Christmas Nativity

thingiverse

Finding a nativity scene design to print was a daunting task, but it paid off in the end with some out-of-the-box creativity. I was amazed at how few options were available and decided to take matters into my own hands by modeling the main scenery after a set my wife brought back from Israel 20 years ago. I love the non-traditional take on the Bethlehem scene, which adds a personal touch to this classic holiday display. The entire nativity scene can fit in the palm of your hand, but it scales up nicely if you want to print a larger version. The palm leaves are included in one large file with all 20 leaves in their respective sizes. If you only need one leaf, simply resize the original files from Curufin by 37% and you're good to go. To shape the palm leaves, I used a bowl of hot water and then glued them to the tree - starting with the largest leaves at the bottom, followed by the next size in the middle, and finishing with the four smallest leaves on top. The leaves fit together perfectly, so gluing isn't even necessary if you plan to store it properly. I have a nice little box that fits the entire nativity scene for storage after Christmas. Shaping the leaves is essential, as you can see from the before-and-after photos - the unshaped version looks a bit silly! I created multiple versions of this design for gifts and each tree turned out unique in its own way. If you have any suggestions or want to see changes made, just let me know!