Not every house has room for a seven foot fir, and not every mantel is complete without a little forest. These DIY Christmas tree ideas cover both: a pipe cleaner tree that glows, a ten minute yarn tree, origami and honeycomb paper trees, tabletop trees cut from scrap wood and pallets, cones wrapped in fringe and wrapping paper, a folded book tree, a felt tree the kids can dress, a wall tree for an apartment and a pair of lit topiaries for the porch. Most of them come from the scrap bin, the recycling and the dollar store, and you can pack them flat for next year. Perfect for small spaces, second trees in the kids' rooms and anyone who wants a handmade tree you won't find in a store.
1. Wood Tabletop Trees
Tanya wanted nine Nordic style wooden trees for her dining table and priced the fancy wood at almost three hundred dollars, so she used pine instead and made all nine for about sixty. Each tree is two triangles of plank glued at right angles so it stands on its own, in three sizes up to twenty inches tall, and half of them are stained a deep turquoise. Lined up on a felt runner they look like a snowy forest. Dans le Lakehouse has the cut sizes and the stain.
2. Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree
This little tree is ours, and it's the one everybody asks about. Green pipe cleaners get folded into loops and glued around a paper cone in rows, starting at the bottom so every row overlaps the one below like real branches. Mini pom poms in red, yellow and white are the ornaments, and a string of battery fairy lights tucked inside the cone makes the whole thing glow. It stands about a foot tall, costs a few dollars in pipe cleaners and never drops a needle.
3. Polka Dot Paper Cone Trees
Coral paper with gold polka dots, rolled into cones in four sizes and set on a drift of faux snow with a gold star garland behind them. Melissa and Sara made these for a holiday pop up blog and they deliver a big punch of color for the cost of a few sheets of patterned paper. Mix heights so the group reads as a forest, and tuck a couple of tiny bottle brush trees in front. Alice and Lois has the photos and the link to the how to.
4. Mixed Nut Tabletop Trees
Crystal hot glues walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts in their shells all over a paper mache cone, tucks in mini pinecones and silver glitter berries and tops each one with a wooden star. The big one gets a wrap of red berry greenery too. They sit on a wood slice in a drift of faux snow, and they make a natural centerpiece that smells faintly of the nut bowl. The nuts come from the grocery store. A Pumpkin and a Princess has the how to.
5. Ten Minute Yarn Tree
Ours again, and the fastest tree on the list. A triangle of cardboard gets wrapped edge to edge in red yarn, a strand of fairy lights winds around it, and white pom poms glue on between the lights like snow. A skewer holds it up on a wood slice base with a little pinecone, a sprig of grass and a tiny deer from an old ornament, and a paper star tops it off. Ten minutes, and it really lights up. Make three in different heights for a mantel.
6. Mini Balsa Wood Trees
Amy's trio is as minimal as it gets: three balsa wood triangles on flat wood bases, each with a single ornament hanging in the open middle, white, matte black and copper. Balsa cuts with a hand saw and sands in seconds, and strong glue holds the corners. She styles them on a marble side table, but a big one would make a real Christmas tree alternative for an apartment. Hang greenery from the tops if you want them fuller. Homey Oh My has the materials.
7. Pine Cone Tree With Lights
Greg built this whole DIY Christmas tree from a stash of pine cones, the biggest around the bottom of a foam cone and smaller ones each row up, with the tiniest cones tucked into the gaps and one perfect cone on top. It sits on a birch trunk in a little wooden pot with a string of copper fairy lights wound through the scales, and it looks like something from a mountain lodge. Free if you have pine trees nearby. The Navage Patch has the photos.
8. 3D Origami Paper Tree
This one is ours, and it's the tree for anyone who has a stack of green paper and an evening. Squares of paper get folded into pointed tiers that nest one on top of the next, so the finished tree is fully three dimensional and stands on its own without glue or a base. It's light enough to sit on a shelf or a windowsill, and a row of them looks like a tiny forest. DIY Joy has the folds step by step and the video.
9. Ruffle Trim Cone Trees
Linda hot glues loopy ruffle trim around paper mache cone trees, starting at the bottom and switching to a second color halfway up, so you get pink over navy, mint over white and blush over red. The texture is what sells it, and the color palette says modern Christmas without a single ornament. Her biggest tree took two spools for the bottom color and the rest took one each. Craftaholics Anonymous has the how to.
10. Balsa Wood Slot Trees
Lia's balsa trees are two flat tree shapes with a slot cut down the middle so they slide together and stand up. The templates come in two sizes, the balsa cuts with a sharp craft knife, and the fun part is painting: a dowel dipped in white paint makes perfect polka dots, and a brush colors a top or a whole side in teal or white. Set them on a mantel, a windowsill or a stack of old books. Lia Griffith has the template and the painting ideas.
