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Decorative Paper Christmas Trees {7 Days of Paper Christmas Decor}

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Make your home festive this holiday season with these decorative paper Christmas trees.

No need to spend lots of money on Christmas decor… instead decorate with paper! Today is Day 6 of the 7 Days of Paper Christmas series. And today we are making these fun decorative paper Christmas trees.

Even though we put up our full sized Christmas tree each year, I cannot get enough. I fill the shelves, tables, consoles and more with little Christmas trees. 

paper christmas trees set of 2 on coffee table in front of couch

I love the magic they add to the holiday. Even without the lights and ornaments!

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So every year I insist on making more DIY Christmas trees. This year I was inspired by these Pottery Barn trees. But instead of spending lots of money, I made them out of paper!

single paper christmas trees set of 2 on coffee table in front of couch

Budget DIY Christmas Trees

These decorative Christmas trees are super easy to make, but even more important, are super cheap! Each tree uses one 12″x 12″ sheet of cardstock. I used a white glitter cardstock. 

The white glitter cardstock makes our paper Christmas trees look like they are flocked with snow. Fitting for today since we had our first big snow storm of the season!

set of 2 decorative paper christmas trees on coffee table

The other supplies needed to make these trees are a 1/4″ dowel. Mine cost $1.10 and was big enough for 3 trees. Then I used a decorative wood slice for the base. The pack of 12 cost $6.99 at the craft store and was 50% off because it’s Christmas!

Add in a couple drops of super glue and a hot glue stick (I won’t even estimate the tiny costs here), and each of these paper Christmas lanterns cost less than $1 to make!

set of 2 decorative paper christmas trees close up

You cannot beat that for budget Christmas decor, and they look so pretty. 

I am thinking I might move them to be next to our Scandinavian paper Christmas village. Wouldn’t they look so good with it?

How to Make DIY Paper Christmas Trees

Supplies:

  • Tree branches template
  • Cream glitter cardstock
  • 1/4″ dowel
    • Cut my dowel to 11″ for the smaller tree and 14″ for the larger one.
  • Wood slice
  • Drill with 1/4″ drill bit
  • Precision tip superglue
  • Glue gun and glue sticks
  • Optional: Electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette Cameo or Cricut Maker
    • You can cut these out with scissors and and use an 1/4″ hole punch to punch the holes. 

Cut the Cardstock Branches

There are branch size templates available. You can choose to scale them bigger or larger, but you need to make sure you do not scale the center hole or it will be too big or too small for the dowel.

Cut out 2 of each size of branch for each tree. 

You can cut them out of glitter cardstock. Or if you want the galvanized metal look, cut them out of plain cardstock and spray paint them with hammered metal spray paint like I did for these faux metal wall vases.

assembling cut out paper christmas trees

Prepare the Christmas Tree Trunk

Cut the dowel to length. The 1/4″ dowel is so easy to cut with a small hand saw or miter saw.

Drill a 1/4″ wide hole in the center of your wood slice. It only needs to be about 1/4″ deep (I made mine the depth of my 1/4″ Forestner bit head). 

Try to keep the drill bit as straight as possible while drilling the hole so the trunk is straight.

using drill to assemble decorative paper christmas trees

Add a couple drops of super glue in the hole and slide the dowel inside it.

Let the glue cure for a few minutes to make sure it is secure.

adding wood dowel to the paper christmas trees

Attach the Branches

Pinch a crease into all the branches along the center dotted line. The cardstock was a little stiff, so I used a small straight edge to help.

assembling cut out paper christmas trees with straight edge

Slide one of the largest branches on the dowel. Leave it a couple inches above the wood slice.

Slide the second largest branch on and twist it so the branches are in between the first one. Leave about 1/2″ between the two largest branches. 

securing tree branch to the paper christmas trees

Repeat with the rest of the branches in defending size. Once they are all on your truck, you can adjust the spacing. I kept the two branches of the same size closer and a bigger gap between the different sizes. 

The branches should stay put on the dowel, but you might want to secure them if you have kids that would want to touch them.

If you want to secure the branches, add a small ring of hot glue on the underside of the branches around the dowel hole. 

using hot glue gun to secure paper christmas trees to dowel

Pinch together the topper piece (the one without a hole). There are little snips in the sides too so you can pinch it into a little cone shape.

Add hot glue on the underside of the topper and attach it to the top of the dowel.

assembling paper christmas trees with hot glue gun to dowel

Now you can enjoy your new paper Christmas trees anywhere you need a little Christmas magic!

They look so cute on our coffee table, without making it too cluttered. Bu you can add them to any shelf, mantel, centerpiece or more!

set of 2 completed paper christmas trees on table in front of couch

And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the last day of the 7 Days of Paper Christmas Decor. Here is the plan for the week. You won’t want to miss out on anything!

It’s so sad the week is coming to an end. But I love all the beautiful Christmas decor we have made!

Happy crafting!

How to Make Decorative Paper Christmas Trees

How to Make Decorative Paper Christmas Trees

Yield: 1 Paper Tree
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $1-$5

Make these fun and inexpensive decorative paper Christmas trees perfect for holiday decorating.

Materials

  • Tree branches template
  • Cream glitter cardstock
  • 1/4″ dowel
  • Wood slice
  • Precision tip superglue

Tools

  • *Silhouette Cameo or other electronic cutting machine
  • Glue gun and glue sticks
  • Drill with 1/4″ drill bit

Instructions

  1. Cut out cardstock branches. You will need 2 of each size of branch for each tree. 
  2. Prepare the Christmas tree trunk by cutting the dowel to length with hand saw or miter saw.
  3. Drill a 1/4″ wide hole in the center of your wood slice about 1/4″ deep.
  4. Add a couple drops of super glue in the hole and slide the dowel inside.
  5. Attach the branches by pinching a crease into all the branches along the center dotted line.
  6. Slide one of the largest branches on the dowel a couple inches above the wood slice.
  7. Slide the second largest branch on and twist it so the branches are in between the first one.
  8. Repeat with the rest of the branches in defending size. 
  9. Pinch together the topper piece into a little cone shape.
  10. Add hot glue on the underside of the topper and attach it to the top of the dowel.

Notes

*You can cut these out with a Silhouette cutting machine, or scissors and and use a 1/4″ hole punch to punch the holes.

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