Asleep on the hay.

Here is something that we are doing during the month of December. My family did this while I was growing up, and a couple of years ago I decided I wanted my kids to do it too, so I used some fabric scraps and craft sticks that I had on hand and made one for us. The idea is to make sure that there is enough hay in the manger to make a soft bed for baby Jesus before Christmas Eve. It's so easy to make. Here is how:

Supplies

Mini crafts sticks (or you can make a bigger one with regular sized popsicle sticks)

Glue gun or wood glue and fabric glue

Two small pieces of fabric

Some kind of stuffing (cotton balls are great)

Hay (or yarn, garden twine, etc.)

Make the manger by gluing three sticks together for each side. Once they are dry, glue them together on one edge. Then use four craft sticks (two glued to each side) to make the legs. For the baby Jesus, wrap one of the fabric pieces around the stuffing, making an oval shape, and glue it closed. Wrap the other piece of fabric around the first, like a baby blanket, and glue it closed.

During the month of December, set the manger up somewhere and put the hay close to it. Every time someone in the family does something good for others without being asked, that person can put one piece of hay in the manger. Baby Jesus will need a soft bed on Christmas Eve, so hopefully, everyone in the family will do lots of nice things. For me, this is a lot of fun and a great way to help our little ones feel and understand the true Christmas spirit.