Nativity Coloring Page
Drawn for Childhood Bible Stories · Free for home & Sunday school use · Updated September 2026
The whole stable in one sheet: Mary sitting in the straw beside the feeding trough, Joseph standing close with a small oil lamp, the roof beams above them, and one enormous star over it all. It is illustrated in a simple bold-outline style, which means big open shapes and not much fussy detail for small hands to work around.
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The story behind this page
God becomes a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. Shepherds hear the news first, and wise men travel far to find Him.
Story 17 of 23 in our Bible stories in order plan. Up next: Jesus Feeds 5,000 People.
About this scene
Luke says the inn was full, so the family ended up where the animals were fed. That is the whole setting of this page. Mary sits low in the straw, the baby wrapped and laid in the wooden trough beside her. Joseph stands at her shoulder holding a small clay lamp, the only light in the picture apart from the star.
The rest of the sheet is the shelter itself: a bundle of straw on the ground, a tall clay water jar, the open sides between the posts, and the heavy roof beams overhead. Luke names no animals at the trough, so we drew none. Above the beams, one star with long rays does what the whole page is about, pointing at a baby nobody important was watching.
There is no snow here and no evergreen tree. Neither belongs to Luke's account, and leaving them out keeps the scene closer to what a family in Bethlehem would actually have seen that night.
“She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:7 (World English Bible)
Coloring ideas for this page
- Save the darkest color you have for the sky behind the roof, then leave the star completely white. That contrast does more than yellow crayon ever will.
- Straw looks best with two shades: a pale yellow base, then a few darker strokes pulled in the same direction.
- The straw bundle and the big clay jar are good places to let a toddler go wild. Any color works and nothing is ruined.
- Color the lamp flame last, in orange, so it stays the warmest spot on the page.
What this page teaches
God arrived where there was no room. The Son of God was not laid in a cradle in a palace but in a feeding trough, because the inn was full (Luke 2:7). Children understand small and overlooked very well, and this is the page where they learn that God chose it.
Questions parents ask
How is this different from your birth of Jesus coloring page?
That sheet has Mary and Joseph kneeling together with animals looking in. This one keeps to the people Luke names: Mary low in the straw with the baby already in the trough, and Joseph standing with a lamp. Printing both gives you two evenings rather than one, which is the reason we drew a second angle on the same scene.
Why a feeding trough instead of a wooden crib?
Because that is the word Luke uses. Most English Bibles say manger, which is simply an older word for the box animals eat from. Drawing it as a rough wooden trough keeps the picture honest.
Can a preschooler manage this page?
Yes. The roof, the posts, the jar, and the straw bundle are all large shapes. The faces are small, so a four-year-old will usually skip them and an eight-year-old will not.
