How to make figurines for den patterns. Do-it-yourself Christmas nativity scene: a master class. How to play nativity play at home

nativity scene- this is an image of the scene of the Nativity of Christ through the use of volumetric figures of church characters, various decorations that allow us to convey the atmosphere of the birth of Christ, which we know from the Bible. Nativity scenes adorn shop counters, clearings in front of houses and central squares in almost all Catholic countries in Europe and America, but in Russia such thematic compositions have become common in recent years.

Nativity scene compositions can also be mechanized, in which case some figures move thanks to a hidden mechanism. And for many centuries, in some regions of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, the crib theater was popular: wandering artists in the central squares set up a special box in which they showed a thematic puppet show. During the Christmas holidays, amateur theaters and creative circles also stage Christmas scenes, where the main characters are played by actors.

nativity scene

Religion is a complex and sensitive issue for every person, and even more so for a child, which is why psychologists and teachers advise parents to tell little children about faith, about God in a playful way. When your whole family gathers together at the festive table on the evening of January 6, the child, of course, will have a question - where did such a holiday come from. Mommy, while doing it, can tell the child that in many countries on the eve of Christmas, houses are decorated with bright toys, decorative boots and candles.

Craft Christmas nativity scene will help parents tell their child about the miracle of the Epiphany, the birth of Christ, Christian traditions and the Bible in a playful way. Firstly, it will be easier for the child to perceive information related to biblical motives if all this takes place in the form of a game, he will not have to imagine what the baby Jesus was like and who surrounded him when he was lying in the cradle. Secondly, together with your child, you can play scenes from the children's Bible using the created figures and scenery of the composition.

If you want to decorate the clearing in front of your house during the holidays Christmas nativity scene, buy figurines are available in some online stores, they also offer crib compositions of small size, where the figurines are made of plastic or ceramics. But it’s better to make such a composition with your own hands for playing with a child and decorating a house, because we already created it ourselves.

When will you do DIY Christmas nativity scene, of course, you need to know which characters should be present in the composition, because this scene does not just record the birth of Jesus, but the totality of the events of these sacred days for every Christian. In particular, in the biblical scene they depict the adoration of shepherds and magi to the cradle of the infant Christ. The key persons of the nativity scene will be the Virgin Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in his cradle. If there are wise men in the plot, then the baby is depicted in the arms of the mother, as on an icon.

Very often in the plot there are animals, for example, a donkey and an ox, which, according to legend, warmed the baby in the manger with their breath. There are also shepherds with a flock of sheep, wise men. Angels are also an integral part of the scene. Of course, the number of characters depends on the scale of your craft. If you want to introduce a child to Christian traditions for the first time, then you should limit yourself to 3-4 characters, and over time you can supplement the composition with new hand-made figures.

How to make a Christmas crib

Looking at various options, how to make a christmas crib, you should separate the two stages of doing the craft: you have to make figurines of biblical characters and animals and separately create an interior for your composition. It is desirable that natural materials be present in the interior - hay, straw, wood, moss and stones, even spruce branches.

Back in the 18th century, figurines were made from a wire frame lined with fabric, the head was made of terracotta, the handles were wooden, and the eyes were glass. A modern needlewoman has many different materials at her disposal. In the simplest version for children's education, figures can be cut out of thick cardboard. Using felt, you can sew the characters of biblical scenes, fix them on small skewers and use them for educational activities. Experienced craftswomen can do modeling: beautiful and neat figures can be made from plastic or plasticine. With the help of such figurines, you can arrange a crib theater at home.

Immediately attracts the attention of young viewers Christmas nativity scene, master class quite complex, so you can invite children to design the finished composition. The children will be able to arrange a nursery made of straw, put them in the center of the box. Decorations can also be printed on a printer, and supplemented with volumetric elements. Be sure to decorate the scene with lights and garlands - when you light the lights, all the figures will come to life, and the Christmas story will begin.

On the seventh of January we will celebrate the Nativity of Christ. How toto touch the miracle of Christmas? On the eve of this holiday at the family table, tell the child the legend of the birth of Christ, and then offer to make a nativity scene with your own hands (from the Latin praesepe- "crèche", "cattle feeder").

