Christmas Tree Christmas Card Holder

This easy to make Christmas tree is the perfect display for all your Christmas cards.

How do you display the Christmas cards you receive each year?

I have used many methods: hanging on the back of the door, taping to a wall, this wood Christmas card wreath (that didn’t make the move).

But this year I had the idea to make a Christmas card holder to display them all. So I partnered with Kreg Jig to make the perfect one!

You will love this fast and easy build. It took less than 1 hour to make, and then I was ready to start filling it up with Christmas cards.

And can I tell you if I would have known just how awesome this would have turned out, I would have made it years earlier.

The simple design of the tree fits perfectly into our home decor. Plus it was the quickest, easy project made with just 2 inexpensive boards!

Inexpensive Card Holder

To make your own Christmas card holder tree, you only need 2 boards:

• a 1×2
• a 2×2

You can of course use any species of wood you want, but you can also just grab inexpensive furring strips for both of these boards. Just make sure to take the time to find the straightest boards you can like I share in this beginners guid to buying lumber.

Using furring strips will make the wood cost for your project around $5! Yes you read that right, just $5 since a 2×2 furring strip runs around $3 and a 1×2 around $2.

To save myself another trip to the hardware store, I decided to make my own 2×2 and 1×2 from one 2×4 board that I had on hand.

The board was easy to rip to size (1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ for the 2×2 and 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ for the 1×2) on my table saw.

I was able to rip both boards from one 2×4 with leftovers to spare. And the cost of a 2×4 is around $4.

The other cost of this Christmas card holder is the picture holder rings. Luckily these are inexpensive to purchase online.

I chose these (slightly more expensive) gold colored ring holders, but you can save a few dollars with these silver ring holders.

So for around $15 I had everything I needed to make this Christmas tree card holder. And guess what… it was super easy to build too!

More Christmas Decor Ideas

Save money and decorate with these beautiful DIYs instead!

How to Build a Christmas Card Holder

Tools & Materials

Overall Dimensions

The finished card holder is 48″ tall by 30 1/2″ wide. With the base, the stand is 9 1/2″ deep.

Cut List

Cut out the pieces according to the plans shared on Kregtools.com.

When cutting the boards, cut the trunk so there is a point at the top. I used a 50 degree angle (the highest my saw would go) on my miter saw to get a steep angle.

The rest of the boards have one side cut at an angle:

• Cut one end of the base boards at a 45 degree angle.
• Cut one end of the limb boards at a 15 degree angle.

STEP 1- Drill holes for card holders

Measure and mark where to drill holes to insert the ring loops to hold the cards. Use a drill bit the same size as the metal on the ring loops to drill a 3/4″ deep hole in the side of the boards.

It is much easier to do this before attaching the limbs. I did not and it required bending the limbs to make them straight since my holes were tilted toward the front.

STEP 2- Attach tree limbs

Set your picket hole jig for 3/4″ thick material and drill 2 pocket holes on the angled side of each limb board.

Make sure to mirror which way the angle is so the pocket holes all end up on the back of the tree.

Measure 10″ up from the bottom of the trunk board. Attach the large limb so the bottom of the angled cut is at this mark and centered on the 2×2 trunk.

Secure with wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws. Attach the rest of the limbs so they are 9 1/2″ up from the bottom of the previous one.

Repeat for the other side of the tree. Make sure all the limbs mirror each other and the limbs angle up.

STEP 3- Attach base

Set your pocket hole jig for 1 1/2″ thick material and drill one pocket hole in the bottom of each of the base boards.

Offset them to one side so the screws don’t all hit each other in the trunk board.

Attach the two side base pieces to the sides of the trunk and the front/back pieces so they stick out the front and back.

Secure with 2 1/2″ pocket holes and wood glue.

STEP 4- Sand and finish

Sand and stain/paint your Christmas tree. I used my sander to slightly round over the angle at the top of the trunk and the base boards.

Clip the stem of the card holder rings to about 3/4″ long if needed (mine were longer to use for cake toppers too).

Place a dot of super glue gel on the stem and place it in the holes drilled for them earlier.

You did it!

After the glue is dry, it is time to load up all your Christmas cards.

Happy building!

Thank you to Kreg Tools for sponsoring this post. I only recommend products that I use and love and all opinions are 100% my own. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.