My Nativity Puppets

I've been wanting to start some family traditions , especially with Atalia getting older. On Christmas Eve, I want to read the nativity story from the Bible and act it out with puppets. So, I had to get started on making these puppets. I'm hoping these puppets will last years and years down the road and will bring a lot of happy memories to my family!

I started off looking at a bunch of pictures and puppets online and came up with what I wanted mine to look like. I drew a rough copy of each puppet (please don't judge my pictures!).

(my standard template for each puppet)

I cut out a a basic body template to use for each puppet and then got to work on cutting out pieces to make each puppet's clothes and hair. I would place the cut-outs out where I planned on glueing them (I used felt glue) to help me visualize what it was going to look like. Then I sewed the puppet together, glued on the pieces, and drew the face on with a felt tipped pen. It took me about two weeks to finish and there are definitely things I would change if I were to go back, but over all, I am excited about them.

I was scared to make some of the animals and baby Jesus, thinking they were going to be the hardest ones to make, but they ended up being my favorites. I also really like the wise men as well. I plan on putting a little bit of velcro on the wise men's hands and a little bit on the back of their gifts to baby Jesus, so that they can be a fun prop when we are acting out the story. I'm also planning on making a pouch/pocket/bag-thingy that buttons closed to keep them all safe until they are ready to be used.