Okay so you’ve found the PERFECT Christmas tree, and you’ve been searching high and low for that box stand that will go with it perfectly…..annnnnnd you come up short again and again.   That’s EXACTLY what happened to me!  I finally found my perfect tree for our foyer in the new house, (it’s the King of Christmas 10′ King Douglas Fir Slim ) and I just could not find the right Christmas tree box to match it.  So, when ya can’t find it, DIY it!!

Okay so real quick before I jump into my DIY Christmas Tree Box, I have to brag on this tree for just a minute (plus I know so many of y’all wanted deets).   Not only is it huge and beautiful, but it’s designed for quick-shaping (no more spending hours fluffing branches) AND it’s got this new pole technology that allows for simple plug and play!  Every time I plug one segment into another, the pieces automatically light up!  I don’t have to search for electrical plugs and scratch the ever-lovin’ heck outta my arms!  It’s AMAZING!!  But I saved the best for last!  It’s remote controlled, has 12 different light settings AND it can switch from all white to multi-colored lights!!! I don’t think I’ll ever need another Christmas tree again!

DISCOUNT CODE

OH!! AND I HAVE A DISCOUNT CODE FOR Y’ALL!!! Make sure you use code: RUSTICRETREAT for 10% off your purchase!!

Picking Your Wood

Alright now for the fun stuff!  I was feeling a bit lazy with this project and really had NO desire to stain anything.  So, our goal was to find super trashed pallet wood that already had that really weathered grayish/brown look.  So we drove around, mostly to construction sites around us, and looked for any pallet wood that was thrown away for trash.

(Just as an FYI here, some companies, like Home Depot, get reimbursed for the pallets they send back and are usually not open to giving them to you–so I’d advise not taking them from those places because it’s technically stealing lol.) 

Once we found our wood (we grabbed extra because we wanted to try and match the slats as best as we could–mixing and matching pallets can leave you with a variety of colors and stains, so it’s best to grab extra and then compare them in the same light) we removed all the old nails and hardware, laid them out to see which pieces we wanted on which sides of the Christmas tree box, and then cut them down to size.

Tools We Used

Luckily, this project was pretty straight forward.  We only used a few tools: a circular saw for cutting down the slats of wood, a drill for the screwing the legs and slats in place, a nail gun for attaching the top “feet” to the platform, wood glue, and a hammer.  I will admit, it would have been VERY nice to have a Kreg Jig on hand, but we were able to manage without it.  If you happen to have one, even better!!

Assembly

Because we knew we wanted to add height to our tree, we decided to create a platform within the box that would add an additional 12 or so inches to the tree.  We purchased a 3/4 inch thick plywood square (we are using a 32×34 inch square but you can use whatever size you need to fit your tree stand) at Home Depot  because we were unable to find one anywhere else.  As I mentioned, most of the wood we used was “trash” wood, but the platform base and legs you see below were purchased.

To make things even easier, we just had our friends at Home Depot cut down the legs to 12 inches each for us.  We have 8 legs total.  4 will be used for the actual legs or feet, and 4 for the top, which I’ll show you shortly.  We used 1″x 2″ boards.

Then we just screwed 4 feet into the platform base to create this stand you see above.  The tough part (which would be a lot less tough with a Kreg Jig) came next…screwing the top legs into the platform.

Unfortunately,  I forgot to photograph that part because Matt and I were racking our brains trying to figure out how we would get the top feet attached without the Kreg Jig to screw them in at an angle.  But luckily, there was a small overhang between the platform and where the feet would go so we were able to use a nail gun to nail them in.  The red arrow below shows where we used nails (you do the same for all 4 legs).  We also applied some wood glue for added measure.  The top feet are really only there for aesthetics and to screw the slats in, but we added the wood glue just in case.

Once you get all 8 legs (4 on the bottom and 4 on the top) attached to the platform, you can begin attaching your slats.  We used small black screws to give more of a rustic look.  Then we just used 2 screws on each side to attach the slats to the legs.

Moment Of Truth

Then came the moment of truth…adding the tree stand.

Now, if I’m being 100% honest…we slightly messed up and this tree stand ALMOST did not fit!!!  It took us forever to maneuver it JUST right to get it in there.  So, make sure that when you measure you tree stand, you give yourself an extra few inches to account for the width of the legs, as they are INSIDE the box.

Finished Product

And voila! What do we think?!

I was feeling a little lazy and didn’t stain the lighter pieces but if you want your purchased pieces to match the pallet wood a little better, you could always use the steel wool in vinegar trick and stain the wood to look more weathered.

Thanks For Stopping By

Hope y’all found this helpful!!  Let me know if you guys build your own boxes! If you share them on Instagram make sure you tag me!  I always love to see y’all’s photos!

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Talk soon Buddies!