Step by Step Christmas Manger Instructions
To help our family bring more emphasis on Jesus at Christmas time I built a manger. We brought several new traditions into our home with this manger.
The first was, we put our present under the manger. We still used a tree, but it was a small 2 foot tree next to the manger. This was better in our minds than a small manger ornament hanging in our tree
The second was that every time some one did something kind in our home they got to place hay in the manger. This was a great incentive for our kids.
The third was a search throughout the house for “the baby”. We left the manger empty in anticipation of the baby who was about to arrive. We used a small baby doll (the most Middle Eastern looking baby we could find; please don’t use a white baby) and hid it somewhere in the house on Christmas Eve. The kids were then set loose to find the baby Jesus. Whoever found the baby got to place him in the manger. The best part about this was hearing our kids scream “We found Jesus! We found Jesus!”
I looked on the web for instructions on building a manger, but couldn’t find any. I decided to build one and take pictures along the way just because I figured other people would be looking for the same information.
Step 1
Here is everything I used. A hammer, nails, an electric saw, one 1″x6″x48″ piece of wood and four 1″x2″x96″ pieces of wood. The 1″x6″x48″ piece cost me $2.32. The other pieces were $0.97 each. Pretty cheap right.
Step 2
I cut the 4 foot piece in half. That’s two 2 foot pieces for those who are bad at math. I then cut four 2 foot pieces of the 1″x2″ wood. I nailed two legs into each side as shown above.
Step 3
Here is a detail of how I nailed the legs into the side. Notice that I nailed the side into the 1 inch side of the leg.
Step 4
I cut four more 1″x2″x24″ pieces. I then nailed them into slats underneath the 6″ side. Make sure they are evenly spaced. About 2 inches apart should be about right. At this point in the project I reflected on Jesus being a carpenter. . . .
Okay, cheesy religiously reflective moment over. Let’s move on.
Step 5
This is the part you didn’t think of on your own. I cut two small 1″x2″x3″ pieces and nailed them to the left side of each half of the manger. You’ll need these when we combine the two pieces. Make sure you put them on the same side of each half of the manger.
Step 6
Here’s a close up of how I nailed that small piece on.
Step 7
Cross the two halves together into and “X” shape. The bottom slat on each will help you find the middle. Put a nail right between the middle of the “X”. The manger will fold up and down at this point.
Step 8
I cut two 16″ crossbars and nailed them to the top of each half of the manger. Do you see my little 3″ piece there on the right. You need that to make the cross bar even.
Step 9
Hey look, it works. It’s actually standing. I cut a bunch of little pieces and placed them at the bottom of the trough. You may or may not need these. You’ll also probably have some extra wood left over. At less than $1 a piece I bought an extra 8 foot piece just in case I made a mistake.
Step 10
We put a blanket on the bottom to help catch the hay. You can use whatever you want for the hay. We bought a packet of rafia from a craft store for $4. It was more than enough.
Step 11
Here’s the baby being placed on Christmas Eve. You can see how much hay was placed in the manger over the advent weeks.
I hope this was helpful. Good luck.
melanie
I love the way this turned out! Luke loves woodworking, so this will have to be one of our new Christmas traditions in the near future…
=), mel
February 18th, 2009 at 6:40 pmHelen
Well…..you saved me. I have been looking for ages on the internet for instruction on how to build this. I have to admit that I am not going o use this as you have. To be honest I am going to make it bigger, out of pressure treated wood, line it and grow my veg in it next year.
Thanks again
Helen Nicholson-Herpe
August 20th, 2009 at 10:25 amxx
traci
Tim…Love everything about this!!! What a great idea and I love the sm. tree next to it..lol
November 15th, 2009 at 1:07 pmPhil Eager
Thanks for this Tim. My son and I will be buying the wood today (hopefully can get all I need here in Mexico
) and we will begin building it soon. Thanks for the creativity and putting up all the pics and ideas. Love your blog,
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 pmPhil
Nic
This is great. We need this for our christmas cantata that’s why I’m looking for an idea for me to build. Thanks and God bless.
November 25th, 2010 at 11:45 pmNic
Nate
Thanks this is a very clear set of instructions. Even I can do this! Have a great holiday season!
November 27th, 2010 at 12:47 amNate
By the way thanks!
November 27th, 2010 at 12:48 ampeggy
thanks i loved the story i think i will have my nephews build it for their grandma god bless you
November 28th, 2010 at 5:53 amMarlene
Wonderful! I have been looking everywhere for instructions with photos. I’m planning on doing a photo shoot of my new grandson, 3 weeks old, in this manger. Thanks so much, God Bless You!
December 28th, 2010 at 2:42 pmTim
Your grandson is Jesus?!?
Glad I could help.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:49 pmsusannah
saw this on wendy’s fb. this is so rad. stealing.
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:01 amDavid
Great !
I have just finished mine. Turned out fine !
Just a small comment on step 7. When crossing the two halves, make sure that the sides with the small 3inch pieces are on the side further in. Otherwise the crossbars on Step 8 will not be level.
Happy Christmas to all !
December 15th, 2011 at 11:52 amHeidi
Thank you so much! My 9-year-old daughter Erin wanted to give her little sister Annika a manger for Christmas. Your simple instructions and PHOTOS (they were key!) enabled my husband to easily build it!
Erin even thought to wrap Annika’s baby doll with the manger to serve as Jesus. Annika was thrilled when she opened it on Christmas Eve. And now we’ll be able to put it next to our Christmas tree each year to remind us of the best Christmas gift ever given–Jesus!!
January 10th, 2012 at 12:29 pmveronica
Thank you for sharing, and giving such great step-by-step pictures. Plus great ideas for new holiday traditions. My baby Jesus figure came from Assisi and I can now display him this Christmas, thanks to the manager I am going to create in time for the Season! God bless you!
September 11th, 2012 at 6:49 pmMary Ann Hall
Thanks so much. We are in charge of the ward Christmas party and your instructions have saved us hours of work.
November 30th, 2012 at 5:47 pmToni
Thank you for taking the time to record your construction with supplies and step-by-step progress! I had been looking for directions for the manger needed to fit into our limited space in the chancel area for the nativity pageant. I merely cut a few inches off here and there and voila! It works. Thanks for a special Christmas present. Much better than a modified cardboard box!!!
December 8th, 2012 at 7:40 pmMark
These plans TOTALLY ROCK! In less than an hour, and for less than ten bucks, I was able to construct a super nice manger. The only modification I made to these plans was to take the leftover 1″x6″ board I had and cut it down to make the bottom of the trough. It worked and fit perfectly! Thanks for such a detailed description of the process, and Merry Christmas!
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