Something often associated with the Christmas
season is the beautiful crèches that many churches
use to decorate their sanctuary. Why not make one of your
own this year? Use puppets, spools of thread, marionettes,
and shadow puppets.
Option 1:
You will need five foam coffee cups, cutting in half one for
the manger. The others will represent Joseph, Mary, a shepherd,
and an angel. Roll pieces of fiberfill batting into balls
for their heads, then glue on a small strip of crepe paper
or construction paper to be a covering over the peopleâs
heads. Glue it to the sides. Glue a craft stick to the side
of Joseph to create a walking stick and a pipe cleaner bent
into a staff stuck to the side of the shepherd. Have a different
colored piece of yarn tied around them for belts. Glue a basket-style
coffee filter cut in half to the back of one cup for angels'
wings.
Use some shredded paper to fill the manger.
Find a rock and wrap it with a strip of cloth. Explain to
your children that Jesus is the Rock of our Salvation and
that He was born to be our Savior.
For a barn cut approximately 6 inches off
the top of a large brown paper grocery bag, and then cut a
slit in the front side and fold back for doors. Place it so
the open side is on the table and the bottom of the bag becomes
the roof (on which the angel sits).
Option 2:
You will need: 3 mini clay pots (or more if you would like
to make more characters), 3 large wooden beads, straw or moss,
a gold ring of ribbon, strips of fabric, and tacky glue.
Turn two pots upside down and glue a
bead on top of each one, (representing Mary and Joseph). Place
one of the fabric strips over Mary's head, the other around
Joseph's shoulders. Place straw into the third pot which represents
the manger. Place the third bead (represents Jesus' head)
into the straw, then place the gold ribbon around the head
of Jesus like a crown.