There are no strictly established sizes of the nativity scene and the number of characters, but it must necessarily contain a manger where the newborn Jesus lies, the figures of Joseph and the Virgin Mary, bent over the manger, sheep, an ox and a donkey. These characters were not just figurines-dolls (they were not played with) - they were symbols of Christmas.

Traditionally, they were made three-dimensional, from wood, fabric, or flat from cardboard, in one or more levels. The figures could move, depicting thematic scenes.

We will need a medium-sized box that can be pasted over with colored paper, and preferably with a cloth. For the outside, choose dark blue, for the inside - red, for the floor - brown.

In the depths of the box we will place our heroes - a manger (a small box with dry grass or straw), on the right - Mary, on the left - Joseph, around the manger - animals, in the foreground - shepherds with staffs in their hands. We will place an angel next to or above under the roof. We blind the heroes from plasticine or salt dough.

The figurine of the Virgin Mary will be in red clothes, kneeling (smaller) - in a green veil. The figurines of Joseph and the shepherds will be larger, we will give the shepherds a staff (from a stick, a tube of suitable thickness), and roll a tourniquet over the head over the cover.

A manger can be made not only from a box, but also from plasticine, a recess in a manger - with a phalanx of a finger. The figures of the Three Kings should be in bright clothes, and the harnesses on their heads are also bright, made of plasticine balls and "sausages". Let's make a lighter angel out of paper.

The nativity scene can also be made from a cardboard rectangle, which is bent so that the bottom is larger than the top. Round the upper part, glue a cardboard sky strip to it with hot glue or adhesive tape. The firmament should be dark blue, we will glue yellow stars on it.

The basis for the figures of characters will be a paper cone with a cut off top. For the head we use large wooden beads, we will also cut out the hands from cardboard. For the cover you will need pieces of fabric, for animals - sticks, threads, beads.

We will make a nativity scene from cardboard according to a pattern-template. We will print the barn and heroes on a printer, stick it on thick paper and color it.

If you glue a rectangle to the base of each figure, they will be able to stand on their own.

If you find a color printer, the nativity scene will immediately turn out in color. It will only be necessary to cut out all the elements.

Another Christmas nativity scene can be made from felt, fleece, gingerbread, ready-made sets of figurines.

The "vytynanka" nativity scene will also be original - cut out of thick paper with a mock-up knife. Figures can also be embroidered and covered with a cardboard base or knitted using the amigurumi technique.

For lighting, we use a small light bulb or a Christmas tree garland, which we will turn on in the evenings.

It will be nice to get together by the light of the lights with the whole family together with the children and tell them about the Great Feast of Christmas!

Tatiana Turusova

MK « nativity scene»

On the eve of one of the greatest Christian holidays, there has always been a tradition to set nativity scene- scene playback Christmas. By using nativity scene you can acquaint children in kindergarten with the topic Christmas, the Bible and tell the story of the origin of the holiday. Therefore, on the eve of the holiday, it is the plot that is relevant christmas composition made by hand from cardboard or thick paper.

Necessary materials:

medium sized box

cardboard (you can cover from children's albums);

patches of fabric;

balls of white thread;

openwork braid;

Double-sided tape;

wire;

safety pins.

For creating crib the main compositions are the figures of the main characters. They can be made from any material. But since this is our first experience of creating Christmas compositions, then we took a simpler option - cardboard and fabric. Manufacturing dolls show an example making a magician.

First, we draw an even circle from cardboard (remember that its radius will determine the height of the cone).

We divide the circle into 4 parts with two perpendicular lines intersecting in the center of the figure. Then cut out one quarter, bring the adjacent areas together and glue them with an overlap or fasten them with a stapler. For the hands, draw a circle of smaller diameter and divide it in half. From the halves of the circle we make cones for the hands. The torso and arms of the sorcerer are obtained.


Now we drape the blanks with a cloth (preferably bright colors, velvet is better, fixing them with double-sided tape and a stapler.


We fix the hands on the body with the help of safety pins. (or double sided tape).

Then we proceed to head making. We take a white ball (you can take small balls or, if there are not enough threads, you can make a ball from a newspaper and wrap it with white threads) and fix a piece of bright fabric on it with an openwork braid and a safety pin.


The next step is attaching the head to the body. They took aluminum wire and fixed it in a ball.

Then we insert the head into the blank of the body and straighten and fix the wire inside the cone. The figure of the sorcerer is ready.

