christmas performances. It does not matter if they are small scale nativities, carol services or large scale full productions, the sense of pride and the smiles say it all!