Building your own nativity scene: a simple guide for Christmas

Planning & background knowledge Building your own nativity scene

As the days get shorter, you can start thinking about Christmas decorations. By October at the latest, people will be busy sawing, hammering, folding and gluing again, so that the home will shine in Christmas splendour in good time. Maybe you’ve already seen our step-by-step guides for a DIY wooden Advent wreath or a Christmas star made of coat hangers?

A nice project for holiday season is also building or handcrafting a nativity scene. You won’t require any special tools or expensive materials. It’s even a good way to get your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews involved in the preparations for the holiday season.  Speaking of children, are you still looking for great Christmas presents? Just make them yourself. For example, you could build your own play kitchen, football goal or flying wooden animal.

The most popular types of nativity scenes – from alpine to the Orient

One thing before we get started: There is no one true nativity scene. Rather, over the years, different types in terms of the exterior design, the actual setting, the materials used or the figurines have emerged. Check out a range of curious Christmas traditions from around the world. The following types of nativities can be found in the living rooms of Germany:

• Manger: An open stable in which the figurines are displayed. A manger-style nativity scene is very easy to build yourself! Check out our step-by-step guide!
• Rustic stable: The rustic stable is a traditional rural setting in an old country farm. The shepherds usually wear traditional local outfits. Popular localised nativity scenes are the alpine nativity scene, which is nestled in an idyllic mountainscape, and the half-timbered nativity scene, which has a half-timbered house as its centrepiece.
• Nazarene or Orient-style stable: This one transports the onlooker directly to Bethlehem. The architecture is characterised by domed roofs, towers and warm colours. Palm trees line the stable, and there are often dunes in the background. The three wise men wear richly decorated robes, while the shepherds’ garments are of poorer quality.
• Stable set in ruins: This style depicts the ruins of roofless buildings in an oriental-looking setting. They symbolise the decay of the world. Out of the ruins Jesus will build a new kingdom of the world.
• Stable inside a cave: This one goes back to a tradition of the Christmas story in which Jesus Christ is described as having been born in a cave.
• Stable among tree roots: The centrepiece is a prominent root, a piece of driftwood or a gnarled branch that houses the holy family. This type of stable can have a more localised or an oriental design. It requires few ornamental details.
• Modern or stylish stable: The events of the Holy Night are depicted in a stylised way. They generally only show the holy family in a frame or archway. There are few accessories.

You can let your imagination run wild when designing your DIY nativity scene. Your personal taste alone determines whether you place them faithfully in an oriental setting or design them with a more regional style. You can even find nativity scenes that combine several of these elements.

What materials are suitable to build a nativity scene?

Everything you need to build a nativity scene can be found either in nature or in a DIY store. There are also online shops specifically designed for people wanting to create a nativity scene.

The location matters

Before you create a nativity scene, you should consider where you want to place it later and how much space you have available. Should it go under the Christmas tree? Or would you rather put it on a sideboard? The homemade nativity scene also looks good in front of our space-saving DIY Christmas tree for the wall.

How to estimate the right size for your nativity scene

The nativity scene and accessories should at least roughly match the figurines when you build your own nativity scene, so as to create a harmonious overall look. These guidelines here help you to determine the right size. First, measure a male figurine. Joseph is conducive to this because it is usually a standing figurine. Joseph is 12 cm tall in our example. The calculation is based on the average size of an actual person (1.7 m). Now divide the size of the figurine by the size of a real person:

12 cm ÷ 170 cm = 0.07

Multiply this value by all the other objects in your nativity scene. For example, take a door that is 2 m high in real life:

200 cm x 0.07 = 14 cm

To save you the trouble of making these calculations, you can either use online tables or use graph paper to size your nativity scene. To do so, draw a vertical line (x-axis) and a horizontal line (y-axis) on graph paper that meet at the 0.00 point. The x-axis is the measurement in real life, the standard metre. It is drawn in the scale 1:10. The y-axis is the nativity scene. The scale here is 1:1. Now, find the size of 170 cm (average size) on the x-axis and move 12 cm (Joseph’s size) upward along the y-axis. Mark the spot with a dot and connect it to the zero point. This creates a guideline from which you can determine the proportions of the objects in your nativity scene based on your 12 cm tall figurines.

The stable should be at least twice as long as Joseph is high. The room height is usually calculated using a factor of 1.5. Which means that if Joseph is 12 cm tall, the room height is 18 cm.

Creating your plan

The first step in creating a DIY nativity scene is to make a plan. Take a sheet of drawing paper and sketch the ground plan or the arrangement of the building and other elements. Take all the proportions into account. The events of the holy night should be easily visible and not be disturbed by too many sideshows. Also make sure you have the right perspective to create a depth effect. All elements that are directed towards the background should be tapered: this applies to paths or streams, for example.

Of course, you can also use a ready-made plan for a nativity scenelike the one in our step-by-step guide.

Spot on: the right lighting for your own nativity scene

Think in advance about what you want to illuminate and how. The main focus is on the birth in the stable. The lights must not be visible later. You should also avoid casting shadows, as this impairs the depth effect. You can also set up small sources of fire, such as a campfire, a bread oven or, in the case of an orient-style nativity scene, torches, in secondary locations. However, they should not distract from the main scene.

Most DIY enthusiasts use regular E10- or E5.5-type light bulbs when building nativity scenes. However, small LEDs are also popular in the meantime. And the best part is that they are basically maintenance-free. You should be able to easily access all lights so you can change or replace them quickly if something breaks down. We recommend installing a small inspection door in the back wall of the nativity scene.

Trees & co.: pieces of nature

What would a DIY nativity scene be without trees, shrubs and grassy areas? You don’t have to spend a lot of money on arranging natural elements in your nativity scene. You can find many decorative materials in nature. Moss is a suitable stand-in for grass. Gnawed spruce cones make beautiful palm trunks. It is very easy to make bushes from pine boughs.

The intricate details: nativity scene accessories

Many small details are fun to rediscover later on. Tap into your creative side – the sky’s the limit! Here are a few suggestions:

• Tools and other instruments: saws, flails, axes, brooms, rakes
• Household items: wicker baskets, wooden crates, clay jugs, ladders, barrels, milk jugs
• Fences
• Sources of fire: campfires, torches, bread ovens
• Fountains and bridges
• Bird houses, rabbit hutches, chicken coops
• Carts and wheels
• Feeding troughs, wood piles, bundles of wood, bales of straw
• Animals: oxen, donkeys, horses, sheep, chickens, goats, camels, elephants, pigeons, ducks, geese, herding dogs, deer
• Extras: shepherds, the three wise men bearing their gifts, angel Gabriel, maids, children, peasants

Costs: Building your own nativity scene

You don’t have to spend a lot of money if you want to build your own nativity scene. Most of the materials are found in nature. Of course, you can also use items left over from other DIY projects. The costs range from €0 to €100, depending on the accessories you choose.

There are also kits made of various materials available for purchase. You can get simple models without decorative accessories for as little as €10; for more elaborate nativity scenes with roof shingles, panelling and lighting, you can pay €100 and more.

By the way, a homemade nativity scene also makes a great Christmas gift!

Christmas and the trend of upcycling

As already mentioned, you can search your hobby room for wood scraps or other materials that are suitable for building your own nativity scene – the ‘lived-in’ look is also in fashion when it comes to Christmas decorations! For example, see how you can make Christmas decorations from old pallets or an Advent calendar from old jars. A DIY wooden lid for an old biscuit tin can also be made from used materials.

Of course you can upcycle and recycle all year round: Check out our many more upcycling ideas for home and garden!