Things You'll Need
Hot glue gun
Hot glue sticks
Paper plate
Ruler
Heavy duty scissors
For many families, Christmas is a time to get together with loved ones, enjoy delicious food and exchange gifts. For Christian families, celebrating Christmas also means learning about the reason for the season--the birth of Jesus Christ. Make your own manger to include in a nativity scene or to turn into an ornament for your tree with Popsicle or craft sticks.
Step 1
Plug in the hot glue gun and set it on a paper plate to protect your work surface from dripping glue. Load a glue stick in the back of the hot glue gun and let the gun heat for approximately 5 minutes.
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Step 2
Take four craft sticks and make two Xs with the sticks. Two ends of the sticks of the X should be about 2 1/2 inches apart, the other ends should be about 3 1/2 inches apart. Use a dot of hot glue to hold the sticks together.
Step 3
Cut eight craft sticks carefully to 3 1/2 inches in length with heavy duty scissors. The ends of the sticks may go flying when they are cut.
Step 4
Lay two of the 3 1/2 inch-long craft sticks down on your work surface parallel to each other and 4 inches apart.
Step 5
Run a line of hot glue down the length of both 3 1/2 inch sticks, and then lay full length craft sticks perpendicularly on top of them side by side to create a wall of craft sticks that is 3 1/2 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches long. The full length craft sticks will hang over the shorter sticks at the ends.
Step 6
Hot glue two 3 1/2 inch craft sticks on top of the wall directly above the first two.
Step 7
Hot glue two full length craft sticks across both ends of the shorter sticks so you are building up the walls of the manger like you build a cabin with Lincoln Logs. Continue building the walls up this way until you have used all your 3 1/2 inch sticks.
Step 8
Turn the manger upside down and hot glue the ends of the crosses you made that are 3 1/2 inches apart to the long sides of the manger just inside the 3 1/2 inch sticks on the bottom of the manger to create the stand.
Step 9
Let the hot glue cool for a minute before flipping the manger back over and standing it up.