DIY Nativity Ornament

A Timeless DIY nativity ornament craft to make with the kids…

I’m like a child pretty much all year through, but ESPECIALLY around Christmas time.

This DIY nativity ornament is a riff on one that I actually made in Girl Scouts back in maybe 3rd or 4th grade.

It’s one that I still have and adore to this day, so I thought it would be a great one to re-create and make with my own kids. It’s very inexpensive to make, and one that hopefully, will stand the test of time in your own home.

Here’s the video tutorial for you! Check it out. Still need some clarification? No worries. The step-by-step instructions are below in the post.

Here’s what you’ll need to create this sweet DIY ornament…

1. Hot glue cinnamon sticks to form triangle manger.

Arrange three cinnamon sticks into a triangle, and hot glue at corners.

2. Add twine around corners of the manger. Glue in place.

The twine is optional. It simply adds some rustic “flair”…and who doesn’t love flair 😉

3. Cut out and attach felt star to the manger with hot glue.

I don’t know about you, but I find it very hard to cut out a star without a template…so I googled “nativity star” and printed one out and cut into a template to trace onto the felt.

The kids found this method a lot easier than freestyling it, too.

4. Make and attach angel to the manger.

Cut out some felt wings for your peanut angel, and a halo.

Hot glue the wings and halo in place, then hot glue the angel to the side of the cinnamon stick manger.

5. Make and attach bed for your nativity ornament.

It’s time to make a bed for baby Jesus with one section of an egg carton. Attach to the manger with hot glue.

I wrapped the egg carton in brown felt and secured the felt with hot glue.

We have guinea pigs at home, so I borrowed some of their hay to glue into the manger as well (certainly not required…although guinea pigs are super sweet pets, so this could be a good excuse?)

6. Make and attach Joseph and Mary.

Mary and Joseph are both made with a peanut, and some felt for their clothing.

I used brown felt for Joseph, and a baby blue for Mary, but anything goes. The felt is attached with hot glue, as are the googly eyes.

7. Make Baby Jesus and lay in the manger.

Use another peanut for Jesus. I attached googly eyes and made some “swaddling clothes” out of a blue felt, which was simply wrapped about the peanut and hot glued in place.

8. Attach Joseph, Mary and egg carton bed to the manger with hot glue.

If you want to also glue Jesus into the egg carton, you can.

The kids love to take peanut baby Jesus out and play with him though, so I don’t do that 🙂

9. Attach twine or fishing line for your nativity ornament tree hanger.

I simply made a loop with twine to act as a tree hanger. Easy breezy. Your DIY nativity ornament is done!

Pin this nativity ornament idea for later! And if you make one, leave a comment (or better yet, a photo) on the pin! That helps others know whether they want to try this project, too!

I hope you enjoy this DIY nativity ornament. And if you’re looking to make some more DIY Christmas ornaments this year, we’ve got a full 31 days of ideas for you!

Check out the bloggers who are joining in on this parade of DIY ornament ideas below!

Here are all 31 bloggers in order of their appearance:

Day 1 – The Silly Pearl :: 2 –Yesterday on Tuesday
3 – Cupcakes and Crinoline :: 4 – An Extraordinary Day
5 – Knick of Time :: 6 – Pet Scribbles :: 7 – Simply Kelly Designs
8 – Town and Country Living :: 9 – Petticoat JUNKtion
10 – The Everyday Home :: 11 – Up on Tippy Toes
12 – Remodelando la Casa :: 13 – DIY 180 :: Day 14 – 504 Main
15 – Sum of their Stories :: 16 – At Home with Jemma
17 – The Kim Six Fix :: 18 – Shabby Art Boutique
19 – Morena’s Corner :: 20 – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Day 21 – Our Southern Home :: 22 – Domestically Speaking
23 – The Crafting Nook :: 24 – Sweet Pea
25 – Dukes and Duchesses :: 26 – Heathered Nest
27 – Lovely Etc. 28 – Stone Gable Blog :: 29 – Mod Podge Rocks
30 – Running with a Glue Gun :: Day 31 – All Things Heart and Home