How to Build A DIY Christmas Tree Box

Did you ever notice how barren and empty the tree looks after Christmas morning?  It never fails to make me feel kind of a let down after all the excitement.  A gorgeous DIY Christmas tree box should really help fill in that void.

A DIY wooden Christmas tree box is a relatively straight forward  project o make.  Hubs and I built this one in a couple of hours and I took another couple of hours to sand and then stain it.

I absolutely love the grain of the wood, it looks so beautiful and cohesive with the Christmas tree.  The beautiful grain of the wood prevented me from painting it, or adding any cross pieces.  It was just too nice to cover up.

Tutorial for How to Make a Christmas Tree Box

Supplies

1″ by 2″ lumber – 2 boards

1″ by 3″ lumber – 3  8 ft boards

1/2″ plywood – Total 44 by 26″ so about half a sheet

120, 150 grit sandpaper

A small container of wood stain (espresso)

A small container of matte polyurethane

Start by measuring your tree stand, ours is 26″ wide and the stem is 11″ high.  You can adjust the tree stand to fit the size of your metal tree stand, just adjust the cut lengths and follow the same procedure.

Cut four pieces of plywood  1 inch wider and the same height as your metal tree stand.  So we cut four pieces of plywood 27″ by 11″

Fit and tack the plywood together,  Making sure the top and bottom pieces fit towards the outside, and the other side fits towards the inside. Tack with 1″ nails or using L brackets.

Adding Top and Bottom Trim to the DIY Tree Stand

After the plywood box shell is built add the trim to the four sides of your box.  You can measure the distance and cut the 1″ by 3″ lumber to length.  4 pieces 28.5″, and 4 more 26 1/4 ” but I  prefer not to measure and bother with fractions on the measuring tape.

Instead, do it by sight and pencil marks.  Clamp two pieces of 1″ by 3″ on each end of your plywood box.  Then make sure your piece of 1″ by 3″  is flush at one end.  Return to the other end and mark with a pencil where the cut should be. Go to your saw and cut to match the pencil mark.  Easy.

Start by working along the top.  Two sides will be longer than the opposite two sides.  After +you make sure each piece is flush, attach the trim to the plywood using glue and 1″ nails.

Once you have the four top trim pieces on, do the exact same thing with the bottom trim.

Adding  Side Trim to the DIY Wooden Christmas Tree Stand

Measure the distance between the top and bottom pieces of trim. (6 1/4″ ) and cut 8 pieces. two for each corner.

Alternatively, place one piece of trim and pencil mark where the cuts should be.  Confirm the piece fits and then use that piece as a template for the other 8 pieces.

Glue and attach with one-inch nails, making sure the corners fit neatly.

Place Top Moulding

So that you have a smooth surface looking down from the top of your Christmas tree box, you need to add a final small piece of trim along the top edges.  Hubs decided to do his with a 45-degree angle cut, but you could do it with square cuts if you prefer.

Unfortunately, we neglected to get a picture of this part, but I took some of the trim after it was already stained and under the tree.

Measure the length of one side of your box, (27 3/8″)  and cut.  Fit the four corners together and tack on to the box with glue and nails.

Finishing the DIY Wooden Christmas Tree Stand

Sand the outside surface of the tree stand with 120, and then 150 grit sandpaper.

Apply to coats of stain,  I used Minwax Espresso stain and one coat of polyurethane.

Our tree isn’t decorated yet,  but I think the stand looks amazing.  Check out the wood grain.

I will admit the tree will look more exciting packed with gifts for the munchkins.  But for now I am swooning over this tree stand and the grain patterns in the wood.

Christmas is coming!

Leanna

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