Peg Doll Nativity

I love love love kids' nativities!  I mean, I love grown-up nativities too, but who can resist all the cute little characters in kid sized awesomeness ready to be played with by tiny hands?  While I was making this set of peg doll saints and church, I decided to make my niece Violet a nativity for her first birthday, which is just a week before Christmas.

I included Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the three Wisemen, a shepherd family, three angels, and a chunky star.  I also painted the inside of a wooden box with a lid to look like a stable and a night sky, which makes a fun place to play and then a good place to store all the pieces.

She has loved it!  My sister says that it has been one of her favorite toys for the past month.  So far, she enjoys:
-banging them on hard surfaces to make noise (there's something about heavy wooden toys that kids love)
-crawling with people in her hands- they are just the right size for little hands
-transferring the characters from one box to another and then back
-chewing on their heads, especially one lucky little shepherd boy (good thing I used non toxic paint, right?)
-putting all the people in her shopping cart and walking them around the house
-and the latest is wrapping them up in newspaper- my sister's family is moving to a new house, and after watching us wrap and pack all day, apparently Violet decided she would pack her nativity too!

I hope that this is a toy she continues to love, and eventually becomes a natural way for the grownups in her life to help her know the story of Christ's birth.  But for now, chewing and banging and wrapping are pretty fun too. ;)

Here you can see the people a little closer.  Baby Jesus needs a little manger to sleep in, but honestly, right now he is a choking hazard for my niece.  Maybe he'll get to come back next Christmas :).  I am planning on adding the sheep, camels, oxen, and donkey to her set next year, and by then she'll have to share with her baby brother, who will be here in March!

This little mini holy family was a special gift for my other sister, who is expecting her first baby in April, also a boy.  He'll get his own nativity next Christmas! :)


You can check out Monday's post about the ten Saint Peg Dolls I painted, as well as the church, vestments, and Mass kit to go along with them!

If you are interested in making your own peg dolls, I looked for supplies on several sites and at local stores, and made several purchases. These have been my favorites, and the ones I reordered as I plan to start working on the Nativity for my nephew!

In case you want to do some creating of your own:
These are the basic pegs that I worked with for both the nativity and Saints.  I was impressed with the quality, and they were a good value after I comparison shopped.  When I reordered them, I noticed the price had dropped a couple of dollars, so now might be a great time to shop!
Wood Doll Bodies - Woman 3-1/2 inch - Bag of 10
Wood Doll Bodies - Man 3-9/16 inch - Bag of 10

This time I also ordered some wooden eggs and cubes to make animals for the nativity:
Wood Blocks 1.5 Inches 
Wood Eggs 2-1/2"
2 inch wood cubes

So, have you made any peg doll projects?  What are your favorite kid friendly nativities?