Kim saw some Christmas Trees like this online and asked, “You can make this for us, right”? Sure, I can. And there you have it. The new fangled Christmas Tree project was underway. It is a very simple design, yet truly more attractive than I thought it would be. I planned out the height and width, determining the “branches” length and spacing to achieve the outcome. Votive candles, ornaments and littl gifts adorn every branch. Kim puts numerous little gifts in the tree so the grandkids can grab something any time they are over.
Parts
All the branches and stacker blocks are cut from (13) 1x4x96 pine.
Branches are three each at 48″, 44″, 40″, 36″, 32″, 28″, 24″, 20″, 16″, 12″, and 8″.
There are (55) 4“x4” square “stackers” to place between branches. We stacked the three branches of same length, then 4–5 of the stackers, next set of branches, stackers, etc. Ending with stackers on top, then the star.
I rounded over every edge, top and bottom, including the holes. Then sanded everything. This got rid of any splinters and made it all smooth. We chose to NOT apply any finish and left the wood raw.
We used a 1“x72” dowel for the trunk. I sanded the bottom end to have a very slight taper in order to help it seat better in the base. The hole in the base goes through the top leg, and halfway through the bottom leg.
The base was made from 2“x4” and is 20″ across. I added little feet to help minimize irregularities in the floor for adding a wobble to the tree. This proved to be very stable.
I put a 1⁄4″ dowel at the top end of the trunk and drilled a slightly over sized 1⁄4″ hole in the bottom of the star.
Each branch also has a 1⁄2″ hole 2″ from the end of each branch tip. Passing a string/yarn/hook from below, simply pass a 3⁄8″ dowel through the loop to hold an ornament in place.
I also built a wooden storage box for all the parts (except the trunk dowel). It is approximately 48“x10“x9”. Still has a little space left for odds and ends.
We used battery operated votive lights this year. It looked great, but we did not keep the lights on as much as we did for past holidays. As is, we essentially had to replace batteries each week.
I might try to wire it up next year so we don’t use as many batteries. Trick is, Kim does not want to see any wires.