Christmas Tree Box Tutorial

I absolutely love Christmas Trees in boxes! I have seen them in baskets, and tins, and crates, and all sorts of creative places over the last couple years, but the boxes are my favorite!

Last year, our first Christmas in our new home, I really wished I had a taller tree. I now have 20 foot ceilings, and a 7 foot tree. While I'd love a new taller tree, I haven't been able to bring myself to spend $300+ on a 12 foot or taller tree. Everyone who knows me well, knows I'm cheap, and I do nothing if it's not a bargain! Plus, my hand-me-down tree is really beautiful. It's full and has great shape. I just love it.

So I built myself a tree box, and made it taller than average, with a shelf inside, so my tree became 2 feet taller. I'd still like a taller one someday, but for now, I'm happy. I'll be putting up the same tree at the end of the month, and even if I do find a bargain on a 12 foot tree, I have space for more height, so I can keep using my taller box.

Customer Photo

Standard Height

Last year, I also made some standard size Christmas tree boxes (so the trees just sit on the floor, and don't gain height), and sold them. They were a huge hit! I did a bunch more this year, and they are improved! Lighter, a little taller, and still gorgeous. I have to say... Part of me wanted a new one after seeing these!

Just because I know you all love a tutorial, I did my best to share my process. Hope you enjoy! These instructions are for the standard size box, where the tree sits on the floor, not on a shelf.

I decided to go with Cedar Fence pickets. They are inexpensive, rustic, and wide. I bought 1x6x8. I wanted my boxes 24" square inside. Most tree stands are 24" wide. Definitely wear gloves and safety goggles for this project. And avoid shooting yourself in the finger like I did!

First I ripped some of the boards in half. I needed two full width boards, and one half width board for each side panel. Then I cut all the boards to 24.5" length. The extra half inch ensures that the inside of the box will be 24" wide exactly. Then I laid out all the sides on the ground for a visual.  Notice I put the thinner boards in the middle. This way when it's all trimmed out, they will all look the same size.

Next, I used scrap wood to cut some boards to be the back braces of my panels. About 1x1x22". I pre-drilled some holes, and then screwed them in to the back of each panel, to create the sides of my boxes.

Once all 4 sides were assembled, I sanded them smooth, and pre-drilled holes on the right edge of each panel. Sanding was a bit of a job, since these boards come so rough, but the do smooth out nicely. 

Then I lined them up in a square, so that the side with the holes overlapped the next board, all the way around. (I hope the pictures help make sense of what I'm saying. I'm really struggling to find the right words to explain all of this.) Notice in the picture, that you can see screws on the left side, and on the right side, you can't.  All four sides should look like this. 

Here is a top view of the assembled box. 

Now it's time for trim. I ripped some more boards in half. Then I started with the corner pieces. For these pieces I used my table saw to create a 45 degree angle along one side. I measured how tall my box is, from top to bottom, and cut 8 pieces to length. Then I used my finish nailer, and assembled one corner at a time. 

Next I cut straight pieces for the tops and bottoms, and used my finish nailer to attach them. (If you are paying close attention, you will see that this box has angled cuts all around... It is an older photo, and I forgot to photograph this stage this time. You get the idea though.)

Then all that's left to do is sand the trim, and stain or paint to your liking! I built six just like this, and then one larger one with a shelf (adds height to the tree). 

I did not do any tutorial photos for the larger one, but I followed the same process, except I made it taller, and then built a shelf on the inside for the tree to sit in. I also added the X. It's obviously harder than the straight cuts I described above, but still doable, though I may have wasted a few pieces of wood, and said some swear words... Maybe... I'm actually kind of jealous. I kind of want a new one for myself, but I'm also tree boxed out for now, so I think I'll stick with what I've got;)

I hope you enjoyed! Please share with me if you decide to build one for yourself! You can find me on Facebook @sealedwithluv or Instagram @sealedwithloveonsundaydrive