The Manger

My son and I were talking on the way to visit my mother in Ohio this past summer and somehow the subject of Christmas came up. Last year was the first time I didn’t put up a tree and it turned out to be a good thing because I ended up at my daughter’s house over Christmas because she needed help after her baby was born. When I mentioned that I really liked not having to put up the tree, my son replied that it was fine with him if we didn’t have one this year.

When I wondered where we would put the gifts, he replied, “Well, we could put them in a manger since that was where the GIFT was laid.” Even though he now says he was joking, I have not been able to stop thinking about that. I think it’s a great idea! But I had no clue how to make a manger.

While I realize that Jesus was probably laid in a stone manger inside a cave, I wanted to make a more modern interpretation of one, so I bought a wooden folding luggage rack at Walmart. To my surprise, it was easier than I thought. All I had to do was attach a black strap to the bottom to hold it open at just the right depth. Then I laid burlap over the top (to represent Christ’s humanity) and gold lame on top of that (to symbolize His divinity). I think it looks great, especially with the gifts in it. I might attach little white lights around it because Christ is the Light of the World.