DIY Wood Christmas Tree Plan with 2x4s is the perfect easy wooden Christmas tree craft project.
Build your own 3 foot tall DIY Wood Christmas tree from 2×4 wood with these plans that include measurements and angles! This wood tree is a great way to use scrap wood, so save this for your list of Christmas wood projects.
Use this wood tree idea to sell at craft fairs, or other holiday season festivals where they have Christmas crafts. Either way, this diy Christmas tree is a unique idea that you can make with new wood, or scrap wood, and a little paint or stain.
This Christmas tree is perfect for the front porch and wrapping Christmas lights around it for holiday decor.
Learn how to make this wooden Christmas craft by following the step by step instructions below.
Like most of my wooden crafts and wooden Christmas decorations, only a few simple tools are needed and requires beginner woodworking skills.
If you want to use up more scrap wood on Christmas tree projects, then you have to check out these small trees.
Supplies for Wood Christmas Tree from 2x4s
- 2×4 lumber: one 8 foot long piece, plus a piece 21 inches long
- 2.5 inch long trim head screws (affiliate link)
- wood glue (do not try to hot glue)
- wood putty
- stain or paint
Tools:
- Miter saw (a circular saw can be used but a miter saw would be best)
- Orbital sander
- Drill
Cut list for Wood Christmas Tree from 2×4:
- One at 14 inches, with one 22.5° end and one 45° end, (14 inches long point to long point)
- One at 12 inches, with one 22.5° end and one 45° end (12 inches long point to long point)
- Four at 12 inches, with 22.5° ends (12 inches long point to short point)
- One at 21 inches with 22.5° ends (21 inches long point to long point)
- One at 12 inches with 22.5° ends (12 inches long point to long point)
For printable plans, for a 2, 3 and 4 ft tall tree you can get them here.
Cutting Wood Christmas Tree from 2x4s
For the first cut, turn your saw table to 45 degrees.
The board needs to be on its side, it is not flat. It is a bevel cut because we’re cutting through the thickness of the wood, but I’m just doing a little shortcut and rotating my saw rather than beveling the blade.
Cut one end at 45°, then the second cut is going to be at 22.5 degrees. Your saw should have a notch on your miter saw so you can easily find that 22.5. From long point to long point is 14 inches in length. So what we’ll need to do is move the saw to 22.5 degrees on the opposite side that you cut the 45 degree end at.
Cut the second piece at 12 inches, with one 22.5° end and one 45° end (12 inches long point to long point).
Next 4 of the pieces have 22.5 degrees ends, but they are long point to short point. What I mean is the long point and then the short point are on the same side. Cut one end at 22.5°, mark 12 inches length, then slide the board down and cut on the 12″ mark. Do NOT flip the board around or move the saw on the second cut, just slide the board down.
The base piece is 21 inches long, from long point to long point with 22.5° ends.
The trunk piece is 12 inches long, from long point to long point with 22.5° ends.
-14 inches, with one 22.5° end and one 45° end, (14 inches long point to long point)
-12 inches, with one 22.5° end and one 45° end (12 inches long point to long point)
-Four) at 12 inches, with 22.5° ends (12 inches long point to short point)
-21 inches with, with 22.5° ends (21 inches long point to long point)
-12 inches with, with 22.5° ends (12 inches long point to long point
Layout Wood Christmas Tree from 2x4s
Sand all of your pieces now. It’s way easier to do it now before it’s assembled. 🙂
Lay out your tree pattern so you don’t get them mixed up as you go.
Assembling Wood Christmas Tree from 2x4s
Starting with the top two pieces, figure out where you want your two and a half inch screws to go in it and what angle. Mark where the screws need to enter and then the angle of where they need to go in at. Turn that board down and start your screws while it’s flat on a surface. It’s easier to start screws while the board is laying down.
If you are not using trim head screws and are using regular wood or drywall screws, you should PRE-DRILL your holes. I get my trim head screws from Home Depot, you can also order them from Amazon here from my affiliate link.
Once you get them started, place it back into position. I think it’s easier to flip it up and hold it. Get a good grip on it and really hold it tight when putting the screws in.
If it presses against the bottom piece of wood, back your screw out, and then go back in.
Next, take two of our 12 inch pieces.
You want two inches of overlap.
Mark in the middle of the overlap where the screws need to be placed.
Start the screws so they are positioned in the first board. The reason I put the screws on the inside is to hide them.
Apply wood glue to where the boards will be together.
