If this year you are determined to make your, then you cannot miss the manager. And if you also want it to be something special, made with your own hands, keep reading because we are going to tell you all the tricks to make a unique and real nativity scene, with a lot of texture and color.
For many families, especially Christian ones, the manger or nativity scene is one of the most important Christmas symbols, since it represents the birth of the baby Jesus, the fundamental reason for celebrating Christmas. Therefore, if you already have all the figures of the manger, it is time to give them a beautiful environment in which to somehow offer love to these festivities. There are huge mangers, which represent the entire city of Bethlehem, and then there are other smaller ones, in which only the birth of the Child Jesus is represented with Mary and Joseph, some animals, shepherds and sometimes the arrival of the Magi.
We tell you step by step how to make a homemade manger or nativity scene at Christmas with some DIY ideas that will be very simple for you. Take note of all of them!
The place in your house where you will put your nativity scene or manager
First of all, the first thing you have to choose is the place where you will put the manager. You can do it in an unused fireplace, on top of a table, or even on the floor in a corner of the house. Ideally, it should be located in a place where the family usually gathers, such as the living room, so that everyone can enjoy it during Christmas.
How to make a manger or nativity scene at DIY Christmas
To make your nativity scene you will have to create a model in which you can set the manger. The size of this will depend on the space you have, the number of figures you have for your nativity scene and, of course, the time and desire to make a homemade nativity scene. What is clear is that there are certain fundamental elements that you will have to recreate, so take note of all the tricks that we tell you below.
Scenery
When you have the defined place you will have to think about the landscape. Define where the manager will go as such, if the landscape will have mountains, slopes, a river, a grassy area and little houses around it. Draw a picture of how you would like it to look. It will help you make the composition look much better in the end.
Start on the ground
- Certified moss is ideal for the ground area of the landscape, as that fluffy green look is very Christmassy. Remember that it is important that it is certified, since collecting moss from the forest is very harmful to the environment. By the way, if you don’t want to use moss, you can always get artificial moss or grass. In addition, you can use dirt and straw to create paths and areas of distinction in the landscape.
- Begin by lining the surface that you will use for your crib with plastic, so that it does not stain. Now create the relief with cardboard… doesn’t worry if it doesn’t look pretty, then you will cover everything with moss, earth, straw, leaves, branches… Remember to leave a relatively flat area for the manager of the Child Jesus.
The landscape river
If you have decided on a river or a lake you can do it with silver paper. Use a Tupperware for the lake or cut a bottle to create the elongated river (you can also use PVC pipes cut crosswise). Cover them with silver paper. You can leave them like this or paint them blue and add dirt and glue some moss to the inside. When you put the water it will look very realistic and beautiful.
The mountains
If your manger has mountains in the background, recreate them with cardboard folded next to each other. Once you have the initial design, use the papier-mâché technique to line them and give them texture. It will be a perfect ornament for your nativity scene.
For this you only need to mix white glue or white glue with water (in equal parts). Put a strip of newspaper over the base of the mountain and glue it on with a paintbrush and glue. Repeat until you get the desired texture. When it dries, paint the mountains with shades of brown, gray, green… to give it a real look.
Houses
You can make cardboard houses attached to the mountain, as if they were far away. You can also place them on logs that you put at the bottom of the wall of the structure. Of course, if your intention is to make a very large nativity scene, you can create other houses that go on the floor with painted cardboard, the papier-mâché technique, with wooden sticks or even with straw. Everything will depend on the composition of your manger.
The vegetation
- What vegetation would there be in Bethlehem at the? Palm trees probably, so if you want to be true to the story you’ll have to recreate them. For the trunk, you can easily make it with a tube (you can make it out of cardboard) and then cover it with crumpled brown paper. For the foliage you can use natural, plastic or paper leaves. Cut each side of the leaf into thin strips to make the shape of the palm frond. Make several and then tie or glue them to form the foliage that you will glue on the trunk.
- Although palm trees are usually the most common, it must be remembered that the nativity scene is a representation and as such allows a bit of imagination and free will. Therefore, if you prefer a more wooded landscape, you can also do pine trees. Make them out of real pine needles for a very homey and welcoming look.
The manager
- Remember that the Child Jesus was born in a very humble manger, in a stable where Mary and Joseph were offered lodging so that she could give birth to Jesus. For this reason, the animals are usually represented next to the manager.
- A very simple way to do it is using a cardboard box. Use one that fits the measurements of your figures. Cut so that there are three walls and the floor, so that it has stability. Cover the floor with straw, earth, moss… and you can cover the walls with branches, sticking them with a hot glue gun until you cover it inside and out. To make the roof, use branches to create a structure and then cover them withtreebark and moss.
- You can also opt for a manager that simulates a wooden stable, with doctor’s sticks or those used for ice cream. Glue them together carefully making the structure of three walls (no floor) and make a flat roof with sticks as well. You can varnish them to give them a more real look.
- Another idea is a cork manager. With a sheet of cork cut out three walls. Make a roof with twigs and it will be a very cozy manager.
The bed of the Child
There are two ways to place the Child, in a kind of cradle or on the floor. For the first option you can recreate a stable drinker, made of wood and put straw to put the Child to bed. In the second case, simply make a kind of bed of straw or moss or something similar, put a sheet on it and lay the Child on it.
The star of Bethlehem
If you are going to represent the arrival of the Magi, do not forget to draw the star of Bethlehem at the bottom of the manger. You can draw a starry sky with a shooting star or make it out of silver paper. Other people prefer to represent the star that guided the Kings of the East by putting on the manager.
