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CartHere’s How to Make a DIY Slatted Christmas Tree Collar
Decorating the Christmas tree is a great way to kick off the holiday season. Arranging lights and hanging decorations brings out everyone’s creative spirit, but the base of your tree is often an afterthought. DIY expert Jyll Mackie decided to forgo the traditional tree apron in favour of a warm, rustic tree collar. Follow her easy steps to create your own slatted Christmas tree collar.
Here’s What You Need*:
(1) Plywood (size should be at least 3” wider than your tree stand)
(1) 1”x12”x8’ Clear Pine (cut into 1½” slats) Wood Conditioner
Wood Stain (I used a mix of Early American and Dark Walnut)
*Lumber may vary depending on your location. To see all options, use our Store Locator to find the Home Hardware Building Centre or Home Building Centre closest to you.
Here’s How to Do It
Over the years I have made a variety of tree skirts for our Christmas tree. I have wrapped the base in burlap, placed the tree in a massive basket, covered the stand with an old scarf, and even sewn my own skirt from a round tablecloth. This year I wanted to DIY a tree collar. Cream, beige, and dark brown is a popular Christmas colour palette, so I decided on a rich, wood tone for the tree collar. My local Home Hardware was a huge help. Their lumber yard staff even offered to cut my clear pine board down into 1½” slats, which saved me from having to pull out the table saw.
Step 1: Measuring the Tree Stand
The first thing I did was measure my tree stand. I didn’t want to do all this work only to have my tree collar be too small for my tree. The bottom inside diameter of my tree collar should be at least one inch wider than the widest width of the tree stand. Mine was 22” at the widest point, so the bottom of my collar will be 23” in diameter.
Step 2: Cutting the Collar Frame Rings
Once I had my dimensions, I needed to cut out two rings from the plywood. These will act as the frame upon which the slats will be nailed to create the collar. Since my bottom ring was 23” in diameter, I decided to make the top ring 19” to create a gentle taper. You can adjust accordingly if you want a slimmer or more robust appearance. To make the rings, I drilled a screw into the centre of my plywood, then used a piece of pencil, string and rafter square to trace out my circles. I used a jigsaw to cut out my rings, but if you have a router that will work too.
Step 3: Cutting & Staining the Slats
In order to determine how many slats I needed, I had to know the circumference of my top ring. And to get this I had to revisit my grade school math! The calculation for circumference is C=2πr, where π = 3.14 and r = radius (half the diameter). So in my case that meant 2 x3.14 x 9.5” for a circumference of 59.66”. I then divided that by my 1.5” slat width to determine that I needed about 40 slats. I cut them to 11” high, but you can adjust the height to best suit your tree. Once the slats were cut, I treated them with a pre-stain wood conditioner (a must for pine to prevent a blotchy look). To achieve the stain I wanted I used a mix of Minwax Early American and Dark Walnut, which turned out fantastic!
Step 4: Building the Frame
I used my nail gun to attach four pieces of pine slats to the top and bottom ring to create the overall frame. Note: an extra set of hands to hold the rings in place while you nail would be very helpful here!
Step 5: Attaching the Slats
I used my nail gun to attach all the pieces to the top ring first. Once they were all nailed into the top, I then went along the bottom, spacing the slats out as evenly and nailing as I went.
Step 6: Applying the Topcoat
Once the collar was assembled, I applied two coats of Minwax Polyurethane in a matte finish. I let the polyurethane dry overnight before bringing my tree collar inside. Topcoat tip:If your stain is too light or uneven, you can mix a bit of water-based stain with your water-based top coat to get a smoother, bolder finish (both must be water-based!).
I absolutely love the wood tone of this tree collar and the warmth it adds to our Christmas tree. What is so fun about this project is that there are so many opportunities to make it suit your style and your tree. You can do skinnier or wider slats, keep the stain light, stain it black, or even paint it. The possibilities are almost endless!
