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I think I may have mentioned a time or two that I love Christmas. I love the magic and the decorations, the giving, the food and the fun. Most of all, I love the reason for the season, and that is to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Consequently, I love Nativity Scenes. I have a few of them that I put up each year, and some of them have special meaning for me. One ceramic set I have was painted for me by my sister. Another Nativity was painted for me by Maddy when she was very young. She had solicited help from her dad to make it a hinged piece that I absolutely love.
Because I want my children and grandchildren to remember and know the true reason that we celebrate Christmas, I gave each of my children’s families a Fisher Price Nativity last year. It was great to give them a set that they can touch and learn the true story from the New Testament and retell themselves. I know that some people make it a tradition to get a new Nativity each year, whether big or small, a stand-alone set or an ornament. I am toying with the idea of doing that for my grandchildren, just as a reminder that we can feel the Joy of Christmas, and joy and hope in every part of our lives because Jesus Christ was born.
Do any of you collect nativities? Which ones are your favorites?
I have come up with a list with links for you of some of the nicest Nativity Sets for 2018. Some are very reasonably priced and some are a little pricier. I hope that you find it useful as you prepare for Christmas with your family and if you are looking to add a beautiful reminder of whose birth we are celebrating.
Kid Friendly Nativities:
Melissa and Doug Wooden Set This is a colorful, durable wooden set with 11 figures and a 4 piece stable. On the package is a retelling of the Christmas story. (Or, you can turn to Luke 2 for any of the sets!)
Delton Felt Nativity in a bag I love the cute lamb in this set!
Fisher Price Nativity The LIttle People are always so cute and easy for kids to hold. This is a smaller set than the one I got for my grandchildren.
Another Fisher Price, This is the set I got for my grandchildren. It has a few more pieces. I love that the star lights up and it plays "Away in a Manger."
Wall hanging with moveable figure If you don't have a lot of table space, this could be a great solution. It has 18 figures and a pocket in the back to store them.
Peg Doll Nativity is from LittleBlackMarketCo on Etsy. It has 9 peg dolls in a stained box that has a stable scene on the inside.
Nativity Advent Calendar This instant download from TimeSavers on Etsy is a digital download advent and Christmas Story.
Snow Globe Nativities
Dollar Tree Snow Globe If you have a lot of people to give them to, you can't beat $1.00! If you order them online, there are 24 in a case.
This one Plays Little Drummer Boy I found it amusing that someone only gave it one star because they had never heard of the song!? Otherwise, it had high ratings. San Francisco Music Box Company Beautiful work on this globe. It plays "Oh LIttle Town of Bethlehem."
Peanuts figures I have a soft spot for the Peanuts Christmas Special. I have always loved how Linus recites Luke 2 on the TV special. This snowglobe is a sweet reminder of that.
Precious Moments I am also a sucker for Precious Moments figurines. This one plays "Oh Holy NIght." (One of my favorite Christmas songs!)
Large Statement Nativities
This 17.5” 3 piece Nativity makes a beautiful display. It has excellent reviews and would definitly become a family keepsake.
The largest piece in this set is 5.5”. It comes with 11 figures.
I absolutely love this Thomas Kinkade Nativity Tree. It is a beautifully handcrafted 16" tree with over 40 figures on it. It plays Silent Night. This picture is too small to appreciate it. Click on it to see how beautiful it is.
Here is another Thomas Kincade Nativity. It moves and plays 4 songs!
Driftwood Creche 14”x8.5” This is another beautiful table top set.
DIY Nativities
Here is a cute pattern for a Crocheted Nativity pattern. It is from AmigurumiBarmy on Etsy. If you are a crocheter, it looks like something that wouldn't be too hard. What do you think? Do you think you can get it done by Christmas?
If you feel like you need something a little smaller, here is a smaller felt option I found on Craftgawker, who got it off of Wild Olive. .
If you really like the Peg Doll idea, here is one you can make yourself! It is called Made-by-Me Peg Doll Nativity.
This link will take you to the popsicle stick nativity figures I made for a 3 year old class at church! It was easy and fun to make and the kids loved the sets I made for them.
There's my list of favorites! Whether you buy or make a Nativity for your family, or have one that you already have passed down through the years, I hope the Christmas Story is a part of your Christmas every year!
