Soar-Dream-France: A Sunday After Thanksgiving Share

Sometimes paying attention to tiny details pays off. Thursday's run to Villefranche had me pulled to a manger scene that reminded me of one that we had as children growing up.

Ours was cardboard with a silver glitter star on the top and plastic participants! This one looked like real wood and had plaster participants! Even though I'd grabbed the plaster participants to make up my manger scene, I went back to look at "participants" that were in a box nearby.

They were spectacular and reminded me of a tiny Japanese man in ivory that my Mom had.

As I took each one out of the box, I was able to put together essential participants in the manger scene. They were larger than the plaster ones, but still fit.

It was a done deal for me.

I'm sure they're not ivory, but whatever they are is gorgeous and spectacularly detailed.

I love that they all have detailed, raised and rapturous hands that give them so much more life than any others I've seen.

We've never had a manger scene here at the Chatette. It's only right that we should start off with this very special one. (It may be just the incentive for some possible plans for next year, that I will certainly keep you abreast of.)

When we were little, our Christmas Tree sat on my brother Jim's train table that Papa made for him at Christmas one year. It doesn't get much better than to have your tree in the middle of the train tracks and the Christmas Special (ha-ha) travels around it throughout the holidays.

We also used to set our manger up so that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were in the manger on one end and the three Wise Men were at the other end. Each day we'd move the Wise Men a little closer to the manger, so that they'd end up right there on Christmas morning.

I don't have a train table to put mine on, but the manger is set in the corner of the evier and the Wise Men have begun their journey. I'm leaving on the 17th, so they'll have to move a little faster, but they'll for sure be there in time for Christmas.