By the same principle we make the rest of the characters: Joseph, Mary, shepherds.


The manger was a simple box, which was pasted over with self-adhesive wood-like paper. Hay was placed inside the box, on which a baby figurine was placed.


IN nativity scene animal figurines can also be placed with shepherd figures. We made a sheep from a large plastic egg and cotton swabs.

The characters are ready, we take on making a nativity scene. To do this, they took a box of medium depth, which was draped with a cloth. Ready nativity scene decorated with an electric garland, instead of a candle, for security reasons. Here is our Christmas crib is ready!


Most of the Christmas traditions are strictly observed by other states, but we are just starting to revive what was lost many years ago. Nativity scene is one of the main Christmas traditions. The nativity scene is a symbol of the cave in which Joseph and Mary stopped for the night, where the baby of God appeared to the whole world.

The main symbol of the coming Christmas is placed in churches, squares, streets, and Orthodox houses. You can buy a nativity scene or make your own.

Traditionally, nativity scenes are installed in houses. This is a copy of the cave in which the Son of God was born. All of Europe has been establishing the main symbol of Christmas for centuries. In our country, such traditions were observed before the start of the revolution. After the revolutionary times, it was difficult, not only cribs were banned in Russia, all religion was also banned. The traditions of the Russian people were lost for many years.

The return of traditions came at the end of the 2000s. Thanks to this, we go to church today, set up a nativity scene for Christmas, sing carols, and receive gifts. There are many nativity scenes, they are made in different versions, you can find figurines made of wood, porcelain, clay, etc. Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, shepherds, animals must be present in the den.

The nativity scene was installed in the homeland of Jesus in Bethlehem, in the temple, which was erected in honor of His Nativity. The niche in which there was a manger with little Jesus was overlaid with marble slabs. But the nursery itself is in Rome.

Today, the nativity scene tells us the story of the birth of God's Son. The prototype of the nativity scene is made from different materials, they are large and small. In pre-revolutionary times, theatrical small performances of the birth of Jesus were shown in them. The Christmas performance was very fashionable, the theatrical performance was held for the common people, in the homes of rich people and clergy.


The history of the nativity scene was restored by a Russian director from the puppet theater. He studied the origin and traditions of Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian nativity scenes. Today we see the already restored text and the prepared version of the nativity scene and its plot.

Christmas nativity scene photo, with an explanation for children


The plot of the den tells about the life of little Jesus:



The Lord sent his Son to us so that we could become closer to God, come to him for repentance, with requests and prayers.

Figures for the Christmas nativity scene, ideas how to do it yourself

To perform such work, you need to print Christmas characters, carefully cut out, stick on thick paper or cardboard. After the glue dries, paint with paints.


You can print a black and white template, cut along the lines. Glue each figure individually onto a cardboard stand. Thanks to these stands, the figurines will be able to stand on their own. When the glue dries, paint them with gouache. These colors are more saturated, denser.


This nativity scene can be printed on A4 for a small copy. And you can slightly enlarge and print on A 3, for a larger format. Cut out the resulting figures, fold along the bend lines, glue together. After the glue dries, paint with gouache.



Nativity scene from dough, photo with explanation

Figures for the Nativity scene can be built with your own hands. The easiest and most affordable way to fashion them from salt dough.

  1. Form an oval for the body.
  2. Roll into a ball to form the head. Make eyes from beads, draw a mouth. Roll out the sheet to form a blanket.
  3. Cover your head with a veil, form light folds.


To complete the male figure, you need to make the oval for the body more authentic. The shape of the veil is made in the same technique as for Mary. For the figure of a shepherd, you need to roll up a thin sausage and place it on top of the bedspread.


For the baby figure, form an oval and a ball for the head. Blind a small oval ball for the nose, draw a mouth, insert beads for the eye. Roll out a thin bedspread, make dents in it with a simple pencil, paint it. Wrap the figurine in the coverlet.



Sheep figurines, you need to roll an elongated oval for the body and a small oval for the head. Make the eyes and nose with a toothpick. Use a fork to make side notches. Roll up a thin roller for the tail and ears, four balls for the legs.

The cradle is made from a larger piece of dough. Roll up a large oval, flatten one side, cut out the middle. From thin sausages, make two crosses and stick them to the cradle.


