DIY Wall Christmas Tree: Candy Cane Branch Tree Tutorial

If you’re short on floor space or simply fancy adding a Christmas tree somewhere a traditional one won’t fit, this DIY wall Christmas tree is a fun alternative. It’s a project I’d been wanting to try for some time so I was thrilled to finally give it a go!

I made mine from seven graduated branches tied together with twine and hung flat against the wall. I spray painted the branches white before adding fairy lights and a mixture of red and white decorations for a candy cane-inspired finish. I was so pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

Making DIY Wall Christmas Trees

The construction itself isn’t difficult, although getting the twine and branches sitting evenly can be a little fiddly. Thankfully, it’s also quite a forgiving project. The branches don’t need to be perfectly straight and, once the lights and decorations are added, small differences in spacing really aren’t noticeable.

My finished tree is approximately 90cm wide and 130–140cm tall, including the topper and hanging twine. It took around two hours of active making time, plus time for the spray paint to dry.

Why Choose a Wall Christmas Tree?

The obvious advantage of a wall Christmas tree is that it takes up virtually no floor space whilst still giving you a sizeable festive display.

That makes it a good option for smaller homes and rooms where you don’t have space for a traditional tree. But it doesn’t have to replace your main Christmas tree. It could work equally well as an additional tree in a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, home office or anywhere else with a spare bit of wall.

A wall-mounted Christmas tree can also be useful if you have young children or curious pets. You can position it further away from floor level and keep more delicate decorations out of easy reach. You’ll still need to secure it properly and choose its position carefully, of course.

There’s no pot or tree stand taking up space underneath either, leaving more room for presents. And whilst I’ve gone all-in on candy canes, the basic branch tree could work with pretty much any Christmas decorating theme.

Planning Your Wall Tree

I used seven branches for my tree, starting with a 90cm branch at the bottom and reducing the length by 10cm for each row:

• 90cm
• 80cm
• 70cm
• 60cm
• 50cm
• 40cm
• 30cm

Before I started construction, I laid all the branches out on the floor in position. I also added some of my decorations between them so I could get a better idea of how the finished tree would look.

I settled on approximately 15cm between each branch, measured along the supporting twine once it was attached. There’s nothing special about that particular measurement; it worked with the size of my decorations and the amount of wall space I wanted the tree to fill.

So if you’re making your own version, I’d definitely do the same floor test before you reach for the twine. Bigger ornaments might need more room between the branches, whilst a smaller wall tree could have narrower gaps.

The spacing doesn’t need to be exact. I adjusted the knots, twine wraps and branches by eye once the tree was hanging to get everything sitting reasonably level.

Choosing Your Branches

Look for relatively straight branches that feel strong and are completely dry. They don’t need to be identical… some natural variation is part of the look.

If you’re foraging your branches, remove any moss, loose material and prominent nodules before you start. Check for loose or flaking bark too, although there’s no need to remove bark that’s firmly attached.

I sawed my branches to size and spray painted them white outdoors. I used a light coat as I wanted to ensure the wood grain underneath was still showing.

You could, of course, leave the wood completely natural or choose a different colour to suit your decorations.

Choosing Fairy Lights for a Wall Christmas Tree

I used two sets of battery-operated fairy lights, each with 40 LEDs across approximately 4.9m of wire. Two matching sets of micro fairy lights on fine wire would be ideal. Silver or clear wire would be less noticeable against white branches, although the colour of the lights themselves is entirely up to you. (I used two different sets of lights as that is what I had at home; it was okay but would have looked nicer with one style and colour of light.)

A timer function is useful too, particularly once the tree is decorated and you don’t necessarily want to be reaching behind ornaments to switch the lights on and off every day.

I wrapped my lights around the branches and secured the battery packs wherever they ended up. If I were making the tree again, I’d try starting one set at the bottom on one side and zig-zagging upwards, then starting the second set at the top on the opposite side and zig-zagging downwards.

The wire can be wound along the branches and up the supporting twine before the tree goes onto the wall. It doesn’t need to be an immaculate job. Mine certainly wasn’t and I think it adds to the charm.

Hiding The Battery Packs

I was particularly pleased with how this bit worked.

I wrapped the excess fairy-light cable around each battery pack and secured it with masking tape. I then positioned the packs behind larger decorations, using a little more tape to attach them to the ornaments and help keep everything hidden.

It meant the battery packs weren’t obvious but were still accessible when I needed to switch the lights on or change the batteries.

Decorating a Candy Cane Wall Christmas Tree

I wanted a definite candy cane look, so I stuck broadly to red and white but mixed lots of different styles and materials.

