Nothing to do with bikes.

[alantf]

I thought you might be interested in an old Spanish custom. Amongst the Christmas decorations, all Spanish houses have a Belén (the Spanish word for Bethlehem). This is a model of the stable where Jesus was born. One of my hobbies is making them, & if any one sees one of my models, & asks me to make one for them, I use any spare time the following year, making them, out of any spare bits of wood, MDF board, etc. The "gravel" is the grit our budgerigars have, & the "sand" is fine sawdust. I use any old remnants of paint, so they cost me virtually nothing, & I can give them as presents the following year.

This is our Belén.


This is the one I've been working on this year, for one of my grand daughters. She wanted a pond, so I used a scrap of broken mirror.


You might notice a VERY strange custom. Every Belén has a figure of a man with his trousers down, taking a crap! Don't ask me why - it's just one of those strange Spanish customs.

If any of the family in England want one, I have to design them so that they flat pack, to fit in a suitcase. This is one I made for Jan's nephew.

[alantf]

Had to use another page - it won't let me upload more than 5 pictures in any one post.







I put a low wattage light in them all, so that the interior of the stable is lit up.

I'm not a religious person, but I do think that it adds to the true meaning of Christmas.

[music man]

How much you gonna hook me up with one of those for. Of course the shipping would cost me a billion dollars, but hypothetically speaking? My wife wanted me to ask.

[dhgeyer]

Nice work! Cool hobby. Not too sure about El caganer. Kinda cool that they made Obama into one, though. I'd love to get my hands on an Obama El caganer!

[burkbuilds]

Cool stuff Alan. Very creative work. Two thumbs up from me. Merry Christmas.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by music man

How much you gonna hook me up with one of those for. Of course the shipping would cost me a billion dollars, but hypothetically speaking? My wife wanted me to ask.

Like I said, they cost me virtually nothing to make. They just take time, but being retired, I have plenty of that. The only problem is, that to make them flat pack, for transport, I can't make them as intricate as I like. I'm afraid that the ones Jan takes to England are the poorest of poor. I certainly wouldn't want anything less than the best to be shipped halfway round the world. Every one I make, I try to make it better than the one before.

[Water Warrior 2]

Alantf, you are truly a giver. Definitely a labor of love to create these gifts. A big well done.

[alanmcorcoran]

Like. Beats the hell out of birdhouses. The guy taking a crap - we have to have more on that - that is superweird even by Euro standards!

I'd like my Manger with the three wise men on a Yamaha, a Suzuki and a Kawasaki (they can be parked outside the manger if the WM are inside with the loot.) Instead of the dude taking a dump, how about Sarah Palin gutting one of the sheep? (Name your price.)

Here's an overseas shipping idea - build it with a wooden "cover" that goes over the whole shebang so it's basically a box. I know it's extra work, but it kind of adds to the longevity of it for storage too... just take the cover off after Thanksgiving, and presto! Instant Christmas.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

Here's an overseas shipping idea - build it with a wooden "cover" that goes over the whole shebang so it's basically a box. I know it's extra work, but it kind of adds to the longevity of it for storage too...

We keep ours in a large plastic box. The Belén sits on the flat lid, & the box goes over the top. That's fine for static storage, but just imagine it in transit! Thrown around, upside down, used to stand/sit on, bounced about on a truck. The result would be a pile of splinters & sawdust at the end of its journey. :sad:

[alantf]

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Thought I'd add a few pictures of this year's effort. It's for one of my grandaughters. She's just moved apartments & hasn't got a convenient table to stand it on, so I've had to make one.