How to Make a DIY Christmas Tree Collar Box
Growing up, we were real tree people. A few times, we went to the woods or to a Christmas tree farm, and we would search for the perfect tree and cut it down. I have such fond memories of spending the whole day as a family, working together to find the perfect tree for our home. We would usually get hot chocolate when we were done, and on a few occasions, we got to ride in a sleigh and meet Santa.
Other years, we bought our tree from a parking lot, which was still a fun outing because we typically got to go shopping afterwards, or we got to go out to dinner as a family.
Either route we took, we ended up with a beautiful, fresh, and wonderful-smelling tree, ready to decorate for Christmas. And I loved it. I was a real tree enthusiast.
That is, until I moved out of my family home and my husband and I were gifted an artificial tree. I was in college and only working part-time, so we didn’t have a lot of disposable income. A gifted tree was such a blessing to us that year! So we used it. And I loved it.
This was my first experience with an artificial tree, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This one didn’t have any bells or whistles. No lights or buttons or embellishments – just a tree. And it was great.
Assembly was quick and easy, and we were able to put it up when it was most convenient for us. No trying to coordinate a time to go and pick out a tree when we both had time off work, and then decorating it when we got the chance. We assembled it and decorated it on the same day. And it was mess free! No watering and no vacuuming dead pine needles for weeks after Christmas was over!
Just like that, I was converted to a fake tree person. We had that tree for several years before we were moving out of state and ended up gifting it to some friends to simplify packing. When the next Christmas came around and we had a choice to make, I chose to go fake!
This time, we upgraded a bit and got one that already had lights and some pinecones and berries on it. This tree had a few different types of leaves on it, so it looked a lot more realistic than our first tree. And it was so beautiful. I barely had to decorate it because it was so beautiful on its own! That is, except for the base.
The metal X frame leaves a lot to be desired with a fake tree, and it needs to be covered. For a while, we used a fabric tree skirt. Which is a fine choice, but this past year, I wanted something more substantial. Which leads me to our DIY Christmas tree collar box.
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Supplies you’ll need:
1/4-inch pine plywood (cut into 4, 22”x12” pieces*)
1x2 pine firring strip (cut into 8, 22 ½” pieces and 8, 9” pieces*)
Wood glue
Clamps
Finishing nails or nail gun
L-brackets (8) with screws (16)
Stain or paint of your choice
*The final box has a rectangular opening that measures 20 ½” W x 22 ½” L. Ensure your tree stand will fit in this size box before making any cuts! Adjust your sizes accordingly.
Step 1: Measure and cut your wood
Before starting this project, make sure to measure your specific tree stand to ensure it will fit in this size box. You also want to measure the distance from the floor to your lowest tree branches to make sure a 12-inch height will leave some space for your bottom branches. I wanted my box to cover most of the bottom of the tree without crowding or breaking the bottom branches.
Once you know the size box you need, measure and cut your wood pieces accordingly. You will need (4) flat plywood rectangle pieces, (8) 22 ½” firring strips to trim the top and bottom of your plywood pieces, and (8) 9” firring strips to trim the sides of each plywood piece.
Step 2: Attach the firring strips to the plywood
To attach the firring strips to the plywood, we used both wood glue and nails. One or the other should be sufficient, but we used both just to ensure everything would stay in place.
Dry fit your trim pieces along the plywood to ensure a proper fit before attaching. The trim pieces are a bit longer than the plywood pieces so you can fully hide the plywood behind the trim.
For each piece of plywood, we first used a small strip of glue to attach the longer firring strips along the top and bottom of the plywood and the shorter firring strips along the sides, and we used clamps to secure them in place until they dried. If any glue bleeds out, make sure to quickly wipe it away before it dries.
After the glue was dry, we removed the clamps and used a nail gun to nail along the BACK of the plywood going into the firring strips. This just added a little extra security for our pieces. Either glue or nails should be sufficient to hold your pieces in place.
Step 3: Attach the L-brackets
After your trim pieces are dried and nailed, use a drill to attach the L-brackets to the inside of your box. To create the box shape, we used two of the plywood pieces as the front and back pieces, and the two side pieces fit on the inside of the plywood pieces.
So looking at the box straight on, on two of the sides you can only see one framed piece. On the other two sides, you can see one framed piece and the trim sides of the other two sides (see pictures).
Stand up all your sides and place them how you’re going to attach them to each other. Then place an L-bracket in the top corner of one side where you’ll attach it and use a pencil to mark where it will be drilled in. Do the same for the bottom corner of each connection.
Start with your front and back pieces and use a drill to attach the L-brackets to the top and bottom of both sides of that piece. Each piece should have 4 L-brackets attached to each inside corner (the side without your trim pieces).
Then put one of your side pieces in place next to your front piece and use a drill to attach it to the L-brackets. Do the same for the other side piece.
Now attach your back piece with the remaining L-brackets to the side pieces. Your Christmas tree collar box is now fully assembled!
Step 4: Stain/Paint
For this last step, stain or paint your DIY Christmas tree collar box as desired! I opted to use a whitewash for mine. Simply mix one part water to one part paint of your choice for this coverage. Add more or less water, depending on your coverage preference.
These DIY Christmas tree collar boxes are so beautiful, and they can easily be customized to match your personal style. I love how mine turned out, and even without staining or painting it, it looked beautiful next to my nature-inspired Christmas tree. And another bonus, my robot vacuum doesn’t get stuck on my tree’s metal frame anymore :)
Let me know if you have any questions about your build. I’d love to see how they turn out!
Happy building!