Finish driving the screws in all the way. It’s important to work on a flat surface.
Now for the second side it’s hard to angle the screws in because of limited space on the inside of the wood tree, so you can add the screws from the outside if you need to.
I still like to add them from the inside so you don’t see them, I just went in at an angle.
Now we’re going to get move on to the third tier. Take your remaining 12 inch pieces and measure and mark two inches for the overlap.
Mark where your screws need to enter, lay your boards flat and start your screws.
Apply wood glue and then drive the screws in the rest of the way.
The bottom piece is 21 inches from long point to long point. On this bottom piece drive the screws in from the bottom.
Mark where your screws need to end and where your screws need to enter from. You don’t want your screws too far in or too far out. They need to be centered to catch the middle of what it’s going into.
Flip your board down and we will start the screws.
Add glue here if you’d like. Make sure you stay on a flat surface while you’re making this so that the 2x4s do not twist.
Flip it over and put the remaining last two screws in.
The very last piece is our trunk This is 12 inches from long point to long point. Apply glue to the top side.
Make sure that this is centered, about five inches on each side. Attach with two screws.
Sanding and Staining Wood Christmas Tree from 2x4s
Appy wood filler in the two screw holes at the top. I’m not worrying about the inside screw holes, because you won’t really be able to see them.
Sand off any pencil marks and sharp corners.
Once it’s sanded, stain it whatever color you like. And if you’d like to decorate or not, I think leaving it a natural color it looks great, but there’s a lot of things you can do with this. Leave it as a simple wooden Christmas tree, stain brown for a rustic look, stain golden oak for a boho look, use white acrylic paint and a baby wipe for a whitewash look, solid white paint for a farmhouse style look. Try different colors on each wood tree and pair as a set!
To watch a video tutorial of this, check out my Facebook live making this exact 2×4 Christmas tree!
I hope you add this to your list of wooden Christmas tree crafts to make. It’s an inexpensive craft, uses little craft supplies, and can be even free if you have scrap wood!
If you like to make wood crafts, consider joining the Wood Craft Blueprints membership for step-by-step tutorials of trending projects that you can make and sell!
Karen Camus says
Love it!
Dawn says
Love this!!! Great instructions and pictures!! Going to put this on my must have list for Christmas!!
Rynae Alt says
Love this idea! I made it and added small shelves on the in between that can be added or removed😊❤️
Sarah Hendricks says
I love this tree but when I saw you added shelves. I’m Absolutely making one@
Reba Hoyle says
Love the green colored one and the wreath!!
Gayle says
Love this! What is the finished height?
Please and thanks.
Art says
What is the finished height?
Jenette says
34 inches
Elyse says
Where is the wreath from please?
Ron says
How tall are they?
Meredith says
What paint/stain colors did you use?
DD says
Great project! You may want to correct this tho… Listed twice in cut instructions:
21 inches with, with 22.5° ends (12 inches long point to long point)
In parenthesis it should say 21″, right?
What is the overall dimensions of finished product?
Shirley Rodgers says
I’m so excited to tell you that I just got finished making a pair of these. I painted them the same way you did … one with a green wash and the other with a brown stain. They turned out so cute!! But I have one question … how did you attached your wreath? They turned out so cute that I don’t want to just put a nail in it to hang my wreath, but I can’t figure out how to hang it otherwise.
Thanks so much for sharing your plans … love, love them!
Jenette says
I put a tiny nail in it 🙂
AZCARMELA says
Hello. What is the finished height of your project? Did you make any other corrections or modifications to the blueprint? Thank you.
Jenette says
34 inches and no, but you might have to trim the bottom board down some.
Diane Feeney says
What did you use to make the one true green?! I love it. But new to all this.
Sandy Sabine says
Try a command strip
Debbie S. says
What is the finished height?
Harmony says
These directions are phenomenal!! As someone starting out, it can be confusing with short points and long points, when and how to flip the board etc. but you explain it very clearly here step by step!! Much appreciated!!
Jenette says
You’re very welcome 🙂
Kim says
Can you tell me how tall the finished product is?
Rachel says
Hello! These are beautiful! Could you share what paint you used for the green one? I tried a green one and so far no good. Thanks!
Jenette says
I “green washed” with Behr Royal Orchard but the photo has been lightened up.
Elyse says
I used Behr’s “UNSWEETENED TEA” custom wood stain for mine. It’s the perfect sage green on pine!
Jilian says
I love this!! I can’t wait to make these on a slightly bigger scale to add to our outdoor decorations this year!! Thank you for the detailed instructions and photos!