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This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no extra cost to you. All views expressed are our own. Hey guys! It's Lindsey here with this weeks Friday Faves! I'm here with a topic I think a lot of us think about, and often want a little extra guidance on. Whether we're a stay at home mom looking for some ways to boost the family income, or single and want more fun money, or we just want to pay off that bill! A little side income can go a long way! So I asked around on Facebook a few weeks ago for ways people use to make some extra cash, and I'm listing their best answers here! Are you ready? Babysitting Side hustle number one is babysitting! I'm sure we all have a friend or family member in need of someone to watch their little one, or little ones while they are at work, or at some other engagement where babies or kids would not be appropriate. I am blessed that I don't have to put my little angel in day care. My mom watches her while I am at work. Not everyone has that luxury, but if you can offer your home as a safe environment for someone's kid to spend the day while they're at work then why not make a little extra cash off of it? Babysitting is great because you can decide how many hours a week you are willing to do it, so it is totally flexible with your schedule. Bonus points if the kids are the same age as yours! It's like a play date every day! Substitute Teaching My mom has talked about this one before. She did a lot of substitute teaching while she was raising us kids. Check the requirements for your state, but most require at least a bachelor's degree and a background check (you'll have to get fingerprinted.) My mom even got to the point where she would only take jobs from one school. She was able to build relationships with the teachers, staff, and students there. Then it wasn't a gamble what she was going to get every time she walked into a class. However you decide to do it, you can determine how many days a week you want to sub and make a pretty decent income off of it! Online Surveys This is another popular one, but it might take more time to build up some decent cash. Online surveys have been around for a while now. If you search in your Google Play Store or Apple Store you can even find apps to download that will bring you different surveys to do. Some of the options shared were Google Opinion Surveys, Mechanical Turk (Which is an Aamzon site for data entry and opinion surveys), AmeriSpeaks surveys, and go branded surveys. Surveys are great because, unlike babysitting or substitute teaching, you can do it for just a few minutes at a time throughout your day. Baby is napping? Take 15 minutes and do a few surveys before you hit that pile of laundry! Waiting at the dentist? Get a survey done before you get your teeth cleaned! Transcription Services Transcription is something that has been around for quite a while. There is medical and legal transcription. There are some places that require you to undergo some training and others that don't. This is another great work from home option that you can do during naptime, or for a few hours once the kids are in bed or early in the morning before they get up! Online Content Creation This one has a world of possibilities. You can create your own blog where you market your own product or service. You can sell things on Etsy or any other online store. You can also be a content creator for other websites. You can do the dirty work of searching websites like Indeed.com for job postings for content creators, or you can sign up with a company like writers.work and let them do all of that work for you. So if you like to write and create this is a great option for you. Additional bonus, with blogging you can also be partnered with affiliate who will give you a bump every time one of your readers purchases a product or service from them! That is getting income while you sleep! Teaching a Skill This is one I have used many times throughout my life. I have played the piano since I was a young girl and I have taken on piano students at different times throughout my life to earn some extra money! Another person on Facebook talked about the sewing classes she teaches (she has a great classroom now where her students can come learn on individual machines!) Whatever your skill is, you can share it with others and make a little extra money for yourself! Like babysitting and substitute teaching you can set your own schedule. You can also set your own price. Bonus, you can do it at your house, so you don't have to rush to make it to work on time! Teaching English Online This is becoming an ever popular field, and it is the one I am the most excited about sharing with you! There are a lot of programs out there that let you teach ESL, but I happen to work with one of them, which was listed as Forbes #1 work from home job company, VIPKID!! I have officially been teaching with VIPKID for 41 days, and I am about to receive my first paycheck from it! It has been a huge blessing for me and my family. I made this video to tell you all about it! I hope that video, 1) answered all of your questions and 2) got you excited about teaching with VIPKID! Here is our referral link to sign up: https://pr.vipkid.com.cn
Please email us if you have any questions! I want to help you get signed up! So that is our list. This is going to be a working list and we'll add more to it as we hear about more useful tips! So, what are you waiting for? Get that hustle going!!
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.
Hurray Fall! The time of year when there are things baking and leaves falling and lots of cool looking veggies in the stores and backyard campfires and eating chili and cornbread!
Wait! Let's stop right there with the cornbread part. I have not really been a big fan of cornbread throughout my life. It is often dry and crumbly, which I can deal with in chili but not in any other way. Or, it has jalapenos mixed in it, which makes it too spicy for my taste. Then, for awhile I made the cakemix kind of cornbread, which made it more moist, and sweet, but let's face it, I was eating cake with cornmeal in it. So, nothing really satisfied me when it came to cornbread. Now, fast forward to this year and our annual church Halloween party and chili cook-off. I signed up to bring cornbread. Don't ask me why. It had become a challenge to me, I guess. I started thinking and thinking about what I could do to make a really good cornbread. Then, I realized that in my refrigerator I had some leftover winter squash begging to be used. It was from the turban squash I had used in this recipe. I wondered to myself if that squash would work in my cornbread? Oh My Goodness! I have created the best cornbread ever! First of all, the turban squash has a very mild flavor, so the taste is very subtle in the cornbread. But, it added such moistness and the bread came out fluffy and amazing to eat with chili. As a side bit, it can't hurt to sneak a little vegetable into your cornbread! If you don't have some puree already ready to be used in your recipe, I suggest baking your squash for about an hour or so at 350 degrees, then cutting it open, scooping out the seeds and pureeing the flesh. It is super easy to do. (It is especially nice to do on a rainy day because it really makes you feel like you are doing an autumnal thing.) You don't have to use just turban squash. Butternut, acorn or even pumpkin should do the trick. The color and flavor may vary slightly though.
I hope that you will give it a try! You won't regret it! Try it, let me know what you think! (And share please!)
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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