How To Make A DIY Clay Nativity Advent Spiral

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Happy Advent! Growing up, I have always loved the season of advent and with Thanksgiving passing by, I am so excited for this next time of year. A time to wait in hopeful anticipation of our Savior born into the world on Christmas Day, advent can be marked and celebrated in many beautiful ways. From lighting an advent candle every December Sunday at church to reading devotionals to enjoying your own advent wreath at home, these little markers help to refocus our minds and hearts on the true meaning of the Christmas season. So, when I first came across the idea of an advent spiral, which acts as a blend between an advent wreath and an advent calendar as a candle is moved and lit each night towards the center, I was immediately intrigued. Inspired by this idea, I wanted to create a version for our home that would blend together the advent spiral as well as a nativity scene, which could grace our table for the years to come. Thus was born the idea of this DIY clay nativity advent spiral. While this project does take a few days to finish (mostly due to the drying time), as we are just entering December, I thought it could be a great time to dive into how to make a clay nativity advent spiral should you want to bring one into your home as well. With that in mind, here are all the things to know when creating your very own nativity advent spiral.

All About Advent Spirals

Typically constructed of wood, advent spirals (which also can be used for lent or other special seasons) feature curved sections with small holes drilled to accommodate taper candles, tea lights, small stone / marbles or other round objects. As most use candles, each night of advent, a tea light or taper candle is lit to mark a day closer to the 25th of December. While the name of an advent spiral comes from its spiral shape and advent calendar like design, the curved sections can be arranged in a variety of configurations including both a spiral and a trail / path of sorts. Additionally, figurines can be added to weave between the spiral towards the center or fit within the unfilled candle holes.

How To Make A DIY Clay Nativity Advent Spiral

While most advent spirals are made of wood and many of the other DIY options I came across featured salt dough, I opted to make mine out of air dry clay. Not only is air dry clay easy to work with, but it is frequently less messy and stronger than salt dough over time, allowing it to more easily hold together for years to come. Likewise, by creating the spiral in sections as opposed to one complete spiral, you can control the layout and design of the advent spiral therefore allowing you to place it on a dining table, coffee table, mantle or a variety of other surfaces, both wide or narrow, depending on the space you have. Finally, instead of creating figurines that could fit within the holes of the candles, I decided to make a series of flat figures that fit into little slits throughout the design so that they were placed between the candles. From here, you can decide how many figures you want to feature (I used 7, one per section) while making them more easily from less material.

Materials

3 to 4 – Blocks white air dry clay
Knife
Rolling pin
Clay tools, cuticle pusher or other sharp, curved objects on hand (gotta love repurposing!)
Parchment paper
Cardboard
Paper or cardstock
Pen
120 Grit sandpaper
Modge Podge or other sealant
Gold paint (I used THIS one, but Rub n Buff is very similar)
Paint brush
Candles

Steps

Advent Spiral

1 – To begin, start by laying out the parchment paper over your work surface and unwrapping your first block of white air dry clay.

2 – Cut the block in half horizontally, so that you have two long portions of clay. Slowly begin to bend each portion to give each piece a slight arch. Be careful with how much pressure you apply however to prevent drastically altering the shape of the clay log or to prevent each piece breaking apart.

3 – Continue cutting and shaping the remaining two blocks of clay lengthwise, until you reach six long sections of clay. Each section will hold 4 candles (for the first 24 days of December) while the 25th candle will have its own section.

4 – After you have created 6 sections that start to curve into a spiral, use your knife to cut the ends of each section into an angle, therefore allowing the pieces to fit together more smoothly.

5 – Once each piece is cut, roll together your remaining clay bits into a ball. Press the ball down slowly to create a disk shape before using your knife to cut out small wedges to form a star-like design.

Alternatively, you also could use a star cookie cutter to cut this final piece should you have one on hand. For either option, this final piece will act as the Christ candle base to be lit on Christmas Day.

6 – Next, use a damp paper towel to smooth out the clay of each portion before proceeding to adding the candle holes.

7 – After you have smoothed the clay (this helps reduce sanding time later on), you have two options:

The first option is to immediately add the candle holes while the clay is still malleable by pressing the base of a taper candle into each section 4 times. Simply press the candle base into the clay about half way, taking care to not place the holes too close to the sides (or to one another) or to press the candle all the way to the bottom. The sides of each spiral section will press out somewhat to accommodate the displaced clay. These indentations can be smoothed out with sanding after a while, however even with sanding, a more free form nature will remain giving a handcrafted feel. Now, let the clay air dry for a couple of hours before proceeding further.

If you would rather avoid the clay creating indentations along the sides and to make each portion more like the wood versions, the second option is to let the clay dry for a couple of hours after smoothing the surface but before adding the candle holes. Be careful not to let the clay dry too long before adding the holes however, so after 2 or 3 hours of dry time, come back to add the candle spots. To do this, instead of pressing the candle into the clay, use your clay tools (or knife, repurposed cuticle pusher or other sharp object you may have on hand) to cut out 4 holes from each spiral portion. Again, only cut the hole about half way through the clay, far enough in to hold the candle but not to the point of pushing through the bottom. You can use your candle base to act as a guide for how large to cut each hole.

