How to Make a Wooden 3D Christmas Tree

Back in 2012, Owen tried to eat our Christmas tree and all the ornaments. We haven’t had a tree since.

Until this year. My mom thought the kids needed the fun of a tree. So she created a wooden 3D Christmas tree for us.

I have to admit I was skeptical when she told me about her project. I didn’t think it’d turn out so…

Amazing!

Look at this. It looks like a real tree.

Here’s how she did it.

She bought two sheets of thin plywood type boards. Then, she drew a Christmas tree pattern onto a large sheet of newspaper and cut it out as a template.

With a sharpie, she traced the template onto both pieces of board. Then, she cut them out with a saw. She added rough edges with the saw, adding some awesome depth to the tree.

Once the trees were cut out, she used the saw to cut one tree in half vertically. She found a 1 by 4 and painted it as well, after it was cut to the length of the tree.

Then she and the little girls painted all of the pieces green. They used a couple of shades, making the trees look as realistic as possible.

After they dried, the building phase of the project began. Mom used a jigsaw to cut a groove into each side of the 1 by. This grooved board was glued to the whole tree board, grooves up.

Mom added a bead of wood glue all along both grooves, and slid the half Christmas tree pieces into the grooves.

You can see the glue in that picture, and how the half tree was attached.

This is what the assembled (but not decorated) tree looked like:

It looks like a tree! For hanging ease, Mom added a piece of wire to the back. We hung it up on a nail on the wall after it got the light and garland treatment.

Now, our tree is attached to the wall. It’s up out of Owen’s reach, and it looks nice.

Thanks Mom!

How do you decorate for Christmas? I’d love to hear what unique decorations adorn your house. Any other wooden 3D Christmas trees out there?