11. Honeycomb Paper Trees
These fan out like the honeycomb decorations from the party store, but they're ours and they're just paper. You stack tree shapes cut with our printable template, glue them together in alternating lines, and when the stack opens it blooms into a full 3D tree with three tiers of pleats. Green is classic and red is cheerful. Hang them on the big tree, string a row into a garland or stand a few on a shelf. Each one takes minutes once you've made the first.
12. Handmade Paper Lantern Trees
Michelle bends a strip of cardboard into a tree outline, glues a sheet of handmade paper over the front and threads a string of fairy lights in through a hole at the bottom, so the whole tree glows through the paper at night. A twig trunk stands it on a wood slice. The big one took three sheets of paper she made years ago and the small one took one, and craft shop sheets work if you don't make your own. A Crafty Mix has the how to.
13. Scrap Wood Block Trees
Donna lies awake thinking of ways to use up scrap wood, and these trees are the result: triangles cut from leftover blocks of two by four, two by six and two by ten, painted a soft olive green and given three different faces, one with grid lines, one with drilled dots like lights, one with scored stripes. Pinecones and white berries at the base finish the mantel. If you have a saw and a scrap pile, they're nearly free. Do Dodson Designs has the cut list.
14. Popsicle Stick Tree Ornaments
Debbie's popsicle stick trees are the ornaments the kids will want to make a dozen of. Three craft sticks glued into a triangle and painted, a scrap of cardboard for the trunk, a gold star on top and a loop of twine, then the fun part: tinsel pipe cleaners wound around the edges, mini pom poms glued along the sides or a row of jingle bells zigzagged across the middle. They hang on the big tree or on a string across the classroom. One Little Project has the how to.
15. Folded Book Tree
A thrift store paperback, about three hundred pages thick, gets folded page by page with two simple folds that repeat until the whole book fans into a tree. Autumn makes hers flat against the back so it sits in a frame and you still see the text down both sides, then adds a red wooden star and a zigzag of red and white baker's twine as the garland. It's the kind of repetitive craft that calms your mind while a show plays. It's Always Autumn has the folds.
16. Pallet Wood Chevron Tree
Thirteen short pallet scraps, none longer than about thirteen inches, get cut on the diagonal and nailed in a chevron down a whitewashed pallet board backing to make a DIY Christmas tree you can hang on the wall. A rusty barn star sits on top and a few mercury glass balls hang from nails on the branches. It's a great way to use the leftover short pieces from other pallet projects. Scavenger Chic has the cuts and the bracing.
17. Fringe and Trim Cone Trees
Ginnie saw mini trees decorated with colorful fringe in a shop window and went straight to the trim aisle. Foam cones get wrapped in cream yarn, ball fringe, gold braid and sequin trim, each one different, with a gold jingle bell or a glitter ball on top. She calls the one with ball fringe the party tree. Cream and gold keep it classic, but any colors work with whatever trim you fall for. Hello Little Home has the tutorial.
18. Rustic Felt Trees
Layers of felt cut in tree shapes, stacked from wide to narrow on a twig trunk and set into a wood slice, in white, oatmeal and evergreen. The felt tiers overlap so the tree looks feathery, and the wood slices and twigs came from the yard. Three of them on a shiplap mantel say cozy cabin without a single ornament. Stiff felt holds the shape best. Little House of Four has the template and the photos.
19. Cardboard Tree for Kids
Cut two tree shapes from a cereal box, slot them together so the tree stands, paint it green and hand the kids a bag of paper scraps. The patchwork of shapes they glue on turns into abstract ornaments, and a few paper candles with little flames finish it off. It stands in front of a cardboard city in the photo, which is another project on the same blog. There's a quick video of the whole thing. Barley & Birch has the supply list.
20. String Wrapped Wood Trees
Donna escaped a half decorated living room by going to the workshop and making these in a few minutes: scrap wood cut into tree shapes, each wound with a different string, twine, rope or raffia, then set on a stand from the rusty junk bin, a caster, a spring, a spool. Nothing is attached permanently so the parts go back in the bin later. A stenciled Trees sign above them tells the story. Funky Junk Interiors has the how to.
21. Painted Fabric Wall Tree
Amy fell for a tree print fabric she couldn't buy locally and painted her own on a white tablecloth instead. The tree is loose black brush strokes, about four and a half feet tall, with green pom poms glued on as ornaments and a gold star at the top, and it hangs from a rod on the entry wall. It's kid proof, pet proof and apartment proof, and it rolls up in January. Delineate Your Dwelling has the drawing and painting steps.
22. Wrapping Paper Cone Trees
Kara needed thirty centerpieces for a church party for basically no money, saw the wrapping paper at the dollar store and this was the answer. Strips of paper get folded into loops and glued around a paper cone in rows from the bottom up, so each tree looks like a stack of paper feathers, and three patterns on one doily make a set. People came up all night asking how she made them. Creations by Kara has the step by step photos.
