How to Make Costumes for a Nativity Scene

Mary

1. Create a tunic in maybe blue or purple, and secure with a rope belt.

2. Make a cloak. For a cloak, find a white cloth of some sort and cut one of the corners into a curve. Drape that corner onto the head and fasten it with an elastic headband. Let the rest flow onto their shoulders/back.

Joseph

1. Start with a tunic, and secure with a rope belt.

2. For his headpiece, take a smaller square piece of cloth and put the middle of an edge on the head, and attach with an elastic headband. Let it drape down their neck.

Stars

If you are having someone dress as a star, there are so many different directions one could go.

1. Take a black outfit and hot-glue gold stars on them, or one big star.

2. For a headpiece, make a halo attached to a hard headband, or a gold ribbon tied around their forehead like an '80s sweatband, or a hard headband with two pipe cleaners with little stars on the end.

Wise men

This is a fun part with more exotic bits.

1. Try making a tunic using a rich color, like a bright purple or red or blue. Attach rhinestones to the neckline, sleeve edges, and shoulders, either in the same color, or mixed.

2. Use cardboard, string, and spray-paint to create crowns, pendants, or anything else.

3. For a cloak, take a gold or silver cloth and cut it into a V with the tip cut off. At the short end, attach a string using hot-glue or sewing. Tie it around their necks for a cape.

Angels

1. Design a boy angel. Many boys would not be super excited to be an angel, so do not make it as sparkly as you would a girl's.

   1. Take a large white tee shirt (that goes to their knees) and sew a bit of silver tinsel around the neck and bottom.
   2. Add a simple halo, made with pipe cleaners and covered in tinsel.

2. Design girl angels. On the other hand, many girls may want to put on a sparkly costume and have more fun with it.

   1. For a more traditional angel, take a white robe/tunic and attach some silver or gold rhinestones or glitter-glue. Make a halo the same way as above.
   2. For a more fun outfit, try making a white tutu. For a no-sew tutu, take a ribbon and make it big enough that you can tie it in a bow around the waist. Cut strips of white tulle and tie them in a knot at the end around the tutu. Bunch them together, and you have a tutu!

Animals

1. Make animal costumes. The following things can be made for either a donkey or a sheep:

   1. For either a donkey or a sheep, you may need a headpiece. Get a hard headband, and some felt. Cut the felt (either white or brown) into a triangle and glue it onto the headband to make ears.
   2. For the donkey, you may also want to take brown yarn and glue it around the edges of the headband to create a mane. For the body, wear all brown if you are a donkey. For a donkey tail, tie together a bunch of brown yarn and attach it to a belt-loop or glue it to the outfit.
   3. If you are a sheep, take a black or white outfit and hot-glue cotton balls to it to create the fur. For a sheep, glue together a big clump of cotton balls and glue that onto the outfit.