Day 18: Advent, Part 2

This is going to be a short and largely uninformative entry, but that’s because, after complaining so much about the lack of visible Christmas spirit here in Texas, I decided to go for one of my infamous makeshift decoration attempts (if you’ll recall my really pathetic Diwali celebration last month). Putting together even the sad display you’ll see below took so long that I didn’t have the time or energy to do any real research for today’s post.

So, below you’ll see my fabulous Nativity scene (also known as a crèche, if you want to get fancy). Yes, folks—that’s Play-Doh (and that is a registered trademark spelling). And it still smells exactly like it did when I was a kid and my sister would try to eat it while we were playing (not that I can talk—I used to try to eat the paper crayon wrappers).

So, okay, I know it’s not very artistic. The figures don’t have faces. Nothing is on the same size scale. And the members of the Holy Family don’t even have arms. But I’ve told you before—I am not an artist. And frankly, the few things that look even reasonably realistic in my Nativity scene—including the manger where my creepy lump of a Jesus is sleeping—were made by my friend Jen, who is apparently much better at working with Play-Doh than I am (thanks, Jen!).

Just to make sure you get the full, dramatic effect, I’m giving you some additional close-up views. Here’s the Holy Family (so what if the Virgin Mary is way too small to ever pick up her child out of the giant manger?).

And below are the three Wise Men. Okay, I know the one on the right came out looking a little too much like Santa Claus, but that still fits in with the Christmas theme, so who cares? My boyfriend actually suggested that I just give him a white beard and make it look intentional, but I figured I would just ruin the already poorly made figure, so I decided to let it go. You also have to appreciate my yellow Play-Doh camel behind them. (I couldn’t get the Play-Doh to hold its shape, so you can’t see his humps very well, but I tried. That’s the saddest part—I really, really tried.)

And last but not least is my personal favorite part—my little drummer boy and the miscellaneous animals. Yes, the little drummer boy couldn’t possibly reach high enough to play his drum, and the green duck is slightly larger than the black pig, but hey, I think it’s fun.

I may be pathetic, but having this Nativity set (which reeks of Play-Doh in a pleasant, nostalgic way) is actually making me feel a little better. Now I just have to get to work on a Christmas tree . . .