23. Yarn Wrapped Cone Forest
The twins wrap foam cones in chunky yarn, and the trick is variety: a thick cream yarn on one, a faux fur yarn on the next, a gray boucle, a violet, all in a neutral scheme picked in advance so the forest hangs together. Graduated heights down a striped runner with fresh greenery and red berries between them make a whole tabletop display for a few skeins. Choose the color scheme before you shop. The Design Twins have the yarn suggestions and the steps.
24. Salvage Knob and Hook Tree
Claire collects architectural salvage, and this flat tree uses the lot: branches cut from old skirting board, coat racks and pallet scraps, screwed to a four foot trunk, painted a bright green chalk paint and waxed dark, then hung with old drawer knobs, coat hooks and bits of ironmongery as the ornaments. It leans against the dining room wall and takes up no floor space at all. Pillar Box Blue has the build and the paint.
25. Feather and Sequin Cone Trees
Jessica rolled moving boxes into cones, hot glued the seam and trimmed the bottoms straight, then dressed them in a white feather boa, gold glitter ribbon, gold sequin fabric and ruffled cream ribbon. The whole set cost about ten dollars and she still puts them out every year. Cardboard is the trick: it's free, it holds a point and it takes hot glue. Wrap ribbon in a spiral and glue every few inches so it doesn't slide. Love Love Love has the how to.
26. Clay Pot Trees With Dot Lights
If you grew up with a ceramic Christmas tree you weren't allowed to touch, Amy's version is the one the kids can help with. Three clay pots in graduating sizes get painted two shades of green with a white rim, stacked upside down into a tree and dotted with rainbow lights in craft paint. A star or a snowflake from the stash goes on top. Nothing is fragile and nothing plugs in. DIY Candy has the pot sizes and the painting order.
27. Tomato Cage Topiary Trees
The lit topiary trees that flank a front door cost eighty dollars and up apiece, so Sara made a pair for about twenty five each. A tomato cage taped to a point gets wound with four strands of wired garland, a hundred mini lights and a plaid ribbon, then a few ornaments, and each one stands in an urn planter she already owned. Her neighbor was shocked they were homemade. Mom Endeavors has the winding order and the costs.
28. Wood Slice Cone Trees
Angie glues small wood slices in overlapping rows around a cone so they layer like shingles, and the result looks like a driftwood tree from a coastal shop. Two trees this size take about three bags of slices, and the pale wood pairs with a wood bead garland and a rusty bucket for a farmhouse mantel. She says they're quick enough to make several, and they sell well at craft fairs. There's a video. The Country Chic Cottage has the how to.
29. Yarn Skein Tree
The laziest tree on the list, and one of the cutest: a whole skein of green yarn slid onto the post of a paper towel holder, wrapped with a short strand of battery lights, dotted with brass paper fasteners as ornaments and topped with a mini tree topper. No glue, no cutting, and in January you pull it apart and knit the yarn. Set a few tiny wrapped gifts around the base and it's done in five minutes. Arts & Crackers has the supply list.
30. Ruffled Fabric Cone Tree
Agnes had a yard of crisp paisley quilting cotton and turned it into a tree: a poster board cone, strips of fabric gathered into ruffles and hot glued around it in rows from the bottom up, and a few fluffy white pom poms scattered at the base for snow. Any fabric with a strong print works, and a yard to a yard and a half covers one tall tree. There's a pom pom tutorial at the end of the post. Agnes Creates has the how to.
31. Snowy Pinecone Trees
A pinecone standing on its base already looks like a tree, so Shelly paints the tips white for snow, shakes glitter on while the paint is wet, glues on beads as tiny lights and tops each one with a wooden star painted yellow. Washi tape wrapped around a spool makes the trunk. It's a simple craft for kids of any age, and the leftover pinecones from fall finally get used. Welcome To Nana's has the step by step.
32. Pallet Scripture Tree
Lauren's husband broke down a pallet and she turned the boards into a tall outdoor tree: a forty six inch stem with six branch boards spaced three and a half inches apart, each lettered in white vinyl with a line of the Christmas story from Luke, so the whole tree reads For unto you is born this day. A star on the top board finishes it. It stands by the garage door and greets everyone who pulls in. The Thinking Closet has the measurements and the file.
33. Felt and Twig Trees
Keri's little trees are stiff green felt cones on twig trunks, standing in wooden hexagon bases and decorated with pony beads as ornaments. She was leaning toward winter and nature themes, and they look right at home beside wooden mushrooms and woodland animals on a shelf. Stiff felt holds the shape; softer felt can be starched. Thread the beads on with needle and thread or hot glue them. One Mama's Daily Drama has the tips.
34. Pipe Cleaner Felt Trees
Everything on this tree threads onto one green pipe cleaner: brown beads for the trunk, a felt tree shape, and a loop bent at the top so it hangs or stands. Grown ups cut the felt and set up the beads, then the kids decorate with buttons, sequins, gems and stickers and no two trees match. It doubles as an ornament, and it's a good one for a class party because the prep is fast. Crafting Cheerfully has the how to.
