Shoppers in Headingley always know Christmas is around the corner when wool shop Baa Ram Ewe displays its handmade ‘knitivity’.
The handmade knitted nativity scene, complete with Joseph, Mary, the Three Kings, the Angel Gabriel and the shepherds and their sheep, has been a hit with customers and staff alike in previous years.
But shoppers and workers were left “shocked and stunned” after the tiny Baby Jesus was stolen from the display earlier this month.
Now, the shop is so keen to be reunited with the two-inch tall figure that they’re offering a special ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh’ themed mini hamper to anyone who can return Jesus to his manger.
Founder Verity Britton, who knitted baby Jesus herself, said: “He’s only a couple of inches long so we could make another one, but he’s been part of our knitivity since the shop opened and we want him back.
“The knitted manger just looks so empty without him.”
Her colleague Jo Spreckley, who was working in the shop when the figure went missing on December 1, added: “At first I thought he must have got knocked out of his manger and rolled under a pile of wool, but we’ve turned the place upside down and he’s simply not here.
“We hope it’s just that a little girl or boy liked the knitivity so much that they popped Jesus in their pocket without their parents noticing. It would be awful to think something more sinister has gone on.”
Verity founded Baa Ram Ewe, on Otley Road in Headingley, in 2009, with the ‘knitivity’ quickly becoming a firm favourite with customers.
The gold, frankincense and myrrh themed mini hamper, which is on offer to anyone who can provide information leading to the safe return of baby Jesus, contains goodies such as gold crochet thread, scented wool wash and luxurious wool fat hand cream by Mitchell’s of Bradford.
Anyone with any information about the missing baby Jesus can contact the shop on 0113 278 1788 or email: info@baaramewe.co.uk
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