Last weekend, my super crafty and creative mom came over with an awesome craft project for us to work on – making wire hanger Christmas tree decorations! She and her friends had a group crafting session a week or two earlier where they all made these metal hanger trees. She was so excited about them that she picked up all the materials and brought them over to my house so that we could make them together too!
How to make a Wire Hanger Christmas Tree
They are so cute, and surprisingly easy (and resourceful!) to make. You’ll need the following materials to make this Christmas tree:
- 6 pack of metal hangers
- Tape to hold it all together (we used electrical tape)
- 3 dollar store garlands
- At least 2 boxes of 20 Christmas tree lights, also from the dollar store
- Approximately 2 dozen mini ornaments, the colour of your choice
- Ornament hangers
It’s going to be really hard to describe this in words. I’ll do my best, but you’ll probably have to follow the pictures. Take two metal hangers and set them over top of each other like this:
Tape them together at the 3 points where the hangers touch. Repeat until you have done it three times and have used up all six of your hangers:
Take the end of one of the hanger groupings and slide it through the middle of one of the other hanger groupings like this:
Take a generous amount of tape and secure the tops together:
Take the third hanger grouping and slide it through the middle of the two that have already been fastened:
Again, tape the top together with a generous amount of tape. You should end up with a star figure like this:
And from the side, it has now become our Christmas tree form:
Take the first strand of garland and tuck it through the top of the wire form and loop around the top so that the point is completely covered. Then start winding the garland around the form:
Keep the rows close together to get a more full looking tree. Continue to wrap the garland around the tree form:
You will end up with a tree that looks something like the photo below. Reshape the hangers if you need to. For some reason mind started to look a little square in the base as you can see below, but I just shifted things around to get it looking round again:
You can use any lights that you want, but we went with two boxes of mini indoor clear lights in small packs from the dollar store:
Wrap them around the tree, trying to poke the wire under the garland as you go to hide it from view:
Since there are no branches on this tree, you will definitely need some ornament hangers to attach the ornament that you choose. Even twist ties will work if you are in a pinch. Mine looked like this:
Decorate the tree with the ornaments by hooking the ornament hanger onto the garland:
There was a nice assortment of balls that came in the package my mom brought. The photo below should give you an idea of the size that we went with. The smaller the better for a tree this size:
I realized after taking this photo that the ornaments were sticking out a little too far, so I did some adjusting to make them bulge just a little less than this photo is showing:
And when we plugged it in, it looked like this:
It’s it cute?! It’s actually a really decent size (about 18″ high) and considerably larger than what I was expecting. You can make it out of any colour garland that you want. It’s such a great way of making a Christmas tree form without breaking the bank, and so easy with the hangers!
Cindy Eikenberg says
This is adorable and such a great idea! Thanks for sharing and pinning! Have a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!
Ashley says
If you tape the lights on with electrical tape first you can use the lights to hold on/up the garland. That way you won’t need the ornament hangers for anything. 🙂
Debbie @ One Little Project says
Thanks for the tip Ashley! That’s a great idea!
Shawna Williams says
That is the coolest thing! Thank you for sharing it on our Four Seasons Blog Hop. Pinning now.
Joybee says
This is so cute and perfect for people who live in small apartments (like me). Thanks for sharing with Great Idea Thursdays. I’m featuring this.
Meg @Lip Gloss and Lumber says
Hi Debbie. I saw this at the Party Bunch link party and I love it! Such an awesome and inexpensive idea for a tree form. I definitely see more trees in my home soon. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Connie says
here is my tree love it
Connie says
I did put my lights in first instead of after.
Debbie @ One Little Project says
Thanks so much for sharing! They are wonderful! I love how it looks with the purple! I’m so glad they worked out for you!! Thank you so much for the photos!! 🙂
Meegan says
Featuring on Tickled Pink Times Two tonight! LOVE this!!
Danielle Driscoll says
What a fun tree! Thanks for sharing at Silver Pennies Sundays. x
Kristine Foley says
NO WAY! Absolutely genius! Thanks for sharing to Sunday FUNday! Featuring you this week!
Amy @ Marvelous Mommy says
Your tree turned out so adorable! Thanks for the great tutorial! My girls love to have their own smaller tree to decorate! You were featured today at the Create Link Inspire party! http://www.marvelousmommy.com/2013/12/7-brilliant-diy-tutorials/