I used bows, candy canes, felt gingerbread men and glass candy sweets alongside some of my homemade decorations, specifically:

• air dry clay ornaments
• pom-poms
• paper mushrooms

I used lightweight decorations throughout so the branches weren’t weighed down.

How Many Decorations Will You Need?

I used roughly one decoration for every 10cm of branch length.

So that gave me:

• 3 decorations on the 30cm branch
• 4 on the 40cm branch
• 5 on the 50cm branch
• 6 on the 60cm branch
• 7 on the 70cm branch
• 8 on the 80cm branch
• 9 on the 90cm branch

I also hung two decorations from the Merry Christmas sign at the top, bringing the total to approximately 44 decorations.

That’s a useful starting point if you’re trying to work out how many decorations to gather before you begin, rather than a number you need to follow. Larger decorations will need more room and you may prefer a much simpler or fuller finish.

How I Arranged the Decorations

I waited until the tree was hanging on the wall before adding any decorations. 

Rather than completing one branch at a time, I worked by type of decoration. I’d add one type across the whole tree, spreading them out before moving on to the next. 

I replaced the original hanging strings on most of the ornaments with the same twine I’d used to construct the tree. I adjusted the hanging lengths to suit each decoration, generally keeping them fairly short so there wasn’t a big gap between the branch and the ornament. The bows were tied directly around the branches.

Beyond that, there wasn’t a complicated formula. I kept stepping back, looking at the whole tree and moving things around until I was happy with the balance.

Tips I Learnt From Making My Wall Christmas Tree

A few things are worth knowing before you start.

Lay everything out first. Arranging the branches and some of the decorations on the floor helped me decide on the 15cm spacing before I’d tied anything together.

Continuous twine is fiddly but forgiving. I used one continuous piece of twine along each side of the tree, connecting all seven branches. Getting the second side to match the first took some playing around, but the advantage was that I could reposition the knots and wrap the twine around individual branches more or fewer times to adjust the spacing.

Individual pieces of twine are another option. You could try cutting pieces approximately 25cm long and tying one between each pair of branches. I haven’t tested this method, but it may make it easier to create equal gaps from the outset.

Don’t worry about getting everything perfectly straight. My twine wasn’t perfectly even and the branches themselves are naturally irregular. I adjusted the knots, wraps and branch positions once the tree was hanging, and it stayed in position as I added the decorations.

Get the tree onto the wall once the twine and lights are attached. At this stage you’ve got seven loose branches, twine and fairy-light wire all looking for an opportunity to become tangled. Hanging it before decorating made life much easier.

Hide the battery packs behind larger decorations. This worked really well. Just make sure you can still get to the switches and batteries.

Leave some space underneath. Don’t hang the bottom branch so low that your lowest decorations are easily knocked, particularly if you have children or pets or plan to put presents beneath the tree.

DIY Wall Christmas Tree FAQs

Do I Need to Use a Merry Christmas Sign at the Top?

Not at all. Mine is a bought Merry Christmas decoration approximately 20cm wide, but it’s simply the topper I happened to choose.

I tied the two supporting lengths of twine to the hanging hooks on the sign, then used a separate piece of twine to hang the sign itself.

A star, bow or another lightweight Christmas decoration would work just as well. You could also join the supporting twine above the top branch to create a hanging point and attach your topper separately, even fixing it directly to the wall if that suits your design.

Can I Leave the Branches Unpainted?

Absolutely. The white spray paint is part of my candy cane colour scheme rather than necessary for the construction of the tree.

Natural branches would give you a more rustic finish, or you could paint them another colour to suit your Christmas decorations.

Can I Make the Wall Christmas Tree Smaller?

Yes. The measurements I’ve given are simply those I used for my tree.

The easiest approach would be to lay your proposed branches out on the floor first and adjust their lengths and spacing until the overall shape fits the wall space you have available.

Is a Wall Christmas Tree Good for Homes With Pets or Young Children?

It can be a useful option because there’s no freestanding tree or tree stand at floor level and you can position more delicate decorations further out of easy reach.

It isn’t automatically child- or pet-proof, though. Make sure the tree is securely hung and think about the height of the lowest decorations when deciding where to position it.

How to Make a DIY Wall Christmas Tree

Ready to make your own? The full materials list, measurements and step-by-step instructions are below.

I’ve included the dimensions and spacing I used for my tree, but don’t be afraid to adjust them to suit your decorations and the wall space you have available.

If you make your own wall Christmas tree, I’d love to hear what theme you choose. And for more ideas to make rather than buy this Christmas, take a look at our Christmas craft ideas.