My husband just brought back some hand carved and painted Nativity figures from Germany.



They are really tiny - the largest about 3 inches high... the smallest - a hare standing on it's hind legs - barely an inch. Now my problem is that he did not get a creche - just the loose figures.

So I wonder... how would you display them? I was thinking of not using a creche at all... maybe just some draping.... but I would love you hear from all you brilliant people.

Rose those are beautiful...I am not sure what a creche is ...is it anything like a manger ? the little wooded shed ....you can get them almost any craft store and you can add your own things to it .. myself I have a manger set that I set inside my Christmas tree and souround it with lights ... being it is the reason for the season .. plus it gives my kids a very clear understanding what christmas is all about ... I have another manger I set out and i have all the animals and people it sets on a stand with a drape of white cotton .. very pretty . hope that helps

I like the idea of the figures being somewhat enclosed with some subtle lighting Rose.

Personally, I would make a little 'nest' of straw or hay and have the figures in that. Just keep the candles away from it!

Yes Kim what I mean is that, not just a manger but a little house or grotto scene.

We already have one which we put up every year. I have clay figures for it, some of which are almost as old as myself (and that's pretty ancient! ). Below is what I'm referring to.

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However the figures my husband just bought being fine quality figures and some of them extremely small, I thought I might give them a different treatment. I like your white draping idea. How big is your stand?

Jeanette... you creeped in while I was uploading my pics... the straw sounds like a great idea too!

Mine are white and about 5 or 6 inches. I put them on the fireplace mantel. I take books and boxes that I drape with a dark material. Then I place Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the centre, low, then I stage the rest of the scene so they are looking down on them. Or moving towards them. Here is a picture from last Christmas. Now that I look at it, I want it to be more dramatic, higher boxes, more drapery etc. P.S. My husband made the fireplce mantel. Did he do an excellent job, or what? Anyways, I don't know if this helps or not as the scale is different.
Paulette[attachmentid=1150]

Rose very beautiful ! I love the lighting .....my angel on top of my tree is from when I was a little girl its old lol .. and my one daughter said why do you have that scary looking thing on top of our tree ..we need a new one .
my other daughter said NO ! just because she is old and her sparkle is out is no reason to remove her from the top .. I thought that was real sweet
paulette he did a beautiful job on the mantel I love it .. and the manger set looks wonderful right there on top .

Buy fabric of your choice ( slightly sheer). Then just take some hem tape and iron a couple seams ( no raw threads showing) Make a wire frame and drape your material over it( I covered my wire frame in a contrasting colored ribbon). Light it with a low heat light from behind. POOF instant display.

cool idea pammy .. I will have to try that .

Once again - thank you all for your great ideas.

Unfortunately I did not have much time to run around to get stuff but I did have some straw and I did have a nice silver cake platter. I thought the silver and straw together would be quite symbolic for what I had in mind.

Below are what it looks like.. the figures are really very tiny but so well made! I've added a top view so you can see how the little Baby Jesus can be lifted out of his manger ( which looks very much like half a walnut! ) and placed in the Madonna's lap... it fits snugly there too! Very cute!

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That looks beautiful Rose. The combination of straw and silver works like a charm. The tiny figures are exquisite. Lovely craftsmanship there.

yes very nice rose ... i love the fact they are so tiny .

Lovely display Rose.
Paulette

Rose it turned out GORGEOUS! SO tiny and yet such an impact. Lovely lovely lovely. I'm glad you found such a nice solution!

Kim the sheer material works great for loads of display options! even inside a case or curio cabinet.

Thank you all... I guess simplicity works well most of the time. I'm quite pleased with the effect.