Live Nativity

There is a stake in Draper that puts on a live nativity for a few days every December and it is such a neat experience. The set they have created is amazing and to have all the characters played by live people makes it so much more ... real. It takes the story of the birth of Jesus and puts you right in the middle of it. The lines do get to be pretty long but it is worth it.

Here we are at the start of our journey. Mady's being a bit of a ham in this picture and squeezing out Alisa and Bella!


The whole nativity takes place outside and while you are standing in line they have various goats and sheep that the kids can pet. My kids LOVED this part.



As you walk through the line they have different scenes depicted. This is the first one of a prophet receiving revelation about the upcoming birth of Jesus. Later down the line they had the three wise men and also the shepards with their animals.



Yes, they even have camels! Who has camels in Utah? My kids were completely transfixed by these animals. They couldn't get enough of them, we had to drag them away from the pen.



As you get to the end,they have set up an entire city of Bethlehem. Before you can go in you have to pass the 'tax' man, who is counting out coins and secretly pocketing a few every so often. Inside Bethlehem is unreal. Actually, it is too real . You pass all sorts of shops, bakeries, animals, even a leper - which was really sad by the way. It really is incredible.



As you pass the inn and round the corner you come upon the manger. They have beautiful music playing and a light shining on the manager scene. The whole mood just changes, you can feel the spirit and everyone is reverently staring at the baby Jesus, who is sleeping in the manger, with Mary and Joseph staring adoring at him and then... I take a picture and make the baby cry. Oops.



Even though my kids got cold and hungry waiting line, this was a wonderful experience for them. They felt that warm fuzzy feeling of the spirit of God as they watched the baby in the manger and I can't help but think that the story of Jesus' birth is a little bit more than just a story to them now. That night they all asked if we could go again next year and I think that's a great idea!