Live Nativity

Last Saturday, we drove out the Bethlehem to see the shepherds, wise men, Mary, Joseph and Jesus. And the star.
Yes, that's right. To Bethlehem.
Luckily it's only 20 minutes away.
Bethlehem, North Carolina.

Local churches in the area put together a really wonderful live nativity. You can drive through or - the more fun option in my opinion - you can don a costume they supply for you and walk through. In the picture above my cute little shepherd boy in front of the sign "Please do not enter the nativity without a costume. No exceptions." They even asked you not to use your cell phones to keep with the scene. Sounds silly, but it was actually really fun, and Josiah loved it.

My little headress made me happy I didn't live in the first century. Micah is in a sling inside my coat inside my outfit. So despite his dangling appearance, he was quite secure.

They had live animals: goats, a donkey and chickens. There were even some Roman soldiers on horseback calling people for the census.

Just an example of the look. This was the marketplace in Bethlehem. They had someone hammering metal at the blacksmith shop and handing out bread at the baker's. There were so many neat details that made it easier for kids to understand more about the Christmas story and the time when Jesus lived.

And they had free refreshments afterward. When I saw refreshments advertised I thought it would just be some store-bought cookies and hot chocolate mix. Oh no. They had homemade soup and sandwiches. Homemade desserts and homemade hot chocolate (it was so good).
By the way, Josiah insisted on staying in his costume, he liked it so much. I said he could stay in it while we ate.

That's what I liked about the whole experience. It was small town and quaint (in the best possible way), something the community really gathers around because of the town's namesake. Everyone was so kind and helpful, keeping in character, but in a warm way. I'm thinking this will be a family tradition in years to come.