This year, my sister Sara’s family sent gifts to my family (like many big families, we only send gifts to one sibling each year). It’s such an amazing gift and such a smart idea that I have to share. Knowing how much my kids love to put on the Nativity pageant on Christmas Eve, she scoured her local thrift shops and came up with perfect costumes for all the main parts.
These costumes have all the right details. Great jewelry for the wisemen. Special containers for the gold, frankincense and myrrh. The shepherd has a super cool belt. The angel has a beaded halo. Sara embellished and altered her bargain finds as needed.
It is such a wonderful gift idea — and it’s not too late if you know the perfect recipient for this sort of thing. You could even start with Mary & Joseph and the Angel this year. Then add the Wisemen and Shepherd another year.
The packages arrived this weekend — marked Open Upon Receipt. And my kids have been in and out of the costumes ever since. They’ve been working on an “improved” script for the special production and there has been lots of debate about who will be which parts. Luckily, we’ll be sharing Christmas Eve with two other families this year, so we have plenty of people to choose from.
The costumes came stacked and folded with cards identifying the character and any applicable notes on the back (like: wear bracelet on the upper arm). Here they are in all their glory:
And here they are on the models (with the shepherd featured above):
Thank you, Sara! And thanks to Steve, Zella, Ruth, Ike and Lucy — who I’m certain contributed in many ways. We love the costumes. They’re just right.
We did this at a Super Saturday activity last year and it was a HUGE hit. It wasn’t as elaborate as the one your sister made, but I know it will be used for years and years. Such a great idea.
That is the coolest Christmas family christmas present!! I love it. This is danika by the way.
Wow Sarah is the coolest!
Stunned… what a fabulous idea. Did all the creative designers form their own family in the pre-existence? Because I’m jealous… you guys have a very cool family.
wow what a fabulous idea!
i’m with scarlett. i can’t get over how creative and clever you and your siblings are. how can i get adopted in? or since it might be too late for me, how can i make sure my kids turn out the same? i think i need to schedule a conference call with your mom…
What a treasure! Every detail is just perfect.
I really love this idea!
I LOVE this!!! Wow! What an incredibly cool present! I’m not surprised that she is related to you — it must run in the family!
what a great sister!very clever. must run in the family!
What a wonderful idea. I just love these!
This is such a brilliant idea!! What gorgeous costumes…
it doesn’t get more creative and more parallel to the true meaning of Christmas than that!
I must agree with ALL of the above! This is such a special gift, with the true meaning of Christmas behind it. (And, seriously, what did your parents feed you to make you so creative and thoughtful?!)
Oh- I just love this idea so much I could marry it. Seriously- this is getting tucked away into my memory for when the kids in my family are just a bit older. I can’t wait!
So sweet!
That is the most lovely, thoughtful Christmas gift I think I have ever seen! And what’s more, it includes the meaning of Christmas, in that it helps your children recreate the story!
What a wonderful,thoughtful and lovely gift!
This is absolutely amazing! So thoughtful! What a treasure!
What a perfect gift. Simple and beautiful. I love that your kids get excited about the Nativity story. Such a great tradition!
That warms my heart. What a beautiful example to set, you are truly giving your children the best gift of all.
What a great idea! If you sew, a lot of cool wovens (shepherds), metallics (wisemen), and sheers (Mary) can be found in the clearance areas of larger fabric stores (Joann’s or Hancock’s) for a great price. But the accessories really top it off.
okay, that seriously is the best christmas gift ever!!
Your sister must be awesome!
As a long distant Nana B this is the perfect gift for my GrandAngels. These are the type gifts that they will remember. I can't wait to start shopping.
This is an AWESOME gift! So glad you shared. My children are grown but this is a wonderful idea for many others.
Great Idea, Have been looking high and low for ideas for costumes, our church is not big and not enought budget for new costumes this is just great! thanks so much for sharing!