One of the priests and I went to St. Peter's for Solemn Vespers (Evening Prayer) for Christmas. They had a very good choir, including a small orchestra with brass and tympani. It was very beautiful. Well, I didn't get any pictures of Vespers. But I did get pictures of the creche scenes at St. Peter's. There are always 2: one in the Piazza and and one inside the Basilica.
The outdoor one was given from the Basilicata region of Italy. It incorporates architecture and styles of the Lucani, an Italian tribal people who pre-date the Romans. Zenit has an article on the outdoor creche here: Artistic Nativity Creche in Saint Peter's Square.
The inside one is a bit simpler than last year. Apparently last year, they rigged it up so that fake snow would drop down on the creche scene. This year they just had changing lights to give the impression of day and night. There were a few animatronic figures, a fisherman with his pole and string and a shepherd raising and lowering his hat.
