Christmas Tree Stand Box | Folds Flat for Storage

Have you ever heard of a Christmas Tree Stand Box? I’ve been wanting to make one ever since I saw the Scrap Wood Crate Christmas Tree Stand my friend Kim made a couple of years ago. I recently shared her project on my Facebook page and it really got me inspired to finally tackle this alternative to a Christmas tree skirt project! Oh, and there’s a bonus feature of my Christmas Tree Box! It folds FLAT for storage. All the details ahead. . .

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My design is really simple. I used reclaimed fence wood, but you could easily buy new wood planks for this project and it would be really inexpensive. I ripped the planks on the table saw to make four “frames”. I laid out the frames and set three fence planks on the frame. Then I used my nail gun to “tack” the three boards to the frame.  So easy! You could even go old school and use a hammer and nails. 

Four Equal Sides make up the Christmas Tree Stand Box

Easy peasy!  Four sides make a box. I could have stopped there, but I wanted to give it more detail—I made mine a few days after I saw Kim’s and didn’t realize I was practically copying her style. You know what they say about “imitation and flattery”.

Since I wasn’t following Kim’s tutorial, my X pieces are totally different. Looking back at her post as I write this, I wish I had done these her way. You can decide how you want to do yours after comparing our two projects.  I cut one large cross board on a 45° on each end. After placing that from top right to bottom left, I used another piece and marked it with a carpenter’s square. I then cut it on the miter saw by locking the saw at the proper angle.

I did the same for the bottom board. I tacked the cross pieces with the nail gun.

I clamped the four sides together to make sure everything was coming together okay. If you remember from the earlier image, my plank boards don’t go all the way to the edge of the frame. That was pure laziness on my part because I didn’t want to have to rip the plank boards. It actually worked to my advantage when putting the decorative Christmas tree box  together.

This is where my Christmas tree box is a little different. I wanted it to be collapsible and store flat 11 months out of the year.

How to make the Christmas Tree Stand Box fold flat for storage

I dug in my stash and found four door hinges that matched. I removed the pin from each hinge and cleaned them up a little using a sanding sponge. I want to make sure that the pins slide in and out of the hinges freely. You can see in the background that I have one hinge installed with the pin raised slightly making it easier to remove.

I numbered each of the four sides so that when I dismantle the Christmas tree box, I’ll know how to put it back together.

While I had the Christmas tree outside, I took the time to actually hose it off. Oh my gosh, what a difference it made in the sheen. Not only do the branches look better, they didn’t irritate my skin as much as they usually do. So glad I washed the artificial tree!

You can see that the tree stand fits pretty snug in the box to cover it up. I don’t have much space in my living room and I didn’t want to make the box larger than necessary.  Because my space is small, I made my full sized Christmas tree into a corner tree.  After setting it up this year I realized it’s not really so much of a corner tree as it is a Half Tree. A well known company sells half trees, but they are very, very expensive.

I seriously love how the box covers up my Christmas tree stand. I debated for a long time on whether I should stain, seal or whitewash the Christmas Tree Box. In the end (for now) I decided to leave it as is.

I staged the wooden box and Christmas tree in the back yard. It makes the artificial Christmas tree look more real! This really is a nice tree, especially now that I washed it!

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Do you love it? I do. I’ve never really been a fan of Christmas tree skirts because all the packages mess it up. Granted, when all the packages get placed under the tree, the Christmas tree box may not be as visible, but I’m so glad I made this project. I am a little uncertain if the box and tree will fit in the living room corner. I should have re-read Kim’s post and followed her lead with the BUCKET idea–instead of my original Christmas tree stand! Then I could have made the box slightly smaller. 

You can see how I made the Bless The Food sign by clicking this link.

How do you disguise your Christmas tree stand?

gail