How to Make a Eco-friendly Nativity Scene

Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus are a beautiful addition to any Christmas decor. You can make this nativity scene craft project entirely from recycled materials. It shows the baby Jesus, doted upon by his mother Mary and his father Joseph on the left. On the right, the three kings assemble to present their gifts to the Christ child. When finished, this nativity scene looks lovely resting over a fireplace or displayed in a window.

Things You'll Need

• Recycled construction paper
• Newspaper
• Wrapping paper
• Craft glue
• Paint brush
• Gold glitter
• Cereal box
• Ruler
• Graphite pencil
• Colored pencils
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Draw the shapes of the three kings on recycled construction paper, or print out the template shown here. Cut out the kings and set them aside.

2. Draw or print out the shapes of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. Cut them out and place them with the three kings. Use the remaining scraps of paper to draw and cut out hands for all of the figures except the Christ child.

3. Gather some old or recycled Christmas wrapping paper and lay it with the decorative side facing down. Turn your nativity cutouts upside down and place them over the wrapping paper. Trace around the figures to get the shape of clothing. Select relatively drab colors for Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Choose brighter colors such as red, gold, green and blue for the three kings.

4. Protect your workspace with some newspaper. Apply craft glue to the front of each figure with a paint brush. Then apply the first wrapping paper cut-out, which will represent the figure's robe. Cut out additional pieces to indicate any clothing that goes over the top of the robe. If the figure has sleeves that are plainly visible, cut these out separately and apply them last. Make sure they contrast against the color and texture of the basic robe.

5. Cut out a staff for Joseph from the brown inner paper or cardboard tube that came with the wrapping paper. If it is curved, roll it in the opposite direction to straighten it out. Then cut out a present for each king. Use the kings' heads to measure three paper crowns. Paint over the presents and the crowns with glue, then sprinkle gold glitter on them and shake off the excess into a paper plate. Glue the gifts and crowns onto the three kings.

6. Cut out a circle of paper to make Jesus' halo. Trace the periphery of the baby Jesus' head over the halo in pencil. Apply glue and glitter only to the paper outside of this line. Glue the halo in back of the baby's head. Also cut some brown paper pieces for the bottom of Jesus' cradle.

7. Take apart a large cereal box at the seam. Use a ruler to mark out lines of perspective in dark brown pencil for the ceiling, walls and floors of a simplified stable. Then draw large beams on all surfaces inside the stable. Draw planks in parallel lines on the ceiling. Draw lines on the walls, slowly and gradually changing the angle of the beams on the left and right. Shade around the beams in raw umber colored pencil. Then, color them in with burnt ochre.

8. Draw stones on the floor, incorporating lines of perspective into the design. Go over all the stones in yellow ochre pencil. Then shade around the dark lines with raw umber.

9. Apply glue to the backs of the nativity figures with a paint brush. Press them onto the stable scene and roll them onto the cardboard with a round pencil. Wipe away any excess glue with a clean rag.

Tips & Warnings

• Print out a nativity scene and use it as a guide for your project.

• Add any other items you like, such as pieces of recycled ribbon and broken garlands from previous celebrations.

• Use Prismacolor pencils to get the colors you'll need.

• Don't use glass ornaments on this project.

• This nativity craft project is harder than it looks. Plan to get started at least a month before Christmas.