I have a Fontanini nativity set kinda like this one with a whole lot of figurines to go with it. It was a wedding gift to me and Jay from the ladies at my church, and I was able to select exactly which Nativity set I wanted — they just went out and bought as much of it as they could from the money people contributed. Christmas was a month after our wedding, so I *loved* that gift, used it right away, and have enjoyed it every year since.
One reason I chose Fontanini over something out of ceramic or porcelain is that I knew we’d have kids. And I wanted kids to be able to play with it — and the Fontanini figurines, though pricey, are made of resin and don’t break when dropped or thrown. The most fragile aspect of it is the moss that’s glued to the roof of the stable I have.
The girls have had a wonderful time playing with it this year, and have mostly been good about keeping all of the figures in the dining room so they don’t get lost. The baby Jesus is in a drawer in the living room, and Helen and Alice will get him out and put him in the manger tomorrow morning before any presents get unwrapped. Helen remembered this from last year, and as soon as I unpacked Jesus she took him off to his drawer. The wise men are already here, but next year I’ll make sure they’re at least in a different room so that they can travel a little bit every day for the 12 days after Christmas.
Yesterday when I came downstairs, the figurines were arranged by height, except for Joseph, Mary, and the empty manger, which remained in the stable. Everything else — 2 camels, 2 oxen, a donkey, a goat, five sheep, shepherds, villagers, drummer boy, etc. were all arranged by height.
The day before yesterday they were arranged by species.
I imagine tomorrow they’ll be sorted by the color of their outfits or something.
Cracks me up.
What I find the coolest, though, is that the holy family is untouched by the sorting each time — they remain in the stable.
Kids are funny.