It all started back when I was a little girl. I remember my mother taking me to Frankenmuth, Michigan. If you’ve never been there, you are really missing out. It is a little German Village located between Flint and Saginaw just off of interstate 75. Frankenmuth is known for their family-style chicken dinners, German beer and Bronner’s… claimed to be the world’s biggest Christmas store!
The building is 7.35 acres in size with landscaped grounds covering 27 acres. Outside the entrance are three 17-foot-tall outdoor Santas and a 15-foot-tall snowman! Inside, there are approximately 800 animated figurines at various locations throughout the store. Bronner’s parking lot can accommodate up to 1,080 cars and 50 buses. Some 100,000 lights illuminate Bronner’s one-half-mile-long Christmas Lane in the evening. (Wikipedia)
You can only imagine what an impression this made on my “can’t get enough Christmas heart!” Even as a little girl, Christmas was so important to me. What I remember most about my first trip to Bronner’s was the very large display of Fontanini Nativity figurines. Of course, they have Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, shepherds, wise men and angels, but they also have tents, shop keepers, buildings, bakers, wine-makers, peddlers, palm trees, goats, sheep, cows, donkeys and even an elephant! The display was amazing! I remember looking at every piece in the Christmas display. They also have an Easter set-up with the empty cross and the tomb with the stone rolled away. I vowed that one day, I would have a Fontanini nativity display of my own.
I began collecting my pieces back in the 1990’s. Some online, but most from the Bronner’s store directly. The beauty of collecting Fontanini pieces is that you can buy one piece at a time or in sets.
If you are lucky enough to visit Bronner’s when a member of the Fontanini family is on site, you can get your pieces signed. Bucket list!
A little back story on the Fontanini nativity: The Fontanini tradition dates back to the late 1800s when company founder Emanuele Fontanini began creating crèche figures in the little town of Bagni di Lucca located in Tuscany, Italy. He opened his first shop in 1908, and the company has remained a family business ever since. Today, it is run by Emanuele’s great-grandchildren.
I have a few retired pieces in my 5-inch collection. There is also a 3.5 inch, a 7.5 inch, a 12 inch, an18 inch, a 27-inch and a 50-inch collection.
Here is the 50-inch set.
What makes Fontanini nativity sets so enduringly popular? The answer lies in their beauty, their details, and their durability. Each piece is made out of resin so if you accidently drop one (like I have) they are less likely to break.
Distinctive Fontanini stables typically are made of real wood and are covered with moss. The durable resin figures are painted with non-lead-based paint, so they are safe for children.
About this next picture, our American Bulldog, Karl has a tradition of his own. Every year our baby Jesus seems to come up missing. At first I thought that maybe I had just forgotten to get him out of the box. It didn’t take me long to see that Karl had taken the baby and put him in bed with himself. Out of all the pieces in my collection, Karl would choose Jesus to be with.
A Fontanini tradition is that Baby Jesus is always removable, so that He may be placed in the manger on Christmas Eve, if desired.
Another unique feature of a Fontanini nativity set is that each five-inch figure comes with a story card filled with historic facts about the life of Jesus and about the artistry of the figure.
My favorite piece is the elephant! So unexpected!
I love how the figures are meant to show everyday life in Bethlehem.
Finally, baby Jesus back where He should be! Ha!
It was difficult to get the whole scene in one shot…flying angels and all
Before we moved to Florida, my girlfriends and I would make a yearly trip to Frankenmuth the first weekend in November (aka deer widow’s weekend). We would shop all day, eat a chicken dinner, drink spiced wine and then relax in the hotel’s hot tub that night. I miss those times spent with girlfriends at Christmas. Hopefully I will be able to do that again sometime!
