Away and a Manger at Grandpa's

I've been thinking about Jesus-oriented traditions and activities for Christmas (have a look at Life on a Hill or The Useful Box for some ideas). This year, I want to put a "baby Jesus" under our tree - so we can talk about him being the best present at Christmas, etc. I've been thinking about making a "manger" from a painted cardboard box, lined with some straw/shredded paper. But, this week, I had another idea...

Mr Sociable went to stay at Grandpa & Grandma's place (my Dad & step-Mum). His favourite thing about going there is spending time "making things out of wood with Grandpa". My Dad has a workroom, where he keeps tools and scraps of wood. It occurred to me that maybe they could make a manger from wood - something that we could pack away after Christmas and use year after year. I put forward my idea, which was well-received by both Grandpa & Mr Sociable. They were very excited to show me the finished result today. I had a picture in my head of what it was going to look like - but they far surpassed my expectations! I'm very excited about putting this under our tree!

In addition to looking really cool, I love that Grandpa and Mr Sociable made this together. I have fond memories of spending time lots of time with my own grandparents when I was a child. My Papa loved to look at books with me and talk about life. My Nana sparked my interest in sewing and patiently helped me with sewing projects. I want my kids to have these kind of memories of their grandparents.

Nana & I, 1985

Papa & I, 1985