How to Build a Christmas Nativity Scene Shed

A simple shed construction enhances focus on the nativity.

Build a shed to house your Christmas nativity scene and celebrate the birth of Christ. Use bales of straw as your primary building material to add a realistic touch that evokes the feeling of a stable. Straw is commonly used in stables as bedding for livestock and so it's a fitting material to for the walls of the shed. Covering the roof with plywood keeps snow and ice off the nativity scene fixtures, while making the shed look complete. Straw bales can be found at most local ranch and feed stores. The materials used to build the shed quickly disassemble when the Christmas season is over.

Things You'll Need

• Three-string straw bales, 30
• 20-foot lodgepoles, 2
• 4-foot-by-8-foot-by-5/8-inch plywood
• 2-inch fencing nails
• Hammer
• Lifting assistant

Instructions

1. Lay four straw bales in a row, parallel to the sidewalk or road from which passersby will be viewing the nativity scene. Lay the bales so that the sides with strings are on the ground.

2. Stack four more rows of four bales on top of the first row. The height will be a little over 6 feet when complete. The wall will be five bales high.

3. Lay one bale of straw at each end of the previously laid rows so that they are perpendicular to the sidewalk or road from which passersby will be viewing the nativity scene. Lay the bales string-side down and butt them up against the back-wall end bales. Space these side-wall bales 12 feet apart.

4. Stack four more bales on top of the side wall bales. The height will be a little over 6 feet when complete. The walls are finished at this point.

5. Lay a 20-foot lodgepole over the span from sidewall to sidewall. Ensure the ends of the pole hang over each sidewall by 2 feet. Set the pole 18 inches back from the front of the side walls. Lay a second lodge-pole along the top of the back wall so that it overhangs each end of the wall by 2 feet. Set the pole 18 inches in from the back of the back wall. The two poles should be 3 feet apart.

6. Lay two sheets of plywood over the lodge poles, lengthwise and then nail the plywood to the lodge poles every 12 inches with a hammer.

7. Set a bale of straw on each of the four corners of the roof to weight it down.

Tips & Warnings

• The inner dimensions of this shed are 12 feet long and 4 wide.

• The outer dimensions of this shed, excluding the roof, are 16 feet long and 6 feet wide.

• The dimensions of the roof, excluding the 2 feet of pole overhang at each end, are 16 feet long and 4 feet wide.

• Break open a few bales of straw and cover the roof and the floor with a few inches of straw for added effect.

• Three-string straw bales are heavy and so two people are needed for the the construction of this shed.

References

• Organic Forms Design: Approximate Dimensions of Two and Three Foot Straw Bales