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Using Pallet Wood for an Outdoor Nativity Display

**Update!! Since this post was written, we moved the nativity to the front yard with a much nicer final display. You can see that here, along with the log fence we put up with it! 

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

This year for Christmas, we had to re-think where and how we would display the outdoor nativity.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

This is how we displayed the nativity at our last house, where we lived in the country and had a huge expansive yard. The logs we cut out of the woods from downed trees and I roughly painted ‘wood boards’ on 2 sheets of plywood. It was great for a large yard. But over the years the logs completely rotted out and the lag bolts that held the construction together had nothing left to hold on to. So that, combined with the new very tiny ‘in town’ yard we now have, at our new 100 year old house, the old wood nativity shed served one last purpose… my husband chopped it up after our last Christmas in the country and burned it in the outdoor wood furnace we had there.

Which bring us to present day…

in town with a small yard, compared to the acres of land we had in the country. Our new small yard also includes a public sidewalk that is merely a few feet from our front porch.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

However, the porch is quite generously sized.

So the logical spot for the nativity display is the porch, but with a few considerations. On the right of the porch is actually a carport, which means the porch has 2 paths we need to keep unobstructed, one from the front sidewalk going to the front door, and the other from the side of carport to the front door. And secondly, you can see that there are limestone walls surrounding the porch, so if we want the cars and pedestrians passing our house to see the creche, (which we do) then that means the display will need to be raised up.

OK, long story short… or maybe it is a short story I’ve made long… anyway, here’s what we did, and basically for no cost, (except for the a few hardware pieces, that we probably have, but one can search the junk drawers in the cold garage, barefoot, for so long before one justifies running to the hardware store is easier and faster than freezing one’s toes off and we’ll just save those pieces hidden in the junk drawer for the next project…ha!)

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

Our nativity resin figurines are at the most 3′ tall. I do love their detailed design and now that they are on the porch, protected from the elements a little better than out in the open yard like previous displays, I hope they last for many years to come.

I drew up some sketches, and after mulling it over with my husband, who agreed to harvest the pallet wood and build the display, we came up with a very simple design, that we can easily take apart and put up again next year, but also, it needed to compact for storing it over the summer. We no longer have the barn for storage, so size is a major concern.

I think our finished design has the suggestion of a nativity shed we associate with the Christmas creche, without the extravagance of having to construct an actual roof and sides for it.

To raise the pallet wood display up, we put stacks of landscape blocks, leftover from another project, under it for just the right height to clear the porch’s limestone walls. (Even though you can’t see the blocks from the street view, once you’re on the porch, you can, so I’m thinking about someway to easily and inexpensively cover the base… maybe velcro and dark fabric around the edge? not sure, I gotta think about it a bit more. Your suggestions are welcome!)

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

As my husband was harvesting the pallet wood, he found some wider boards from a shipping crate. Those wide boards worked great for the floor of the nativity. He held them together with pallet boards underneath running crosswise to them.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

For the back piece, he used pallet wood and a couple pieces of those wider boards from the crate. Then with simple right angle brackets connected the base to the back, adding an angled board to each side for stability.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

Then we wrapped Christmas lights around the top along with green burlap-y wrap stuff, (I found at Walmart in the halloween clearance bin) just to soften the lights a bit.

SimpleDecoratingTips.com DIY Pallet Wood Nativity

This is now the view from the sidewalk.

It’s still a bit of a work in progress, the string of Christmas lights on the top weren’t enough light at night, so we added the LED Bethlehem star hanging above it. And I’m still contemplating about the base covering along with a few other details.

But for now, it does spread the message of how Christmas to us, is all about celebrating that God loved us so much He sent His son as a small baby to this earth to be the one and only atonement for our sins.

Here are more Christmas decorating ideas:

Christmas Table Re-Do
Vintage WWII Christmas Ornaments
Vintage Christmas on Display
Vintage Christmas Tree Reflectors sdtips.com
vintage candolier diorama
Kitchen Cabinet Door Wreaths
DIY Barnwood Porch Banner SimpleDecoratingTips.com
Vintage Clock Diorama
Christmas Collection 2019
Rustic Creche
Christmas 2018 nativity with house
Unique Christmas Tree Stand
DIY Swags... sort of
Deer Themed Christmas Decorating Ideas
How to Create Let it Snow Artwork
Quick and Easy DIY Alpine Garland
DIY Christmas Stockings
Make your own Natural Potpourri (1)
DIY a vintage basket lid Felt Nativity
DIY Hanging Lanterns Greenery
DIY Winter Porch Arrangement
Deer Themed Winter Wonderland
DIY Antler Candleholders
Displaying an Outdoor Nativity
Rustic Deer Themed Christmas Tree
Christmas Nativity Collection
Deer Antlers for Christmas
Christmas diarama
Christmas chalkboard 2014
Yikes Where do you put all those bins full of decorations after Christmas
How to Make a Florist Bow for a Merry Christmas Welcome Wreath
Hanging Christmas Lanterns
using pallet wood for outdoor nativity
Step-by-Step to build this centerpiece
Christmas-Cones-for-Chairs
christmas felt applique pillows
DIY Guilded Twig Ornament Tree

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please feel free to follow and share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Bloglovin, YouTube and now Instagram!  I appreciate you reading along.

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Frame and Frills!
Frame and Frills is in Wisconsin. I stock amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies, re-done Furniture and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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