How To Build A French Creche

"My French traditional nativity display may have started with only a few santons, but over the years it has grown way beyond a single scene. It has become an entire village… one that is invading our family room. However, because this French creche holds special memories for us, we’re happy to share our space with this little piece of Provence. My beautiful, French mother-in-law passed this past Spring. The very first Santons de Provence I saw were in her home, arranged artistically in a charming miniature village built with stones and paper bag mountains. I fell in love with this tradition and began collecting my own figurines, a piece or two each year. I wrote an earlier post on how I display my Christmas creche, but my little village has undergone some major transformations this year. I’ve inherited pieces from Mamine’s creche, and now the population of my village has exploded. So come join me as I build my new Christmas creche!"

Primary TechniqueGeneral Crafts

Materials List

• Santons (figurines)
• rocks
• paper bags

Celebrate With More Christmas Craft Ideas

If you enjoyed building a French creche, here are three more Christmas crafts you might enjoy:

1. DIY Paper Bag Christmas Village: Take inspiration from the paper bag mountains in the French creche and create your own miniature Christmas village using paper bags. Cut and fold the bags to create different building shapes, then decorate them with markers, glitter, and other craft supplies. Add LED tea lights inside the buildings for a cozy glow.

2. Clay Nativity Scene Ornaments: Get creative with clay and create your own nativity scene ornaments. Use air-dry clay to mold the different figurines like Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Paint them with acrylic paints and add details like facial features and clothing using fine paint brushes. Once they dry, attach a small loop of thread to hang them on the Christmas tree.

3. Fabric Santons Advent Calendar: Incorporate the tradition of Santons into an advent calendar by creating fabric figurines to represent different characters. Sew small cloth bags to hold treats or messages for each day leading up to Christmas, then arrange the Santons around the calendar to create a festive display. This craft combines the charm of the French creche with the anticipation of the holiday season.