For years I’ve planned to get a family nativity set, but I’ve never found one that I loved. Christmases have come and gone, and still no nativity scene. I’ve been looking for a wooden set, with wooden figures, but nothing has ever captured my affection or attention, and the nice wooden sets are very expensive.

On Black Friday I went to World Market to check out their sale on some cute reproduction vintage games.  I was minding my own business, strolling the aisles, when I turned a corner and wa-la I saw IT: a felted wool nativity set!

The description says the set is “handmade” but I expect some of it has been machine produced. Nonetheless, it’s darling.  The little figures are finger puppets and the set is made of wool felted in the “traditional method”.  I’m not sure which traditional method the description means.  To felt wool, you can use a knitted project, but usually you take fluffy wool, wet it and press it in some matter to make it very dense and flat.  You can also create felted projects with special felting needles – you basically stab the fluffy wool a zillion times with a barbed needle to create a denser material. I imagine this is a wet felting nativity set.

The set caught my eye because I’ve been putting together an order for materials to try felting with the children.  I’ve never done it myself, but I’m looking forward to experimenting.  I think we’ll start with wet felting.  I can’t wait to see what our bathroom looks like with globs of wool dripping everywhere!

A Child’s Dream Comes True has some kits I’m going to try, and they sell books on felting toys and wee animals.

It’ll be a long time before we’re ready to make anything like the nativity set, so I have the “gimmes”!  It’s only $30, but even so I’ll wait for a coupon or sale.   I’m glad I waited to find a set that seems right for our family.  I know the kids will play with the figures and maybe we’ll eventually make some animals for the set!