I was going through old posts on my various blogs and found the
post about the Nativity we did for my mom in 2009. I just gave a short blurb and one photo and promised more soon, but then I never did post more. So, this is in fulfillment of that promise...only soon is almost 2 years later in this case.
When I was in elementary school, I believe 8 years old, I found out that my mother loves nativity sets. I decided that each year I wanted to give mom a new nativity set. I painted nativity scenes on gourds, bought sets at various stores, drew pictures, etc. Eventually I decided to get my siblings in on the tradition (I don't remember exactly what year I did that) and it's a tradition we've carried out since then (17 years so far). In 2009 the whole family was going to be together, so we decided that we were going to do a live nativity. We wanted it to be more than just a live nativity though, we wanted mom to have some way to interact, so we turned it into a play (for lack of better words...it wasn't really a play...keep reading and you'll see). Then my cousins got engaged (a cousin from my dad's side married a cousin from my mom's side) and their family was down, so we incorporated them into the nativity, which was great because that gave us more people to fill the roles. In the weeks prior to the designated nativity night, I hit up thrift stores and found robes, linens, and sometimes costumes.
Keeping the whole thing a secret so that it'd be a surprise for mom was hard, but we managed to pull it off. At the time they were building their new house, so we had mom, dad, my uncle, and aunt all stay in the house while we went out to the new house to prepare. We got roles assigned, costumes on and went over everyone's parts so they knew just what to do. While everyone was getting dressed and in place, I sneaked (not snuck...snuck isn't a word) into the house through the back door and left a box on the table containing 4 adult costumes and a letter. I don't remember exactly what the letter said, but it went something along the lines of "Dear Travelers, You have come far and I know you are in need of clean clothes and a place to stay the night. In the box you will find a fresh change of clothes for each of you and an inn to the north. Travel safely." Then we all waited in anticipation.
My role was to take pictures and to help make sure the travelers got to the right places at the right times.
My youngest brother was the innkeeper. He was so excited and so nervous. He sat practicing his lines to make sure he knew what to say. He watched and watched and was so excited when he saw the travelers coming.
Here the sweet nervous little innkeeper tells the travelers "I don't have any room. I had to turn away a couple because she was pregnant." Those weren't quite the lines we had rehearsed, but it made us all smile. He offers to lead the travelers to some shepherds who might be able to put the travelers up for the night.
Innkeeper Heber led the travelers out to the hill where he knew the shepherds were that night.
The travelers got to the shepherds, but they were not able to give them shelter.
Here are the 4 shepherds, talking to each other and the travelers.
We ran extension cords all over the yard to get lights for the angels. They were hiding behind a bush and while the travelers were talking with the shepherds, they got in place and then turned on the light. The bright light shining on their white clothes out in the dark night was stunning (even though the clothes were mostly just sheets, the effect was still beautiful).
The angels came and they read the words from Luke 2:10-12.
The shepherds gave a great reaction and were excited and "sore afraid".
Everyone listening to the angels as they sang.
After the angels left, the shepherds sang a beautiful song. I don't remember the name of it, but it was gorgeous and all about the shepherds and their experience.
After the angels left, the shepherds invited the travelers to travel to see the new born babe. The travelers of course said yes. The shepherds "ran home to get their families" but directed the travelers where to go. While the travelers were walking around the house, the shepherds and angels ran down to the barn and got everyone situated and plugged in the star. I had a star shaped tree topper that lights up, so we had previously wired that to the top of the barn. To give them time to run down and set up, we took the travelers around the house and stopped for a group photo of the Innkeeper with the Travelers.
When we put the box together for the traveler costumes, we tried to put full outfits together and then fold them up together. They got all mixed up though and it was fun to see who picked what to wear.
Eventually we got on our way and started our trek to Bethlehem.
Along the way the travelers (and Innkeeper) met up with the wise men. We had four wise men in our nativity.
Brigham wanted to have the three gifts involved, so he had gathered up supplies. There was a yellowish brick of wood for the gold, air freshener for the frankincense, and some sort of medicinal spray for the myrrh.
The wise men told the travelers that they had been studying the prophesies and the stars and that they were following the new star. The wise men then invited the travelers to finish the journey with them.
You can just see the star light peeking out. It wasn't very big, but you could definitely see it. My brother and I had gone out earlier in the day and wrapped a big tarp around the front of the barn (where it is open) so that you couldn't see inside it. The cousins/siblings were waiting in the barn with the lights off, with one person stationed at the light switch for the moment the travelers came.
When the travelers got to the barn, the shepherds were already there, along with my sister and her brother as Mary and Joseph, and the family baby doll in the manger.
We had the hay bales staked up high so the angels could sit up top.
My brother-in-law gave a short but perfect spiritual thought, and then we all sang Silent Night. We then set the camera up and got a group photo, so that there would be an actual nativity that mom could hold in her hands.
It was very simply made, the costumes were not elaborate, and there were some great ad lib lines that came out through it all, but it turned out fantastic. It was a beautiful way to spend an evening together as a family. It made the whole thing more real and memorable for all of us.
