Jesus, Mary, Joseph and a dozen eggs.

Wanna make a nativity scene that your four year old can play with and you won't care if he breaks Joseph's head or rips the angel's wings or loses Baby Jesus?

I got just the thing. And you might have all the supplies, depending on if you're a crafty person and you eat a lot of eggs. Because you're gonna need lots of protein to get this craft done. Just kiddin'.


The Nativity. Beautiful. We made it in the span of an hour. Best thing? I don't care if it gets destroyed and my two little boys helped make it.

I used one section from the bottom of an egg carton for the body and hot glued a wooden bead for the head. Hot glue is my best friend, we've been together for a long time, she never fails me.



Then we got out scraps of fabric that one of my girlfriends begged me to throw away, but I knew I would need them for something.

Uh, hey Melanie Carter....look I'm using that little bag of fabric you told me to get rid of FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY! Nah-nah-nah to YOU and your throwing away perfectly useful bits of fabric!! And also, I messed up the whole bin of fabric that you organized for me. But, I lovingly thought of you the whole time I was dumping that fabric all over my living room floor and I miss you.



This is what inspired me to do the entire nativity. I teach first grade children's church once a month. We were telling the story of the angel Gabriel visiting Mary and I thought the kids would enjoy a craft. So, I looked around my house and found bits of trash and made an angel.

Wings made from a heart of paper. Sometimes I think I have a heart of paper.

Shepherd with a toothpick staff. Good for poking a sheep and picking hunks of meat from his teeth.....if he had teeth.....or a mouth.


Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Have you all read Angela's Ashes? Something about that book has stuck in my head for years and years. Every time I see the Nativity I want to blurt in a Irish accent Jeeezuz Murray and Joseph! But, I don't. At least not in public.

The manger needed some stabilizing. Har har, get it? Stabel-izing? Oh, you people! Remember when you thought I was funny? Anyway, I used this old dirty button to ensure Baby Jesus wouldn't roll out of his manger.

So, you wanna be a wise guy, huh? Did you know that the Wise Men brought the Christ child sparkly orbs? Yes, they did. Did you know the Wise Men had no eyes? No, they didn't. Did you know you could hide an egg under the Wise Men? Yes, you can.


Ta-dah! All done.

And now the crew is safely crammed in the stable.