Nicole says
What colors of stain and paint did you do on these?
Jenette says
Minwax golden oak and “green washed” with Behr Royal Orchard but the photo has been lightened up.
Diane Feeney says
How do you green wash? New to all this. Thank you.
Jenette says
I mix water and paint to create a transparent color stain for the wood. Apply with a brush and wipe off excess with a cotton rag. 🙂
Sharon says
Can you tell me how tall the finished product is? Are they near 3′? Also, please share what this green stain is…very pretty.
Jenette says
34 inches. I “green washed” with Behr Royal Orchard but the photo has been lightened up.
Jenette says
34 inches, so yes almost 3 feet
Valeri says
Hi! What color of paint and stain in the photo? How did you paint the green one? Could you make these bigger?
Gale says
Can you tell me what size wreath you used in the finished picture.
Jenette says
It’s about 8 inches I believe..
mary Ann Breitbach says
WHAT STAIN COLOR IS THE DARK TREE —A WALNUT STAIN–THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME VERY PRETTY
Jenette says
It’s Minwax Honey
Lauren says
Do you use regular wood or pressure treated?
Jenette says
regular
mary Ann Breitbach says
family loved the trees now i got 13 to make —can you tell me the green wash —2 paint to 1 water or 50 50 or what—- thank you very much
Missy chase says
Can you tell us where that wreath is from. I’d love to make a tree exactly like this one
Jenette says
I bought it wholesale from Lancaster and vintage
Missy Chase says
Hello! Can you tell me where you got the wreath from? Please
Elizabeth says
Hi there! These are such beautiful trees. My husband and I would like to make a 6 ft tall one. We are both novices at woodworking. To make trees that tall, based on your plans, would we keep all of the angles the same and simple multiple each board length, by say two or three? Or do the angles change depending on the height you’re wanting to achieve? Thank you in advance for any help/advice. We’ve tried many mock-ups for 6 ft trees and we can’t seem to figure out the angles at all.
Heather says
Hi there. Did you figure out the design for a 6 foot tree?
Frank says
I am making 3 trees, one this size, one 11 inches shorter and one 11 inches taller. I made this size tree yesterday and only screwed it together, no glue. So today I will unscrew the boards labeling each one and lay them out for my 11 inch shorter tree. Then I can record the new measurements for my smaller tree. I’ll do the same for the larger tree. For your 6 foot tree, may I suggest taking 2 8 foot 2x4s ( I bought pre cut studs because they were .50 cents cheaper) and stand them up so they cross at the top and make the shape of the tree. This would be easier with 2 people but using a clamp one person could do it. Now measure from the floor up your 6 foot mark and adjust the boards to the shape of the tree you want. Now using a 2 foot level place it against the two boards close to the top and once the bubble is centered, mark a line on each board. This will give you your new angle for your cuts. Not sure if this helped any, I wish I could attach pictures…
Colleen says
Love them. Any way to print directions and measurements?
A.R. says
Hi there just curious if one could achieve the same level of strength with air nailing the boards together and also using wood glue as you did?
Stacey says
Love Love Love these!! Now if I can persuade my husband into helping me make them!! I would love to make some for my daughters new home! Thank you SO much for sharing and inspiring!!
Bruce says
Would it not be easier to make and attach the 3 boards for each side first then attach them at the top and bottom?
That way it is possible to have all of the screws on the inside of the boards for the sides.
Jen says
yes you can, but you just need to be exact on the placement so each side is identical
Bonnie Venters says
Love, love this project. Nice work! Thank you for your instructions. My husband & I are at work on these as I write this.
Questions: Did you use any polyurethane on the stained tree? And did you use any sealer on the painted tree?
Thank you in advance,
Bonnie
beth belflower says
I made four of these and painted them red hung a Christmas ornament down the middle and put fake Christmas presents at the bottom. I gave them to my children for their Christmas decorations. Wish I could post a picture
Susan says
My husband is making something like this and I was wanting to add floating ornaments. Would you mind sharing how you connected your ornament?
Jim says
Thank you , made 4 for my 2 youngest granddaughters and 2 for great granddaughters. I used 1 x 4 and 8″ on legs. Look great with paint or stain with garland, bells, snowman pune cones.
Gary says
Do you happen to have a pattern for a star?
David Crow says
To address the issue of not having enough room on the inside to fit a screwdriver or drill motor, assemble the left and right sides independently. Then attach the base and connect the top.