My nativity scene...

5098 Posts Recent Started

Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 3:20 PM

an heirloom from my father—he built it in 1949 for his first son, and now it’s mine :-)
My husband restored it because its 76 years were more than evident. Now it’s back in my kitchen, and I’m really happy to have it.

Love, Inge

veronika-t15

3946 Posts Recent Started

Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 3:25 PM

That’s really beautiful!
We only had a small, rather abstract one at home—made of plastic, typical of the ’50s. But my husband still had one from his grandparents, with huge figures, which we kept adding to over time—lights in the stable, a campfire, and who knows what else. It became a space issue when we moved; we wouldn’t have been able to set it up here in our apartment—it took up a few square meters. So we ended up donating it to a children’s home.

Schnuckelina

5967 Posts Recent Started

Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 8:14 PM

@Inge
A nativity scene like this, built by your father himself, is truly something very special. It’s not just the figures and the story they tell—it really touches the heart. Your heart. So many memories, so much love, so many Christmases spent together as a family. How lucky to still have treasures like this.

It’s wonderful that your husband restored it. Someday, hopefully, your daughters or grandchildren will cherish it just as much as you do.

@Veronika
Your story touches me, too. Everything has its time—and we have to let things go. Now it makes children’s eyes light up—and that’s wonderful, isn’t it? It couldn’t be more beautiful.

Warm regards, Ina

ruthk

9969 Posts Recent Started

Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 9:19 PM

Yes, a little nativity scene like that with a story behind it is really something special. My father also made one out of papier-mâché in the postwar years. Unfortunately, it developed mold over the years and had to be thrown away.
Instead, when my son was born, I made nativity figures out of modeling clay. Then, when my daughter was born, my husband built the nativity stable to go with them. Over the years, we’ve added a few more pieces here and there. And this little nativity scene is now 48 years old and is set up in the living room every year.

For the past few years, there’s been another nativity scene in the entryway: one made of crocheted figures that I designed myself.
Let’s see how old these two nativity scenes will get...