traveling light

Shopping, Creches & Stuff

Today was the annual "Dugan Family Shopping Trip to the Mall of America". For years my family has had the tradition of taking one day off to all go Christmas shopping together, and for the past several years this has meant a day at the mall with lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. This year I had to work in the morning, and Mark had to work all day, so he couldn't join the crew, but I was able to join in for the afternoon...what a fun day! It's one of those traditions that I'm really starting to realize how much I enjoy it -- not that I didn't enjoy it before...but you know how sometimes you're doing something you've done a million times before, when it suddenly hits you: "man, this is really fun!"? It's like that. :). I didn't even buy much of anything today, but I feel all the more in the Christmas spirit.

On a different note, as Mark and I were decorating our home the other day with all kinds of stockings, ornaments and cute little snowmen, the thought hit: "something's missing". Then I realized it. Duh. We didn't have anything out representing the TRUE meaning of Christmas. So I dug out my tiny little nativity set and set that up. Here's what it looks like:




As you can see, it's pretty sad. Aside from being 1.5 inches tall, the figurines just look lost and frightened. No one knows where they belong, probably because there is no stable! So I've decided to try and find the perfect nativity set. (or at least a decent one! :)). Here are a few options I've thought of:


1. The More Traditional Style:




2. The WillowTree brand super-nativity (my personal favorite, though it costs a small fortune):







3. Or this piece, brimming with historical accuracy:



What would you pick?

posted by Nikki @ 9:13 PM