Figurines of the Magi are made according to the technology of sculpting Joseph and the shepherd.


After the dough has completely dried, paint them with bright colors. Prepare gifts, they are made in the form of a square, painted.



How to make figurines for a Christmas nativity scene from quail eggs

To make a Nativity scene from quail eggs, you need to prepare:



The testicles need to be painted, two in a light flesh color, one in white. You need to paint by planting an egg on a toothpick or stick, so the paint will lie evenly, dry without streaks. On thick paper, draw 15 cm squares, cut off circles, roll them up and glue them together. Cut off the top, the cut diameter should match the diameter of the egg. Glue it to the cut on the cone. Cut and glue the hands.


Draw eyes on the testicle. For the figurine of Mary, on a blue cone, glue a handkerchief to the testicle. Attach the belt along the waistline.

For Joseph, make hair and a beard from a brown thread. Attach a raincoat made of fabric, tie a belt.


The bottom of the manger is made from a rectangular piece of plasticine. Divide the toothpicks into two parts, insert them into the base. Cover the base with chopped white thread. Craft a newborn baby with cotton wool and fabric. Close the sides of the plasticine base with toothpicks.


Wind the white thread in the shape of an oval, attach the testicle to the coiled body. Glue legs from toothpicks, curls from threads, ears, draw eyes. You will get a sheep.


You can make a box from thick paper or from a finished box, glue it with colored paper. Glue curtain fabric, star.


Install the prepared figures, pour sawdust.



Nativity scene do-it-yourself master class

Nativity scene is an indispensable attribute of Christmas. It can be made from many materials. Plasticine may be suitable for a home nativity scene. It is very easy to use, does not require additional drying, painting.


The born Savior is molded from two parts. An oval for the body, which later needs to be swaddled with a beautiful scarf with lace. The head, it is performed more subtly, the correct oval is formed, the eyes are made of beads, the shape of the nose and lips is being worked out. Curls are made of plasticine cut in a stack. After connecting the torso and head, swaddling, tie a ribbon.


The cradle is prepared from plasticine, which is seated on a skewer broken four times. We attach the pillow and side parts to plasticine.


From the stacks we make a fence, which is attached to each other with the help of plasticine. We install a cradle with a baby, a fence on a stand from under the cake. Animals are performed in the same sequence as the baby figurine. First, an oval is molded for the body, the head. Place the connected parts on toothpicks, put on a stand.

If desired, you need to blind Joseph and Mary. The sequence of work is the same. The torso, head, headdress and a long coverlet cape are molded, beads are used for the eyes.

Nativity scene made of felt, ideas with photos

To perform this work, you need to prepare a pattern. On it, cut out figures and details for them from felt. They are assembled with a hand seam. Such figurines can be worn on fingers for presentation, or placed on stands.








Christmas nativity scene made of paper, step by step with a photo

Fold a sheet of cardboard A 4 in half, and one part should be slightly larger than the second. From the smaller part cut off a semicircle.


Cut a strip 3 cm wide. Glue to the cut semicircle. Fasten the lower part for greater stability. Paint the top dark blue, the bottom brown. If desired, this procedure can be performed with glued colored paper.


Cut out a lot of stars of different shapes, colors, diameters.


Glue the stars around the perimeter of the entire nativity scene. On the base you can put rain, snow from cotton wool, artificial flowers. Place the icon of the Mother of God in the center and arrange all the characters.



Street nativity scenes, photo





Nativity scene from paper templates

You can design a small nativity scene from paper. Figures of Christmas heroes cut out according to the pattern, glued to cardboard or crib. You can glue them on thick cardboard and install them as freestanding ones, having previously painted them.






Nativity scene craft for the Christmas nativity scene competition, step by step with a photo

You can make a very beautiful and fabulous nativity scene with your own hands. To do this, you need to find on sale a straight glass jar with a removable glass lid. Pour small white shiny beads at the bottom. Prepare linen rope, twigs, cones, thick double-sided paper, shiny paper or foil, straw, linen pieces, artificial brown moss.


