I think I now collect Nativity sets. I have 3 full sets of my own, one for the boys (a gift from Uncle Mark and Aunt Jane a few years back), plus a few smaller-scale versions with just Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Anyway, I thought it'd be a good idea for the boys to help me set up the Nativity sets this year. We talked about the different people involved and that baby Jesus was probably the center of all the attention so it made sense that he was in the center of the Nativity displays.
Now that they've set up these scenes, the boys view them as toys and play with the pieces often. While I love that they are remembering the Nativity, I have to admit I cringe a bit to think that my beautiful Nativity sets are seen as playthings by my boys. One set is from my trip to Israel, one set is a beautiful Willow Tree set, and one set was made by a family friend and belonged to my Grandma. I guess I have a hard time just letting them play with these pieces -- like using the creche as a slide for baby Jesus, stacking the wise men up into a tall tower, etc. Of course, the one set they are allowed to play with isn't as exciting to play with as the others simply because they are allowed to play with it. Nothing has been destroyed yet, and I suppose in the end, these are just material things and it won't be the end of the world if something happens.
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