DIY Tree Branch Christmas Countdown

November 28, 2014

A few weeks back (before snow came!) I gathered a bunch of sticks from our yard. Ever since then I have been doing little diy projects with them.
Here’s a quick project for a fun Christmas countdown.

I recall the excitement as a child every year when we pulled out the Christmas decorations and out came our old countdown. It had velcro pieces that you took off the date and moved on to a felt tree. We loved it! The felt was matted and the velcro hardly stuck but we would still argue over whose turn it was to move the ornament on to the tree.

So, here’s to hoping that the boys get excited every time we pull out this branch tree from here on out.

What You’ll Need:

• branches
• string/twine
• pruning shears
• glue gun
• number stamps/ink pad
• mini clothespins
• muslin drawstring bags

Decide how big you want your tree to be and trim down your sticks, making each one smaller as you head to the top. At this point, you’ll also want to determine how you want to lay out your date drawstring bags, as this will help you decide how many sticks you will need in the height of your tree.

Cut two long pieces of twine (longer than the height of your tree).
Starting at the bottom of the right or left side, tie the twine around and knot it.
From there, you will take the twine and wrap it around the next stick up, securing it’s place with tying (but not knotting).
As you work your way up, angle inwards as each stick gets smaller.
After you finish one side, do the other – being careful to note the spacing you did on the first side.
Then you can tie both twine pieces together at the top of the tree, where you will hang it from.

Next, you’ll glue down your mini clothes pins (in the layout you had decided on)