  1. Coat the conical shape with PVA glue, wrap it tightly with a rope.
  2. Glue smooth balls on top of the cone to complete the look.
  3. For a female figurine, cut off a piece of dense bodily tissue and glue it to the head.
  4. Form a cradle from artificial moss, soak it with glue. She has to keep her shape. Let it dry.
  5. Divide the straw into pieces and place it in the cradle.
  6. Perform the baby figurine using the same technique as the large ones. Swaddle it in a piece of cloth, or just wrap it, after lubricating the figure with glue.
  7. Put the baby in the cradle.
  8. Tie three branches together with a rope, glue the ends.
  9. Cut out stars from construction paper. Glue foil to them, attach to the thread. When dry, tie to twigs.
  10. Install the finished design, figurines, a cradle with a baby on the base in a jar.
  11. Close the lid tightly. The nativity scene is ready. Inside you can put a couple of small luminous balls.

Nativity scene drawing, step by step

We draw with inconspicuous strokes a baby, a cradle, a donkey.


We draw the contours of bunnies and sheep. In the background is the outline of a barn.


We draw outlines of a blanket in a cradle. We draw a donkey, the outlines of a blanket.


We draw clear outlines of animals.


We finish drawing animals, a blanket for a donkey, a baby.

Nativity scene - a reproduction of the scene of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, on the eve of the holiday, the topical Christmas composition, made with your own hands from cardboard or thick paper, will be an actual craft.

The templates available in the master class will help you make a nativity scene, which you can later decorate your home interior with. A nativity scene can be made for a kindergarten or school, because with it you can acquaint children with the theme of the Nativity of Christ, the Bible and tell the story of the holiday.

How to make a Christmas nativity scene with your own hands

Making a Christmas composition is very easy, as templates make it easy. It is enough to download, print, cut paper templates from paper and transfer them to cardboard. Then it's a matter of technology ... But since we present the work in the form of an MK, let's still deal with the manufacture of crafts in stages, with a description and a photo.

Necessary materials:

  • cardboard - soft and dense;
  • paper - 3 sheets A4;
  • openwork braid - 1 meter;
  • universal glue or glue gun;
  • twine or thread for knitting - 6 cm;
  • transparent plastic, which is used for the face of packaging of children's toys or souvenirs in boxes.
  • scissors (wallpaper knife);
  • sample: , .

We print templates from paper, transfer them by outlining on cardboard, and cut out the necessary elements.

Moreover, all the elements must be made of thick cardboard, which does not bend and holds its shape well, but the roof must be flexible, so thin and flexible cardboard is needed to make this part of the craft. In this MK, colored cardboard of golden color with a hardness of 180 units was used.

These are the cardboard blanks you should get.

We begin assembling the basis of the crib composition.

We take a blank for the bottom of the future den, apply it across the width to a piece of transparent plastic packaging and make plastic folds along it. This will be the back wall of our den. Its width should be equal to the width of the base, that is, 15 cm.

Now you need to take the "walls" and glue them to the bottom, as shown in the photo.

We glue the back wall of transparent plastic.

Front view.

And attach the roof.

The base is almost ready. It remains to make a beautiful and discreet decor, for which you will need nothing more than openwork linen or braid.

Using a glue gun, attach it around the perimeter of the front of the nativity scene. You can also paste over the top of the back wall in front and the perimeter of the back of the craft (but this is optional).

It remains to glue the faces of the saints and the symbol of Christmas - the star of David.

Pre-cut cardboard blanks need to be slightly modified, namely, to make them stable. To do this, take pieces of cardboard and fix them on all three figures as shown in the photo.

The cradle of Jesus is ready, now the rest of the figures are in line.

Glue them to the crib.

We cut out a star from cardboard, on top of which we decided to stick a paper one, glue a thread and a square of cardboard to the star, which will help to better attach the craft to the ceiling.

And now the most interesting thing is experimenting with candles.

In the first photo, we put a candle in front of the nativity scene and got the following effect.

Now we put it inside the product. So it's better. This option is, in principle, optimal, since customs involve wearing a nativity scene along the street during Christmas carols. With proper handling, the candle will not go out ...

If the Christmas composition will be in one place in the room, then the option with a candle behind it is the most optimal.

IMPORTANT! Open flames are always unsafe, especially when located near flammable materials. Just from which our craft is made. Therefore, you should not leave crafts with a burning candle unattended in order to avoid disastrous consequences.

But in general, enjoy the holiday and crafts. After all, the evening is about to come when Jesus Christ was born long ago!