How To Make a Manger For Baby Jesus

Make your own manger for baby Jesus!

I like to have hands-on visuals for my class as much as possible. And, I try to make things as cheap as I can, but I want visuals that I can use over and over! ☺

If you look at the above photo, I found this Styrofoam cooler at Dollar tree, it is smaller than the standard size you usually see. It was basically what I was looking for without spending a lot or asking my husband to build one for me. They do make the color of paint that you see in the real one below, but you have to be careful what kind of paint you use on Styrofoam because certain paints will mess up the foam.

The above photo is a picture of a real manger! David Padfield has permitted me to use this photo. Please go to his website to see the manger and read a lot more information about mangers in Jesus' time. David Padfield explains how they were made and more. Here's the website.

My husband spray painted it for me. And you only have to paint the top 2 or 3 inches. The rest of the inside won't be seen. Once it was dry, I crumbled up newspaper to fill in the inside, leaving about 2 inches to add the raffia. I found the raffia skirts at Dollar tree and it only needed one skirt. I wrapped the string of the skirt into a circle and put it onside the manger, leaving the raffia hanging over the outside edges, then gathered them about in the middle (in sections) and laid it folded inside, but still hanging over the outside edges. It filled in the inside, but still looked real enough hanging on the outside. Here is the raffia skirt.

I also found the 'swaddling cloth' at Dollar Tree. It is a Microfiber cloth, pretty much the right size I needed. I have seen baby dolls at Dollar Tree, and I purchased the two baby boys for Solomon there, but this baby was in my grandkids toys... yes, I used their doll! But, she loved this whole setup and knew exactly that this is Jesus! You can see the swaddling cloth here.