#Precious moments nativity set full#

The club let people track their collection online, offered exclusive membership figurines and sent a quarterly Precious Moments magazine. At the height of its popularity, the Precious Moments Collectors Club had over 500,000 members. There are several 'Chapel Exclusive' figurines that can only be purchased in the gift shop. If you're looking for a unique road trip stop, the chapel and park are open to visitors year round. And yes, it's exactly as amazing as it sounds. Inspired by Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Butcher designed and painted over 5,000 square feet of murals inside, all featuring Precious Moments characters. Sam Butcher hardly just crafted cute figurines. He also created the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri. This one, which is meant to comfort parents whose children have passed away, was originally retired in 2007 and is now back on shelves. In some instances, retired designs have come back into production in response to vocal customers' pleas. Get them before they're gone because once they are, many designs instantly become more valuable. Each year, certain designs are retired - and that could make their value shoot up.Īpproximately 25 to 40 designs are created each year and 12 to 20 are retired. Many are religious markings, since the creator, Sam Butcher, used his art to express his personal Christian faith.

#Precious moments nativity set full#

If you want to check when your Precious Moments were made, a full list of symbols can be found here. The marking on the bottom of your figurine means something.Įvery Precious Moments figurine created after 1981 has a marking on the bottom that indicates its production year. For example, there is a triangle printed on the bottom of each 1981 figurine, and a chapel on each one from 2014. But they're not just an adorable face - here's what you might not know about these collectibles: 1. With a design for every occasion, collecting each teardrop-eyed figurine became a cultural phenomenon. And today, these cuties still make our heart sing. After production began in 1978, Precious Moments took the gift-giving industry by storm.