7 Alternative Christmas Trees

Here are seven DIY alternatives to the traditional Christmas tree. All can be made with easy to find materials--some with recycled elements, others with standard lumber. Bonus, most are designed for easy and space saving storage when the holidays are over.

1. A-Frame Display Tree

The inspiration for this tree is from a visit to Epcot at Walt Disney World. Steph spotted their version of this ladder tree on the boat ride in the Land Pavilion. This is our DIY version that folds easily for storage. (Be sure to see the mini version later in the post.) See full how-to here.

2. Crate Christmas tree

One dreary, rainy Monday morning, I decided to pull out my Christmas stuff and start decorating, but one thing stood in my way….no tree! I had retired my tree with the intention of purchasing another one, but that never happened so I was treeless. ​

This DIY uses wooden wine crates, but it can easily be made with wood crates you can get at most any craft store or even The Home Depot. This is easy to take apart as the crates are simply connected to each other with large binder clips! Easy! See full how-to here.

3. Recycled Green Bottle Tree

Here's another tree inspired by a trip to Walt Disney World!  We spotted a really interesting piece of art at the Epcot Food and Wine festival made of recycled wine bottles. This DIY uses wood dowels and Perrier bottles. See full how-to here.

4. Recycled Lamp Parts Tree

This multi-level tree is made from lamp parts and a bunch of wood platters and other circular wood objects to create the levels. I've found most lamps uses pretty standard size components so mixing and matching elements is simple. This is a fun "use what you have" alternative Christmas tree. See full how-to here.

5. 2x4 Folding A-Frame Tree

This is a perfect tree for small spaces! Bonus, it all folds for compact storage after the holiday. The concrete base can be used year round as a holder for our PVC flag stand. This DIY uses standard 2x4 lumber. See full how-to here.

6. Mini A-Frame Ladder Display

This DIY tree is a mini version of the Epcot inspired ladder tree. It uses easy to cut dowels and lumber and is all held together with hot glue wood glue! It's a great little tree for counter top display of all your cute miniature decor. See full how-to here.

7. Rustic Pottery Barn Inspired Tree

This is a tabletop version of a long-discontinued tree from Pottery Barn. Our rustic pallet look tree uses two sizes of paint sticks and square dowels. It's another great small space tree with a removable base for space saving storage. We did this in collaboration with our YouTube friend, Christina from Pretty Distressed, who shares the finish.