How To make A DIY Clay Nativity Advent Spiral

8 – Once all of the holes are finished, use your knife to cut a figurine slit in each spiral portion. Like the candle holes, cut the figurine slit about half way through the block of clay and then place a piece of cardboard in the slit to ensure it dries open.

I opted to cut one slit per section between holes that had more space between them (enough to accommodate a slit without compromising the candle holes).

9 – After all the slits are finished, let your spiral portions fully dry. Since each spiral portion is so thick, this may take 2 or 3 days. Each day, flip the pieces over to allow each side to receive sufficient air.

Nativity Figurines

10 – While your advent spiral sections are drying, make your nativity figurines! I opted to make 2 wise men (initially I decided 3, but later changed to 2 to allow space for a shepherd), 1 shepherd, 1 angel, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus (for a total of 7 figures) however feel free to use 3 wise men, sheep with the shepherd, or any other assortment you might enjoy.

For each figure, simply draw their shape on a piece of paper or cardstock (I decided to create more sleek modern figures to prevent the spiral from becoming too busy) before cutting them out with your scissors to trace as templates on your clay.

To create figurines just like mine, simply fill out the form below to be sent your FREE nativity figurine templates. From here, you can simply print the sheet and cut out each figure as a template.

11 – Once your figure templates are drawn and cut out, roll out a piece of clay with your rolling pin. Roll until the thickness is about that of the cardboard that you used for the slits in your advent spiral. Don’t roll the clay too thin to ensure each piece keeps its integrity, however be sure to roll thin enough that the figures will fit within the slots.

12 – After the clay is rolled thinly, place your template figures on top and trace through the clay with your knife to cut out each piece. Likewise, feel free to add a “foot” to the manger to help make your piece more stable should you have your baby Jesus angled into the center instead of across a spiral section.

When your figures are completed, you also can cut a small flat strip, about ½ inch high and mold it into the shape of a ring, about the width of your taper candle. This piece will cover the base of the candle, adding a bit of stability as it moves along the spiral.

Lay each piece on a flat surface (not paper or parchment which may warp from the moisture of the clay) to dry overnight, turning over once to allow each side to dry thoroughly.

13 – When all of your figure pieces are dry, use the 120 grit sandpaper to smooth any rough edges or imperfections. You can see here between my two wise men the difference between the sanded figure (on the left) and the unsanded figure on the right above. This step does not change the structural integrity of each piece but does give a more polished appearance.

14 – Finally, after each piece is sanded, you can decide if you would like to paint each figure, adorn with gold or leave entirely plain and move on to sealing. I decided to paint the wings of the angel gold, as well as the crown of each wise man and baby Jesus. I used a gold paint similar to Rub & Buff, however you could choose a gold acrylic paint or another color as well. Just apply a thin layer to both sides with a paint brush and use tape or a straight edge of paper / cardstock to ensure your edges remain straight and even. Let the paint dry fully.

15 – When the paint is fully dried (or if you opted to leave them all bare), simply apply Modge Podge or other sealer in a thin layer to the front of each figure to seal the clay. This step is not necessarily needed, however especially if you have painted the pieces, it will help to add durability to the figures over time. Let the front side dry before flipping to repeat the sealer on the back.

16 – Congratulations! Your nativity figures are complete!

Advent Spiral Continued

17 – After your advent spiral sections are fully dry (this took 2 to 4 days for my pieces), sand each piece to remove any imperfections, lumps, bumps or cuts in the clay. This can be a great step to do outside or with your vacuum handy as your workspace will get dusty. Wiping down with a damp paper towel every now and again also helps reduce the dust.

18 – Using your clay tools and sandpaper, shave, scrape and sand any extra bits away to reshape or enlarge each candle hole and figure slit as needed should they have shrunk at all during the drying process. Test the candle in each hole and test each figurine in each slit to ensure that all pieces fit easily.

19 – Give each piece of the advent spiral a final sand before wiping down with a damp paper towel and stepping back to admire your work! I like the matte vs semi gloss texture contrast with the nativity pieces, so I kept mine plain, however feel free to seal each section with Modge Podge.

20 – Add the nativity figures into the spiral and set up in your desired location with your candle of choice. If the candle base of future taper candles is slightly larger than that of your template candle (as taper candle bases range in size), feel free to cut down or slightly shave the base of your new taper candle to fit within the hole and set aside the extra support ring (if your new candle is too wide).

Your DIY clay nativity advent spiral is now finished and ready to be used!

Final Thoughts

While this project is a bit more involved to create due to the drying time, once completed it adds such a special element to enjoy each night through December! I have loved how ours turned out and look forward to using it for many future Christmas seasons. Setting aside just a moment to move the candle and light it at dinner with a table full of those I love helps to re-center my heart and mind on what the advent season is all about and I hope will do the same for you! And if you love the idea but aren’t sure you have the capacity to take on the DIY version this year, that is totally understandable…sometimes we have to know our limits, especially during the holidays! I have included a roundup of other beautiful premade options below as well so feel free to check those out. Either way, I hope this DIY begins a sweet new tradition in your house to enjoy for years to come.

Happy Advent!