DIY Nativity Set

Make a charming DIY nativity set for Christmas out of a few basic supplies.

I love creating holiday or Christmas DIY projects that are meaningful, meant to last, and have the potential to become heirlooms.

This one definitely checks all the boxes. I’ve never had a nativity set before, other than a small cardboard one that we’ve used for this advent calendar in past years.

Creating a DIY nativity set had occurred to me many times over the years, but I never quite got my head around how I wanted to make it.

Inspired by the dowels and finials used in this set, I discovered that wooden beads are a simple and easy way to create a DIY nativity.

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DIY Nativity Set Using Wooden Beads

I love that this DIY nativity set is somewhat minimal and modern, but with plenty of color and shape to make it a visual treat.

The variety of wood beads is so fun to work with!

As you’re creating shapes to represent the different characters of the nativity, play around with different stacks and combinations. You’ll be surprised what you can come up with.

More DIY Holiday Decor

If you love this idea and want more holiday or Christmas DIY projects to add meaning and joy to your season, here are a few of my favorites.

Advent Calendars. We have three different free downloads of our classic Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar – one for kids, one for teens, and one for adults.

Ornaments. This macrame tree ornament and the custom house ornament are two of my favorites, and very fun to make with friends.

Vintage Wreath. I love this wreath project so much, it hangs in our house every year. It’s incredibly charming.

Winter Checkers. My favorite holiday DIY that I’ve ever created. We play it every year, and it sits out as decor as well.

Supplies You’ll Need

Wood Beads. I used beads similar to these, these, and these. If you need more round pieces for the characters’ heads, this shop has so many different sizes.

Wood Putty. I had some spackle on hand and used that to avoid having to buy anything new. Wood putty would also work perfectly.

Sandpaper. I always keep some of these sandpaper blocks on hand for small projects. I like that they’re easy to hold.

Acrylic Paint. I like sticking with a limited color palette for this project. Choose a few paint colors that work well for mixing and matching. You’ll also need some paintbrushes.

Adhesive. For this project I used my tried and true E6000, but you could also use superglue or a glue gun.

How to Make a DIY Wooden Nativity Set

1. Select the beads that you’ll use to create each character in the nativity. In this nativity, you’ll see 10 characters: mother, father, child, shepherd, angel, three magi (wise men), and two animals.
2. If necessary, use putty to fill in any holes on the beads that will be exposed.
3. Once dry, sand down the putty and surrounding area to create a smooth surface.
4. Wipe all surfaces clean and paint the various pieces of your nativity. Consider various skin tones, along with a variety of colors that complement each other and are spread throughout the characters.
5. Once you have a base color on all pieces, add any additional layers of paint in fun patterns. I loved adding lots of pattern and details. Use masking tape to mask stripes or just paint freehand.
6. After all of your paint is dry, glue the pieces of your nativity together.

Ways to Customize Your Nativity

There are so many ways to make this project your own!

For starters, you can make as many or as few characters as you like. You could limit it just to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Or you could add multiple shepherds, angels, animals, and so on.

You could also play with scale, and make your characters simple using fewer beads, or much taller and stack more beads to create the shapes.

Finally, don’t be afraid to play with color! I used a limited color palette to mix and match colors. But you can put your own spin on this project.

Create a monochromatic look and do different shades of the same color, or really lean in and use every color of the rainbow. There’s no wrong way to do it.

I hope you have fun making this project! xoxo

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DIY Nativity Set

Yield: Nativity Set

Active Time: 3 hours

Additional Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 3 minutes

Difficulty: Intermediate

Estimated Cost: $40

Make a charming DIY nativity set for Christmas out of a few basic supplies.

Print

Materials

• Wood beads in various shapes and sizes
• Wood putty or spackle
• Acrylic paint
• Wood adhesive

Tools

• Sandpaper
• Paintbrushes

Instructions

1. Select the beads that you'll use to create each character in the nativity. In this nativity, you'll see 10 characters: mother, father, child, shepherd, angel, three magi (wise men), and two animals.
2. If necessary, use putty to fill in any holes on the beads that will be exposed.
3. Once dry, sand down the putty and surrounding area to create a smooth surface.
4. Wipe all surfaces clean and paint the various pieces of your nativity. Consider various skin tones, along with a variety of colors that complement each other and are spread throughout the characters.
5. Once you have a base color on all pieces, add any additional layers of paint in fun patterns. I loved adding lots of pattern and details.
6. After all of your paint is dry, glue the pieces of your nativity together.

Notes

Customize this DIY by making as many or as few characters as you like. You could limit it just to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Or you could add multiple shepherds, angels, animals, and so on.

You could also play with scale, and make your characters simple using fewer beads, or much taller and stack more beads to create the shapes.

Finally, don't be afraid to play with color! I used a limited color palette to mix and match colors. But you can put your own spin on this project.

Create a monochromatic look and do different shades of the same color, or really lean in and use every color of the rainbow. There's no wrong way to do it.