Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Dog Ate My Nativity

In the early 1990's, Avon made the "My First Christmas Story" nativity set for children.  The figurines came in three three-piece sets of soft rubber figurines:  1.  Mary, Joseph and Jesus 2. Three Wise Men, and 3. cow, donkey and sheep.  If my memory serves me correctly - and I'm pretty sure this is one of the rare times it does - Mitch and Amanda were ages 2 and 1 the year I bought the whole set so they could have their own nativity, and to distract them from wanting to play with the breakable figures in our larger nativity.  
Image from E-bay Auction
And, what's a nativity without a stable?  So Dave and Mitch built a stable out of scraps of lumber with a wood shingle roof.  Of course, Dave made the cuts, but Mitch helped pound the nails with his own little 2 or 3-year-old hands.  For nearly twenty years, this little nativity has been a part of our family decorations, always placed on a low shelf or under the Christmas tree where little ones were free to play and rearrange to their little hearts delight.  

It became a sort of running joke for Dave to put one of the Wise Men behind the stable (claiming it had been a long trip so naturally he needed a "rest stop") just so Amanda would get annoyed and move it back.  Then she would put all the figures inside the stable - where it's warmer and they could see better - and I would move most of them back out so the arrangement looked nicer....

Last Saturday, the My First Christmas Story scene met a tragic end.  Dave and I went to Manhattan to the KSU/ISU football game and returned home late - thanks to a faulty speed sensor which would not allow the transmission to shift, which meant we drove 120 miles at a max of 40 mph, but that's another story - to find that the stable and it's inhabitants had been chewed to bits (literally) by Gabby the Big Red Idiot Dog.  Below is all that remains - a lone Wise Man and the baby Jesus in a roofless, slightly gnawed stable. Somewhere in a box in the basement is a very grateful lamb who got separated from the others during the move and so avoided the massacre.



Though we are long past the need for our kids to have a plastic nativity, I still loved it for the sentimental value and hoped that grandkids would play with it some day.  The stable can be repaired so, just out of curiosity, I searched E-bay for replacement figurines.  The only full set I found was going for $76!  So I guess it is not to be.  But I think I will continue to display the sad little Wise Man and the baby Jesus as a monument to . . .  Well, I'm not sure to what - I suppose to having your pets spayed or neutered to avoid more Big Red Idiot Dogs.

14 comments:

  1. Alas, our donkey met a similar fate when our son dropped it into the cage with our bunny. The donkey now has a brass finishing nail as his peg leg since the bunny gnawed off the original. I just came across your post while googling for a replacement. There is a set on e-bay if you want to pay the price!

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  2. Oh no! I hope the dogs are okay and didn't get sick! But how sad that something was treasured and cherished with hopes to pass down to the next generation is now just a few lone figurines! I am sure you got a bit of a lump in your throat as you assessed the damage :(

    betty

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  3. I am so sorry to hear that. I love the fact that you still have Jesus. That is because he will always live in our hearts!

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  4. Oh Tami -- I am so sorry as I know that these kinds of sentimental decorations help to make the holidays so special. And yet...I am still laughing --- I could see one of our lovable labs doing the same thing. I find it rather interesting the two figures that were left behind -- our savior and a wise man. Hmmm....

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  5. Well ain't that crappy. I know there's no bright side, but you could make the best of it. You now have a funny story to go along with the two (or three if the lamb resurfaces) figurines to pass down to the grandkids.

    Silly dog!

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  6. I had the same set for my girls when they were little. I have no idea where is now, but I would like to think it's in a happy place. =)

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  7. I'd like to buy the full set, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Three Wise men, sheep, cow and donkey.
    If anyone knows where I can get one I'd be really happy.
    d7wnr@hotmail.co.uk
    Thanks

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  8. Although not the same nativity set (ours is hand-made porcelain) but the one we have met a similar fate. However our dog went after baby Jesus (broken to pieces), the lamb (nothing was ever found) and several ornaments. I guess not "All dogs go to heaven" as this one has some EVIL thoughts running through its mind.

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  9. I have the entire Avon set MINUS baby Jesus. I can't find a baby Jesus to buy anywhere. Do you want to sell yours? Or buy the rest of the set from me? We should talk...

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  10. What is it with dogs and this set?! I found this page because I am searching the internet for the donkey...which of course had it's head chewed off today by my German Shorthair Pointer. We are really sad...my daughters, all now in their 20's, had this set since they were little. It's perfect for kids to play with!

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  11. I too have a set of these figures. I have 4 children and it was always the youngest who had the "job" of setting up the nativity set. One way to get them away from the more breakable ornaments and yet keep them close and involved. There have been some very interesting and un-Biblical scenes that have occurred over the years. Now, I have grand babies and they would be perfect for them. I wish I could find a set for each family to have , who know they would be so hard to come by.

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  12. Baby Jesus went missing from our set on Christmas Eve. I will be searching for a replacement because the grandchild I bought this set for is now expecting a child of his own and I really want to pass it on to him/her.

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  13. My brother found this set (minus the donkey) for me at a yard sale. My toddler loves to carry around baby Jesus. I was looking for an emergency back up, in case something happened to Him. I had no idea how expensive that would be! I emailed Avon requesting they do a remake of this set (one of the only kid-friendly nativities I found). They said it would take a lot of requests, but they would consider it. If you want to encourage them, you can send your story to dearavon@avon.com

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  14. My brother found this set (minus the donkey) for me at a yard sale. My toddler loves to carry around Baby Jesus. I searched online to find an emergency back up, and found out how rare and expensive this set is. Avon does not even offer replacement parts. I emailed them requesting they do a remake of the set. They said it would take a lot of requests, but they would consider it. There aren't many options for kid friendly Nativity sets. If you want to share your stories and encourage them to remake this set or another one like it, you can email them at dearavon@avon.com. I hope we can convince them!

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