A play does not need an elaborate stage set. You can design and build an effective set around the empty space of the stage. A glitter star hanging down from the flies, a gobo casting a star across the stage and wooden flats standing in the wings to suggest a stable in Bethlehem are sufficient for any nativity stage set. You could use raised staging to create different levels and show off the children in the background or foreground more emphatically.
A traditional stable set which is set within a famous Hollywood studios film set would be a glitzy and refreshing alternative to the conventional nativity scene. Maybe, it could be a stable which once appearedin a famous film. One side of the stage could show one part of a film studio stable while the other side would be the Hollywood film set and behind it a backdrop of painted scenery to show the Hollywood hills in the distance with a big star shining brightly in the sky.
The Toy Stable idea is a take on the Toy Story idea where the toy characters could play the biblical characters. It would be set within a plastic toy stable with plastic looking animals. The set would not made out of plastic but made to look like it were through bright glossy colors. The backdrop to the set could look like a toy box with the effect that some toys have spilled out of the box.
There is no reason why the biblical scene could be set inside a spaceship. Instead of stumbling upon a stable as a last resort for Mary to give birth, the couple could find an abandoned spaceship. The set could be raised to have two levels, with the raised level being the inside of the spaceship. Steps up the center and the stage level would represent the dirt track with rock boulders set in sand.