My Most Favorite

A couple of weeks ago when I posted the post about the cheap and easy hurricane vases, my bloggy friend Tristan asked in her comment about my Nativity scene.

Well Tristan, I'm so happy that you asked.

Hands down, it's my most favorite Christmas decoration I own and I think I can say it always will be.

I'm sure your thinking "duh, it's the nativity, it should be your favorite!" But I have to admit, that's not why it's my favorite.

It's my favorite because it's got history.

This nativity originally belonged to my great-grandmother (my Meme's mother) (Meme is my dad's mother for those who don't know) and then it was passed along to my meme and sat underneath her tree when I was a child. When I was a child, I LOVED this nativity scene. It use to have a few more pieces and it had a little more to the actual stable part, but I could sit under her tree for hours and play with it. In fact, some of my earliest Christmas memories are of myself under her tree playing with this nativity.

I love it because it's simple.

It only includes Mary, Joesph, two lambs, and of course the baby Jesus.

The stable is made out of cardboard. The figurines are made of plastic and super glued to the cardboard. The scene in the back is simply printed onto paper.

It's as simple as it gets, but it's beauty comes from it's simplicity.

I never got to really know my great grandmother since she lived in another state and I was younger when she died. I have however grown up listening to the stories my family tells of her and I like to imagine that she treated this nativity with pride even with it being as simple as it is. I would think that anyone who would smooth out the aluminum foil after it's already been used to re use it again, would take great pride of a cardboard and plastic nativity scene.

And my apologies to my family if I'm totally making this up in my head (I'm pretty sure I've heard y'all saying this about Nanny before). Just let me keep thinking this if it's not. K? Thanks.

When I lived with Meme before I married David, I kinda took the nativity to use with the Christmas decor in my room. When I moved out to marry David, I kinda took the Nativity with me. Luckily, Meme has never said anything about it (that I remember at least and yes, I've displayed it proudly and it's not like I hide it when she comes over or anything). I'd like to think that since she knows how much I loved it as a child, she knows that I love owning it as an adult. Plus, she knows I'm a sap for family history stuff.

I however am not as nice as she was and I keep it up off the floor so little hands and dogs cannot get to it. It's pretty fragile now. I also have to admit that I do not pack it away with the other Christmas decor in the attic. It's wrapped in tissue paper in it's own box and now stays packed in a spare closet in our bedroom. Why? Because if I had minutes to grab stuff before evacuating my house, this would be the one of those things I would grab no doubt.

And that my friends, is my most favorite Christmas decor.

P.S. You caught me Tristan! Yep, my stockings are from the dollar store!!!! : )

P.S.S I didn't take a pic of the baby Jesus because I couldn't get a halfway decent one and I was tired of trying. I promise I'm not trying to leave out the reason for the season.