Vintage Nativity Advent Remake

Christmas would not feel like Christmas without some of the things we cherished when we were little.  One of those things for me is this Nativity Advent Calendar that my mom made when she was first married. There are so many different advent ideas out there but I love that this calendar focuses on the birth of our Savior. I've been anxious to get one made for my own little family for the past few years now and I've finally got one put together.

As you can see I still need to add my animals.  Pom poms and felt were more popular a couple of decades ago and easier to find in a variety of colors so I may actually needle felt my camel, if I ever get to it.  The wool felt you find in specialty quilt shops is much nicer if you can find it and comes in more varieties then what you can find at a craft store.  My little figures are made from scraps left from other projects.

 I chose to go with round typewriter key numbers instead of stitching around all of those numbers. You'll notice in the pic that right now my numbers are just  printed on paper, cut out sloppily and pinned to the pockets. Works for now, maybe I'll find time to print them on muslin, iron them on with Wonder Under (I've read it works well with felt but haven't tried it yet) and get them stitched in place by next Christmas : ).  

I didn't have a pattern so I just traced the figures from my mom's nativity.  Perhaps I could figure out a way to scan in the pattern if anyone is interested.  Just leave me a comment to let me know you're looking for it.

Notice the little felt ears, mane and tail, and horns on the little animals.  I love how nubby these pom poms are.

The panel itself measures 22in x 36in with a 25in dowel rod.  Each pocket is about 4 inches high.  I cut the pockets of one row and the flaps of the next as one piece, layer the pieces and created the pockets with my stitching.

Each pocket will hold a little strip of paper with a service idea for my boys to perform.  Right now they include "dust a shelf," "read to a brother," "write a letter to Kyle (who just completed basic training and is away right now)," "Get ready for church without being reminded." My boys are working to fill the manger under our Christmas tree with enough straw for baby Jesus by Christmas morning.  They get to place one piece of "straw" (strips of raffia, I've tried real straw before...it's a mess) in the manger for each kindness we see them perform throughout the season.

Our Manger: the doll cradle I received for Christmas when I was 2