Adventures in Advent: Advent 2024, Day 25

We made it to another Christmas. There's one last Advent calendar to explore. I know that I've featured an Advent that had a nativity scene. However, that calendar was more about the angels in the tree above the manager and not the story of Christ's birth. 

There are several Advent calendars out there in which you can build your own nativity scene. Most have figures that look more like Fisher Price people and they're great for little tykes. However I chose the advent from Flivoosh because it looked more like the nativity scene I had when I was younger. My nativity which I bought years ago by piecing together at Woolworth's after-Christmas sale looked like it was sculpted from marble. It had a Renaissance look and feel to it and despite being a Christmas decoration, I played with that thing for hours, arranging and rearranging the figures into the perfect lineup.

This advent has 24 windows which contain scenery, animals, the Wise Men and the Holy Family. There's even a piece that looks like the city of Jerusalem forming the background setting. I imagine that the first couple of days worth of offerings involve making up the set. with the scenery pieces. But hopefully, people like the shepherds will be available quickly. The most important thing is that the Baby Jesus is the gift for day 24. It was a rule in my family that the Christ Child couldn't go in the nativity until Christmas Day. I've heard that's been a tradition for many families as well. I really want that to be the case with this advent but since I don't own this set, I'm merely speculating.

Another thing this advent doesn't seem to have is a small instruction book. The listing on Amazon calls this an educational tool about the story of the First Christmas. However, unless a learned grown-up is available to explain all the parts that make up this nativity, there's not much teaching going to happen. I guess folks could always use a Bible. But I'd also like a kind of fact book that dug a little deeper into each daily addition to the manger scene.

And that's my 2024 Advent. I've hope you have enjoyed my adventures through the world of the advent calendar. Before I close, let's see what I received from the final envelope in my Batman Advent calendar...

Adventures in Advent 2024: Advent, Day 11

Today's Advent calendar is a work of art... Literally.  

For the past 40 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Met, have decorated a 20 foot tall blue spruce with dozens of 18th century ceramic angels adorn in silken robes. The cherubs take flight above a 360-degree nativity scene that depicts the birth of Christ, the arrival of the Magi and other key moments retold from the first few chapters of the Book of Luke. 

Now visitors to The Met who have become enamored with the tree and its Neapolitan Baroque Creche can bring the awe inspiring decoration home in the form of a 3-D card stock Advent calendar. 

When you unfold the piece, it takes the shape of the tree and the nativity scenes depicted on all sides; a full 360 degrees. But where are the angels? Throughout the tree are numbered die-cut flaps that when flipped open reveal one of the heavenly hosts . By the time you get to December 24th, your tree will look like a miniature version of the real McCoy!

Advents like this are just as fun as the ones where you have no clue as to what's inside, even though you know what you are getting! And why is that? I think it's because it builds on a tradition. People all over the world have fallen in love with The Met's tree. Yet not everyone can make the trip to New York City during the holidays. These kind of Advents share the experience and makes lasting memories which is more important than some daily trinket that more than likely has zero real user value other than their novelty. This calendar is something that children and grandkids and great grandchildren can share with their parents and loved ones while spreading appreciation of the fine arts and making memories in the process.

Countdown to New Who: Advent 2016: Day 12

   The Doctor in his TARDIS has traveled to many fantastic events and era in history- the signing of the Magna Carta, the moon landing of 1969, and World War II. But there are 2 great events that I wish he'd travel to: the JFK assassination and the birth of Christ. 
    Well I don't have a way of making either trip possible. But I have the next best thing! My advent present to you today is a look at some really awesome, really funny, and somewhat silly nativity scenes (some of which star a certain Timelord.)
    
    To view- click here!!!

    Enjoy...