Easy-Peasy Christmas Tree Decorating

See how easy DIY Christmas Tree Decorating can be. Using a few simple supplies, you can decorate an entire tree for under $30. Follow this tutorial to make a DIY burlap tree skirt and burlap garland.

For those of you who don’t know, I have two-year-old twins running around the house these days.  They are adorable and tons of fun, but they are totally cramping my holiday decorating style!  Last year I didn’t bother putting up a full-sized tree.  It just didn’t seem to be worth child-proofing when I could put up a mini-tree instead and keep everything out of reach.

This year, I decided to put up a full-size tree, but with serious limitations on the decorations.  Even with the “shatterproof” bulbs, I just don’t think having a bunch of ornaments for the kiddos to pull off the tree seems like a good idea.  I opted instead for burlap and silk flowers – if the twins pull apart these ornaments, no harm done!

• Do you love dollar store decorations as much as I do? Then you’ll love these 16 Gorgeous Dollar Store Christmas Wreaths.
• And if you’re looking for a deal on quick Christmas decor, be sure to check out these 17 Insanely Affordable Christmas Pillow Covers.

Easy-Peasy Christmas Tree Decorating

Supplies Needed:

I ran over to JoAnn Fabrics on Black Friday and spent less than $30 on some supplies.  You heard that right.  I spent less than $30 decorating my tree this year.  Hooray!

You’ll need:

• 7 yards of burlap (with a 50%-off coupon).  You could probably get away with 5 yards.  I had quite a bit left over for future projects.
• 7 bunches of white flowers – 75%-off special.
• 5 bunches of decorative acorn sprigs – 75%-off special.
• White ribbon – you could use twine or any old ribbon you have lying around.
• A large piece of cardboard
• Scissors
• Measuring tape
• Polyfill stuffing or crumpled paper
• … oh, yeah, and a tree.  Mine is a 7.5-foot pre-lit tree.

How to Make a Burlap Tree Skirt

I started with my “$3 tree skirt.”

Step One: Measure the diameter of your tree base.  The base for my 7.5-foot-tall tree was 22-inches.  Add two inches.

Step Two: Cut a circle of cardboard the diameter (plus 2-inches) of your tree base.  My circle was 24-inches in diameter.

Step Three:  Center the cardboard circle under the tree base.

Step Four:  Cut a large square of burlap with a length of 2 times the diameter of your cardboard circle plus 8-inches.  Mine was 56-inches (24 plus 24 plus 8).  Mine also wasn’t a perfect square, since the width of the bolt the burlap came on was a little less than 56-inches.  It still worked out fine.

Step Five: Center your burlap square under the tree stand and cardboard circle.

Step Six: Add polyfill stuffing or crumpled paper around the tree stand.

Step Seven: Gather the corners of the burlap and tie a ribbon around the base of the tree.

Boom! There’s your $3 tree skirt solution!

How to Make Burlap Garland

Next up: Burlap Garland

Step Eight: Cut 6-inch strips of burlap.  Follow this picture tutorial for cutting burlap without losing your mind:

Step Nine: Wrap your tree with burlap garland.

Step Ten: Gather your flowers and pine cone sprigs.  Cut apart the bunches.

Step Eleven: Make bunches with three flowers and two acorn sprigs.  Tie together with a ribbon or piece of twine.

Step Twelve: Set your flower bunches in your tree.  No need to fasten them in – they will just sit in-between the branches.

There you go!  That’s my toddler-friendly, under $30, Christmas tree decorating solution.

If you’re a seasonal decorator on a budget, you may enjoy this video where I set up a tree AND decorations for about $60!